Norfolk City Virginia USGenWeb Archives Obituaries.....Martin, Dr. Joel December 10, 1854
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Donna Bluemink http://www.genrecords.net/emailregistry/vols/00034.html#0008395 May 2, 2016, 6:09 pm

Southern Argus, December 17, 1854
DEATH OF DR. MARTIN: We announce in our obituary today the death of Dr. Joel 
Martin, Surgeon U. S. Army. Dr. Martin was a native of this city, and received 
his commission in the army about 30 years ago when he was employed on distant 
services until about two years since, when he was permitted to revisit and 
reside among his family connections and early friends, among whom he was held 
in high esteem for his gentlemanly deportment and many excellent qualities.

DR. JOEL MARTIN, having received a liberal education, chose the medical 
profession, and soon acquired confidence and repute as a skilled physician, 
both in Philadelphia and Norfolk. In early life he visited foreign countries, 
and his dignified person, gentlemanly deportment and surgical knowledge, even 
gained the respect and admiration of the distrustful and observant inhabitants 
of the populous cities of distant China. In 1825 he received his commission as 
Assistant Surgeon in the U. S. Army, and rendered very efficient service at 
various important military posts, assuming, both in war and peace, duties which 
were arduous and complicated; always giving satisfaction to his superior 
officers, and to all concerned. He was in active service in Florida, during the 
perils of dear-bought victories of the Seminole War, was among the Cherokees of 
Tennessee, the Sioux amid the snows and piercing winds of the Northwest, and 
served at important stations in New York, Pennsylvania and Georgia.
His escapes from danger and death were numerous, and in some cases apparently, 
if not really, miraculous, while his self-sacrificing spirit and well-directed 
efforts on such occasions worthy of note. We mention only one instance: being 
onboard the Dolphin when the terrific explosion of her boilers occurred at sea, 
seemingly regardless of his own safety, while others were appalled, he used 
great efforts in behalf of the wounded and the ladies and children. Being in 
the last crowded boat that left the wreck as it settled beneath the rolling 
surges, and discovering a lady still unsaved, by his direction the boat 
returned and he relinquished his seat, thus adding another to the list of the 
saved. After a strange deliverance from a watery grave, he used unwearied 
exertions to resuscitate the exhausted and dying.
He possessed a vigorous and cultivated mind, which was stored with wisdom, 
gained from extensive reading and close observation, prompted by an insatiate 
thirst for knowledge. Those who best knew him can testify to the generous 
impulses of his nature. His attachments were warm and not easily severed; he 
was kindhearted, unselfish and above all a sincere Christian. 

Additional Comments:
Buried in Elmwood Cemetery.

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