The story of Asaph Perry

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Opening James Perry Lewis Perry Antebellum Forsyth A Yeoman's World War

Asaph father James worked a small plot of land with the help of his six sons, but never amassed much of a fortune. When Aspah was born, his father owned a small farm worth only a few hundred dollars. All of his sons worked on the farm at one time or another.

James Perry was born in Lumpkin County, just north of Forsyth County, in 1847, just 14 years after Lumpkin County was established in 1832. His father Lewis was also a small farmer originally from South Carolina. The Perry family moved the family to Forsyth County from Lumpkin County sometime between 1847 and 1850.

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We found conflicting information on James Perry's birth. The census records from Forsyth County indicate that James was 5 in 1850 and 13 in 1860. Census errors are common, but we did not have any information to corroborate or refute either date until we checked the 1863 wartime (Joe Brown) militia census. This record indicated that a "James P Perry" was 16 years and 6 months old and living in militia district 835. We deduced this was our James and that James was in fact born in 1847 - confirming the 1860 census. Another interesting piece of information in the 1863 militia census indicated that James P Perry was born in Lumpkin County. We knew that a Lewis Perry was listed in Lumpkin in 1840, but had not corroborated that information.

An image of the 1880 census page with James K. Perry's family is available.