Family History: The Martin Family of Charles Co. Md. ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/md/mdfiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use by: Kathleen Martin Brown, kbrown@mmri.org Written: May 7, 2007 The Martin Family of Charles Co. Md., Preston Co. W.Va. and Baltimore Md. The progenitors of this Martin Family of Charles Co. MD were English with some members possibly from Cornwall. Michael Martin was born in England in 1665 and was transported to Maryland in 1680 (Gus Skordas, The Early Settlers of MD 1638-1680, 1968). His will was recorded on 8/26/1721 in Charles Co. In it he mentions his son, John Martin Sr., and his grandchildren John Jr., Henry, Michael, Sarah, and Elizabeth. Elizabeth married Notley Maddox (b.1714-d. 1786), a great-grandson of Cornelius Maddox. John Martin Sr., son of Michael Martin, was born in Charles Co, MD on 3/15/1691. His birth is recorded in the records of Charles Co. (Births Marriages and Deaths in Charles Co., 1654-1726). No will has been located. John Martin Jr. was born in Charles Co. MD in 1716. His wife, Elizabeth, was born in Cornwall, England about 1720. They were married in Cornwall about 1740, possibly at St. Keverne (Col. Fred A. Morely, LDS Website; Cornwall Family History Society, 2000). They had two children in Charles Co.: Allen b.1767 and Sally b.1765. The family lived on the south side of Holly Branch at "Owen's Purchase" which John Jr. had inherited from his father. They also owned 37 acres called "Nonesuch" bounded on one side by Zachia Swamp. John's brother, Henry, owned the other half of "Nonesuch". John Martin Jr.'s Will was probated on 7/4/1776. (MD Archives, Prerogative Court Will 41, p.41-2) In it he mentions his son Allen, daughter Sally, and wife Elizabeth. His wife refused to abide by the terms of her husband's Will and instead took the third of the estate that she was entitled to under MD law. (Lee, Jean B. The Price of Nationhood: The American Revolution in Charles Co., 1994.) Allen Martin, son of John Martin Jr., married Athelia Maddox (b.1771 in Charles Co.) the daughter of Ignatius Maddox (b.abt 1731 in Charles Co. –d. 1/19/1777 in Charles Co. (Will MD Archives Liber 41 Folio 282 ) and Sarah Gray (b.abt 1730). Their children were born in Charles Co.: Horatio b.1789, Aquila b.1798, Sam G. b.1799, Luther, Turner D. b.1793, John Albert and Athelia Sarah. In 1790 (U.S. Census) the family lived near Port Tobacco in Durham Parish with three children and five slaves. In 1791 Allen contributed to Old Durham Church near Ironsides and on 12/17/1798 received permission from the Old Durham Vestry Council to teach school in their glebe house (Painter, Wm. T., 1894). He was a tobacco planter and left Charles Co. around 1800 probably because of the economic depression that followed the Revolutionary War (Lee, Jean B., 1994). After settling in Preston Co.VA, Allen and Athelia ran the celebrated Reeder Tavern on the Winchester-Morgantown Rd. from 1806-1809 (Wiley, S.T., The History of Preston Co.WV, 1882). Allen died in 1817 in Monongalia Co.VA. He and Athelia are buried at Bend of the River near Little Falls (Oren Morton, History of Preston Co.WV, 1914.) His Will was recorded in Monongalia Co. VA, Will Book 1, p.359. At least three of the sons of Allen and Athelia married and had children. Horatio Martin married Margaret S. Miles (b.1806 Greenbrier Co., VA d.- 4/9/1896 Monongalia Co. VA) Their children were: Joseph M., Anne A.C., William A., Sarah J., Elizabeth Jane, John A.B., Samuel Z.T. and Martha M. Turner Dunnington Martin married Amelia Hill (b.1806 Hagerstown MD). Their children were: Athelia, Franklin, John Wesley, Samuel and Mary A. Aquila Martin married Mary Byrne Fairfax in 1798, the daughter of Col. John Fairfax (b. Charles Co. 12/10/1762 –d.12/25/1843 Preston Co. VA). Aquila and Mary had three children: Sophia A. b.Aug 1828, Alcinda b.2/10/1826, and John Allen Fairfax Martin b. 4/22/1822. Alcinda married William Carder (son of Isaac Carder) and died young. John became Col. of the 148th VA Militia during the Civil War and was a member of the VA Legislature in 1853, 1855 and 1881. Sophia A. married and had six sons. Mary Byrne Fairfax died 4/17/1832 and is buried in the Fairfax Cemetery in Arthurdale, WV (unmarked). Aquila remarried Hulda Miles and had four more children: Emaline, Julia, Eliza, and Luther. Of this last family, only Emaline survived her father. She married Daniel Breakiron of Preston Co. and had at least one son, David. In 1880 (U.S. Census Preston Co.) Aquila was living with his son John whose wife, Susan L. Fairfax, had died in 1854 and his daughter Sophia's sons: Marcellus Martin, Oliver Harrison Martin, and Andrew Jackson Martin. Also in the household were Olivia and Martha L. Fairfax. Aquila's Will is recorded in Monongalia Co. WV in Will Book 4 p.2, 1/31/1881. He made a Codicil in 1886 at age 88. Sophia A. Martin, daughter of Aquila Martin, was living in her father's house in Preston Co. in 1850(U.S. Census). Before 1860 she married Hiram Martin. In 1860 (U.S.Census) she was living in the household of Lemon and Martha Tucker in Taylor Co. with her oldest son, Marcellus. Hiram disappeared around 1863 after the birth of two more sons, Oliver Harrison Martin and Andrew Jackson Martin. Sophia remarried William Carder (son of Jacob Carder) on 5/10/1868 in Harrison Co. WV and had two more sons. Sometime after 1870 Sophia Martin Carder became ill and was visited by her brother, John A.F. Martin, who took her three oldest sons to live with him. Two of the sons of Sophia and Hiram Martin married and had children in Preston Co.WV. Marcellus Martin (b.8/11/1856- d.10/12/1918) married Adaline Synder (b. 8/11/1856 –d.10/12/1918) on 11/30/1881. Their children were: Earl W., Martha Ray and Nettie Gay. Earl W. went to Prescott, AK and died there. He had two daughters: Gene and Virginia Lee. Martha Ray lived in Shreveport LA. Oliver Harrison Martin was b. 7/6/1861 in Preston Co. WV. He married Lulu Ellen Turner 5/30/1903 in Preston Co. She was the daughter of George Washington Turner (b. 7/17/1885 Preston Co.) and Mary Ellen Demoss (b.11/17/1860 Preston Co.). They had six children in Preston Co.: George Playford b. 4/10/1904, Russell Andrew b.7/14/1906, Theodore Ollen b.2/9/1909, Denzel Dale b. 1/17/1914, Goldie Alcinda b.1915, and Junior D. The two youngest children died young. Oliver Harrison Martin was a farmer and coal miner. His wife died of TB in 1920. He died in 1923 of a heart attack while hauling pit posts from a wood on his farm. They are both buried at Gordon Church south of Arthurdale WV. In the late 1920's their four oldest sons came to Maryland and settled in Baltimore. They found work in the factories and businesses of East Baltimore and raised families in the Overlea neighborhood of the city. George Playford and Denzel Dale served in the U.S. Army during WWII. Denzel flew 35 missions over Germany in a B-17 bomber as a Technical Sergeant and top turret gunner in the 390th Bomber Group, 571st Squad of the 8th Air Force.