Who is Henry and Lucy Starkey from Drowning Ruth and what is their importance?

Henry and Lucy Starkey are Amanda Starkey and Mathilda Starkey Neumann's parents and Ruth's grandparents, the Starkeys also have a son, Randolph, who dies of diphtheria between the sisters' births. They do not approve of Amanda's first beau and pack her off to relatives to get over him and do not approve of Mathilda's choice of a husband, but insist that they marry to avoid scandal. They also pack Amanda off to nursing school to be prepared to deal with the aftermath of Lucy's stroke, suffered weeks after Mathilda and Carl meet. Since her father is a Union Army captain, Lucy believes that her daughter rates better than a butcher.