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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Learning the Story

Transportation, one of the primary themes of our story, has dramatically changed extended family relationships. Ethel and Asaph lived their entire lives within 20 miles of their parents, Ethel's in Cherokee County (Buffington) and Asaph's in Forsyth (Cumming). This long standing spatial pattern, not uncommon in the 19th century, would begin to unravel as new forms of transportation eased movement. One simple strategy would be to survey students about where their extended family lives and contrast the patterns which emerge to historical census record patterns. A quick check of the late 19th Century census records available on our site will reveal some details about extended family living patterns at the time.