Martin James Perry, the last born child of Josiah & Emily Perry, entered the world November 1897. He attended a one room school in Hawley, Pennsylvania. At the age of 11, he finished fifth grade. In 1910 he took and passed the Common School Examination. He and a classmate entered Hawley High School that fall. Upon encouragement from his high school principal, Martin enrolled in Penn State College in 1914. Having to spend some semesters working to help pay his college tuition, he graduated in 1921 with a degree in Agriculture (specializing in Dairy Husbandry).
By the time Martin was born, his father had asked the Lord to forgive his sins & be the Lord of his life. So Martin grew up in a Christian home. Martin accepted the Lord as his Savior in 1922.
After graduating from Penn State, Martin worked for dairies testing the quality of their cows and milk. While making his rounds from dairy to dairy, he would often stop and visit a young lady named Ruth James. On May 24, 1924, they were married. A daughter, Jane, joined their family May 30, 1925.
In 1922, Martin entered Philadelphia School of the Bible evening school. He completed his work in 1926. He and Ruth felt called to the mission field. They applied to serve in Africa and received no replies. They had heard of a lady in northeast Tennessee named Miss Anna Lewis. They wrote her a letter asking for info about her work in the southern mountains,. She replied saying she would be glad to accept them as workers with the Faith Mountain Mission. December 31, 1927, Martin & girls arrived in northeast Tennessee. Martin became the director of Bancroft Gospel Ministry which was an extension of Faith Mountain Mission. Martin passed away in 1994.
My first memory of Uncle Martin was my first time to go to Bancroft Bible Camp. Since I had just moved to TN (and the trauma associated with that move), it was arranged that I would spend one night at camp. I was excited to be there. And then imagine the pure delight when Uncle Martin found it important to sit with me during every meal! I since learned that not every one found my Uncle Martin as fascinating as I did. Some were intimidated by him, others thought him stern. But he was my Uncle Martin.
Grandpa (Uncle Martin's brother) passed away when I was 6 years old. Uncle Martin filled that spot in my life. I don't know if he intentionally set out to do that but he did. My mother and his daughter, Jane, are first cousins. We called her Aunt Jane & that is what she was an aunt. Because she was our "aunt" and her children called Uncle Martin "grandfather", I thought I should call him grandfather too. So for a while he became Grandfather Uncle Martin.
There was always a present under the tree from Uncle Martin. And he always acknowledged our birthdays with a mailed card and a small something brought by the house either on the day or close to the day. Shortly before Christmas one year, Uncle Martin arrived with a small doll. There were four so we each got one. From my understanding they were received in a missionary barrel (I don't know if that year or several years earlier).
Occasionally on a Sunday morning during church, we would hear the squeal of a hearing aid. We all knew that there would be a visitor for lunch that day. And on many of those Sundays, Mother would make a banana pudding as soon as we arrived home from church. Banana pudding was one of Uncle Martin's favorite foods.
Before I left for my freshman year at Bryan College, Uncle Martin gave me the book The Gentlewoman's Choice by George MacDonald. He told me if I read it, I would learn about men. I remember reading it upon my arrival at Bryan but I cannot tell you what if anything I learned.
One year in college, I received a letter in the mail from Uncle Martin. He had included a picture of himself. He said he had taken the picture so I would know there were those in northeast TN who loved me and prayed for me.
After arriving home one summer, Aunt Jane asked me if I could come sit with Uncle Martin. The guy who was sitting with Uncle Martin needed to spend time off and Aunt Jane still had a few weeks before her teaching job was over for summer vacation. Those 4 weeks were some of the best weeks of my life. Uncle Martin was in his early 90s and even though he was still alert, he needed a companion during the day. I would fix his lunch, take him to his doctor appointments & to get his hair cut, help him address his Just A Word publications, etc. Sometimes he would have me go to town to get a treat for us both. I often wonder if he thought he was "babysitting" me...I was there to just chauffeur him around. That summer I noticed a change in my relationship with Uncle Martin. He became "dependent" upon me. On Sunday afternoons, our family usually would go visit the older people we knew. It was a long afternoon for us girls and sometimes we would fall asleep on other people's couches as we were supposed to be listening to their stories. Up to that point whenever we would visit Uncle Martin, he would always look to Mother or Daddy to tell him what we girls had said. They would have to speak a little slower, louder & enunciate each word a little more. After those four weeks, Uncle Martin would look to me to tell him what others had said.
As a young girl I had always thought I would get Uncle Martin to officiate at my wedding. My groom would have to meet Uncle Martin and get his approval. Uncle Martin passed away 4 years before I married but John did know Uncle Martin and has a few memories of him.
I'm thankful the Lord allowed me to be a part of the Perry family and allowed me to have a Grandfather Uncle Martin.
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