In November 2024, several friends of mine in Japan asked me about President-elect Trump's campaign coordinator and future Chief of Staff, Ms. Susie Wiles.  My friends heard on Japanese television that she is related to Commodore Matthew C. Perry.  This caught my attention, and I therefore searched the internet for the source of this information.  I found a quote below in the November 7, 2024, issue of the digital news outlet, "Politico," about the life of Ms. Wiles that I feel is the source of the Japanese news announcement.

"One of Wiles’ colleagues also noted she’s related to Commodore Matthew Calbraith Perry, the U.S. naval officer who headed an expedition to Japan in the 1850s credited with breaking down the country’s isolationism and opening up trade and diplomatic relations with the West." (Politico November 7, 2024)

I immediately checked the genealogy of the Perry family, compiled by my distant cousin, Mr. Alexander “Sandy” Scott, and found no record in our genealogy for her married name, Wiles, or her parents' last names, Jacobs and Summerall.  Ms. Wiles’ father was the well-known football star and sports announcer, Pat Summerall (1930-2013).  I then contacted my cousin Sandy, and he said that although there was no Perry relationship, there was a connection with Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry, of Lake Erie fame in the War of 1812.

It appears that Ms. Wiles’ mother, Kathy Jacobs (1934-2005), was a descendant of Captain Jesse Elliot, who was second-in-command to Perry in the Battle of Lake Erie.  Ms. Wiles’ maternal grandfather was also named Jesse Elliot, so Ms. Wiles was most likely aware of her famous ancestor.  My speculation is that her colleague, quoted above, confused the oral history for Susie Wiles ancestry between Captain Elliot and the two Commodore Perrys, one of Lake Erie fame and one of Japan fame.

Most Japanese know about Commodore Matthew C. Perry and his role in establishing friendly relations between the United States and Japan.  Japanese are less familiar with his older brother, Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry, who was victorious against the British on Lake Erie during the War of 1812.  Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry was nine years older than his brother Matthew and became an American hero when he defeated the British on Lake Erie on September 10, 1813.  The victory over an entire British squadron elicited the famous statement from Perry, “We have met the enemy and they are ours: two ships, two brigs, one schooner, and one sloop.”

In the battle, Perry commanded the USS Lawrence, which was his flagship, and Elliot commanded the USS Niagara.  However, when Perry’s ship was badly damaged, after rapidly engaging the enemy, he changed ships and relieved Elliot of command of the Niagara.  Elliot contended that Perry took the “glory of victory” away from him and he was not credited enough for the final victory.  However, Perry felt Elliot was slow to bring his ship into action.  The controversy between Perry and Elliot developed slowly, mainly because Perry did not publicly state negative comments about Elliot’s behavior in the face of battle.  After the victory Perry returned to Newport and Elliot assumed command of the Lake Erie squadron.  The Perry/Elliot controversy existed for years, however, and several officers in the squadron took sides and were killed in subsequent duels.

In October 2023, I attended the Grassroots Summit in Columbus, Ohio, sponsored by the Manjiro-Whitfield Center for International Exchange.   I suggested in a welcoming speech I gave that the Japanese visitors would have an opportunity to learn more about Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry, while in Ohio near Lake Erie.  I also suggested that the Japanese visitors can tell their new friends in Ohio about Commodore Matthew C. Perry and his role in establishing friendly relations between our countries.  These contacts and exchanges between people of two different countries about their history and culture are the beginning of friendly personal relations, which help maintain friendly relations between our two countries.

Since the November Politico news article of Ms. Susie Wiles, I have seen no follow-up concerning her heritage in the United States media.  I also have heard of no correction in Politico or Japanese media that Ms. Wiles is not related to Commodore Matthew C. Perry.  This probably is not unusual as news companies often are not required to support their comments with original sources.  However, in these times where the popular media often has mis-information, it is good to try to determine the facts, so that the public can be best informed, even on relatively minor issues like the ancestry of public figures.