Family Group Sheets:
When I was a teenager, my paternal grandmother pulled me aside and gave me several sheets of handwritten notes about the Martin family. This began my long journey to find my ancestors. Unfortunately, although this is the first family I researched I have learned very little about them over the last decade or so. John Martin, Sr. was an immigrant from Ireland. Nanny, my grandmother, told me a story about his journey over with two brothers. One brother settled in SC, I think, and the other went West. I have been unable to find any record of John's trip over, however, possibly because "John Martin" was a very common name back then. In fact, John's marriage record is the first record I have for him.
My Martins are unrelated to the other Martin family which was in Rabun Co., GA at the time. They are primarily the descendants of Andrew Jackson Martin (also called John), who was the son of James Martin. Some of my information on that Martin family comes from the work of Dr. Andrew Jackson Ritchie, whose mother was a daughter of this John Martin.
On a recent trip to visit the grave of my Irish ancestor John Martin, Sr. (buried at Mountain Grove Baptist Church Cemetery in the Germany Community of Clayton), I found that someone had placed a stone over "my" John's grave in memory of Andrew J. Martin, son of Andrew Jackson Martin, who died during the War Between the States. Whoever did this apparently did not realize that a) Andrew J. the younger already has a stone at the Head of Tennessee Baptist Church Cemetery in Dillard; b) that the graves at Mountain Grove belonged to an entirely different family of Martins; and c) that the two families never lived anywhere near one another. I realize how easy it could be to mix these families up; however, as long as that stone remains on the wrong grave, a great disservice is being committed to the memories of both these men. If anyone has any information whatsoever on who might have placed the marker in question, please contact me so that this matter can be resolved.
Sources:
© 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007 D&C Research Group
