The story of Asaph Perry

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FAMILY LIFE STORY LINE
Opening Gramma Asaph after Ethel Amanda Bell and Ethel Bertie

Throughout her life in Canton, Ethel maintained close contact with her parents who only lived about 20 miles away. It was common for the young Perry girls to visit Gramma and the ailing Grampa in Buffington. One particular visit coincided with the birth of Ethel's first son, Jack. No doubt the children were sent up to Gramma's to give Ethel the necessary peace with which to recover from delivering a child in 1903. The girls wrote about visiting their extended family members like Uncle Bud. Gramma expressed concern for the poor lone horse that the girls can't seem to give a break.

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Writing the Story

Ethel's relationship with her parents is preserved for us in letters in the Perry collection. We had no evidence of Asaph's parents being an integral part of the family in the same manner. This dichotomy presents an interesting writing dilemma. How much do we emphasize the closeness or distance between Ethel, Asaph, and their children and Ethel and Asaph's parents? These dilemmas are the stuff of writing history. Finding a way to negotiate the narrow passage between what may have been and what the record tells us. We decided to follow the record and not infer anything about Asaph parents, other than the obvious.