Laura C. (Digby) Perkins was born on January 15, 1886, in Cold Springs, Campbell County, Kentucky. She was the daughter of Sarah “Sallie” (Murnan) and James S. Digby. Laura was the youngest of seven children; her siblings were James Jr., Fannie, Josie, Lida, Kennel and Susan.

Laura started her early career as a bookkeeper for a sand and gravel company in the Cold Springs area.  Laura was just fourteen years old when her father died in Kentucky and was buried in the Evergreen Cemetery near their home. Sarah, Laura's mother, decided to move to the Arizona Territory.

Laura met Robert Elisha Perkins, a cattleman and the son of Annie (York) and Marion A. Perkins, a pioneer cattle family living in Yavapai County, who hailed from Texas. Laura married Robert Perkins when she was 24, on June 4, 1911, in Phoenix, Maricopa County. The town of Perkinsville is named for Robert’s family. For many years the Perkins family operated the Deep Well Ranch, located on the north side of Prescott.

Laura and Robert had settled in Camp Verde, Arizona when their son Robert Marion was born July 20, 1919. While raising their son, the couple was active in the community.  Laura's husband was past president of the Yavapai Cattle Growers Association, and Laura was also a member. Robert served on the Chino Valley School Board, Aztlan Lodge No. 1, F. & A. M. among other worthy services. Laura was an active member of the Yavapai Cowbelles and the First Congregational Church.

Laura’s son, Robert Marion, graduated from Prescott High School and the University of Arizona, majoring in animal husbandry. Robert married Ethel Eileen Davis of Bisbee, and they had one child, Betty Jean. Robert entered the military and was a captain of the Seventh Cavalry of the U.S. Army. He was killed on Manus Island in the Pacific Theater of World War II. His widow remarried to Victor Lytle in 1948.

Laura's mother Sarah died in Phoenix in 1924. Her remains were interred alongside her husband’s at the Evergreen Cemetery in Campbell County, Kentucky. Robert and Laura moved to Phoenix after selling the ranch, and they lived there until their deaths. Robert died January 4, 1965, and Laura died on June 5, 1966. Both were buried in Mountain View Cemetery, Prescott, Arizona.

Donor: Yavapai Cowbelles
Photo Located: RGC MS-39, Box P, F-Perkins, Laura
Updated: 1/9/2016; N. Freer