Researching William Peery

Peery lived with his father's family on a farm in Sussex County. Later, he farmed this land himself. In April 1777, during the American Revolution, he was selected to be captain of an independent militia company of 100 Sussex County men, "for the safeguard of the pilots and the persons and goods of other well affected inhabitants...residing or being near Lewistown and the coasts of Delaware Bay." The area was known for the high level of Loyalist activity and the constant threat of British intervention from the sea. Future Governor David Hazzard was the son of one of his second lieutenants.

They saw some action during the winter of 1777–78 in support of the Flying Camp that helped protect Washington's camp at Valley Forge.

Peery was elected to the State House for the eight sessions from 1777-78 through 1784-85. On November 4, 1785 the General Assembly elected him to be one of their delegates to the Continental Congress and he served for a year. He was then returned to the State House for the 1787/88 session and the 1793–94 and 1794-95 sessions. From 1785 to 1796 he served as the county Treasurer for Sussex County.

Peery died on December 17, 1800 in Lewes, Delaware, and is buried in the Cool Spring Prebsbyterian Church Cemetery near Lewes.

Peery was in India from 1945 through 1987 laying the foundation for ecumenical ventures, especially his role at the Andhra Christian Theological College in overseeing the merger of the Ramayapatnam Baptist Theological Seminary in 1967 as well as involving himself in the negotiations on Lutheran dialogue with the Church of South India. Peery was a member of the Church of South India-Lutheran Inter-Church Commission. During the third meeting of the Commission called for by the Chairmen, Rajah B. Manikam and Hospet Sumitra that was convened by the Secretary Joshua Russell Chandran on 8 and 9 January 1963 at the United Theological College, Bangalore, Peery presented a comparative analysis of the constitutions of the Lutheran and the Church of South India Societies. After the conclusion of the third Inter-Church Commission, Peery was made Convenor of a Committee to come up with two drafts relating to the importance of episcopy, one on episcopal basis and the other partly-episcopal and partly non-episcopal.

Peery also took part in Lutheran-Orthodox negotiations where he came up with two papers on Lutheran perspectives entitled, A Lutheran Understanding of Worship and Liturgy: basic principles and present concerns and The place of Mary in the Lutheran Church.