Capt. Joseph Martin, Sr., of Albemarle County

Joseph Martin, Sr.

• Gender: Male
• Birth: between 1700 and 1712 - “of” Bristol in Gloucestershire, England
• Death: between December 03, 1760 (will written) and January 04, 1762 (will proved) - Fredericksville Parish, Charlottesville, Albemarle County, Virginia, British Colonial America
• Parents: unknown (perhaps George Martin; William is disproved)
• Husband of Susannah Chiles — married about 1733 [location unknown]
• Husband of Ann Pulliam — married 28 Jun 1754 in Spotsylvania County, Virginia, British Colonial America

Origins

• not a known son of William Martin, merchant of Bristol & Ann Martin
• not a known son of William Martin
• not a known son of Abraham Martin
• perhaps the son of George Martin the elder, of St. Philip and Jacob, Gloucestershire, who died 1737.

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Biography

Retrieved from https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Martin-4368 on 4 May 2023, and then edited.

Joseph Martin, believed by some to be the youngest child of William Martin of Bristol, England, is our ancestor, progenitor and emigrant. Joseph was probably born about 1700 in England. His parents have not been documented.

Researcher and descendant Joe Martin has located the 1736 will of a George Martin, merchant of Bristol, < image attached>, which names a son Joseph in Virgina. (document attached).

Joseph sailed to Virginia from Bristol, England on the “Brice” in 1725. [1]

According to a family story the father, named William Martin, was dissatisfied with Joseph's engagement and intended marriage. William felt that Joseph was preparing to marry below the family's social class. Therefore, William decided to send his son Joseph to the New World on one of his ships so that the romance would cool down and hopefully dissolve. Joseph did what his father asked. He sailed to the colonies landing in Virginia. Joseph seems to have been given to "tender passion" for soon after his arrival in Virginia he fell in love with and married Susannah Chiles of King William County, Virginia. [2] The story continues that Joseph's father eventually heard of his marriage to Susannah Chiles and became so outraged that he disinherited him (the English aristocracy considered the colonists as inferior). Needless to say, Joseph did not return to England to negotiate with his father. [3] There is no actual evidence for this romantic story, although Joseph did marry Susannah, descendant of two prominent Virginia families, about 1732. They named one son "Brice," another "William," and a third George.

Joseph Martin, Sr. purchased land in Louisa County, Virginia, in 1732,[4] but records show he was still living in Caroline County at least through 1737. [5] By 1740 they had moved to Louisa County (land located in Albemarle County by the time of Joseph's death). [6]

Deeds refer to Joseph as ‘Captain,’ but no record of military service has been found.

Joseph Martin and his first wife Susannah Chiles were the parents of at least eleven children. Susannah died about 1754, and Joseph then married widow Ann Pulliam Sandige. [7]

In his will, written in 1760, Joseph left hundreds of acres of land and named wife Ann, sons Brice, William, Joseph, John, and George, and daughters Sarah, Mary, Susannah, Martha, Ann, and Olive. [8] His will, dated Dec. 3, 1760 was probated January 14, 1762. [9]

It was was said that he was a genuine Englishman, possessing characteristics of arrogance and self-importance. He was bold, self-willed, full of pride and had the highest sense of honor.

Events:

1724: Emigration, Bristol to Virginia aboard the ship "Brice."
1729: Residence, Caroline County
1736?: Marriage, probably in King William County, to Susannah Chiles.
1740: Residence, Louisa County (land located in Albemarle County by the time of Joseph's death)
1742: Birth of son Joseph Martin Jr.
1754: Marriage, Virginia, to Ann Pulliam Sandage
1762: Death, Albemarle, Virginia.
1762: Will proven, Albemarle, Virginia.

Family

Joseph Martin, Sr. married twice.

1. 1733 in Virginia to Susannah Chiles. ( b est 1715- d: Bef 28 Jun 1754). She was the daughter of John Chiles Gent. and Eleanor. 11 children.
2. Ann Pulliam, widow of William Sandidge, daughter of William Pulliam and Sarah Patterson. No children.

Joseph and Susannah Chiles Martin had eleven (11) children [10]:

1. George Martin b ca 1733 [11]. Married 1) unknown 2) Mary Durrett
2. Sarah b ca 1735. Married Thomas Burrus [12]
3. Brice Martin b ca 1737 - before 1753. Married 1) Unity Barksdale 2) Rachel Lucas
4. William Martin b ca 1738. Married Rachel Dalton.
5. Joseph Martin, Jr. b September 18, 1740. Married 1st Sara Lucas ca 1762 and 2nd Susannah Graves ca 1784. He also fathered children with Cherokee woman Betsy Ward.
6. Mary “Polly” Martin b ca 1742. Married John Hammack.
7. Susannah Martin b ca 1744. NOT the wife of Henry Woody.
8. Martha Martin, b 20 Jan 1746. Married Pomfret Walter.
9. Ann Martin b ca 1751.
10. John “Jack” Martin b ca 1752, married Cherokee women, sisters Mary and Susannah Emory. [Note: Emmet Starr incorrectly reported that Joseph was the father of John's children.]
11. Olive Martin b ca 1754. Married Ambrose Edwards.

Note: Children’s dates are unconfirmed.

Will summary

The following Information was taken from the Albemarle County Will Book 2 Page 112. December 3, 1760 January 14, 1762

Will of Joseph Martin of Albemarle County, Virginia

• To my present wife, Ann Martin, Negro man Ben, Negro woman Lou and girl Temp, during her natural life and no longer, the said girl Temp to be at her disposal forever. I give all of the tract of land I live on to my wife Ann Martin during her natural life and no longer, and at my wife's decease,
• I give and bequeath unto my son Brice Martin part of the said tract of land to be divided and beginning at the mouth of Stony Creek, and to the back lines and down to the river. Brice to have Manor Plantation, and the rest to son William Martin.
• Son Joseph Martin 300 Acres. Son John 300 Acres. I give my son, Joseph all my rights and title to my land along Goose Creek on the branch of the Pertomich River (Potomic) I have in partnership with Col. Francis Warner living in Essex County.
• I give and bequeath to my son John Martin three hundred acres of land lying and being on Piny run near Buck mountain to him and his heirs for ever
• To my daughter Susannah Martin, 200 Acres on Rocky Creek, and if she die without heir to Susannah Chiles Hammack, daughter of John Hammack and Mary Hammack his wife. To my daughter Susannah Martin, Negro girl and choice of featherbeds and furniture. Also her choice of 200 Acres of land in the tract mentioned before.
• To my daughter Mary Hammack, Negro girl Parthenia, and second choice of featherbeds and furniture.
• To my Daughter Ann Martin, Negro girl Vellah, to her and her heirs forever.
• To my Daughter Olive Martin, Negro fellow Ben and Negro Will.
• All the rest of my estate to be divided between, Sarah Burrus, Mary Hammack, Susannah Martin, Ann Martin and Olive Martin. Son George Martin 8 pounds current money.
• Executors: Isaac Davis, Thomas Burrus

Notes

Louisa County VA Land Records Book: A, Page: 159, Grantor: Michael Holland, Grantee: Joseph Martin, Date: 12-Nov-1744 Michael Holland of St. Paul's Par., Hanover co. Gent., to Joseph Martin of Fredericksville Par., Louisa Co. £12 for 400 acres in Fredericksville Par on west side of the Little Mountains beginning at Timothy Dalton Junrs. corner; granted by patent 5 Dec 1740.

Capt. Martin arrived in Albemarle County in 1745, one of the original patentees. He settled on a 2,200-acre land grant nearby neighbors Dr. Thomas Walker, Peter Jefferson, James Madison, and the Lewis and Clark clans—all connections that would be useful to his rambunctious son.

According to family records, Joseph and Susanna settled in Albemarle County, Virginia and had a total of nine [sic: 11] children before Susanna passed away around 1750.

Joseph re-married on June 28, l754 to Ann Sandage. Ann was the widow since 1747 of William Sandage of Spotsylvania County. At the time Joseph was a resident of Louisa County. Louisa County records reflect Joseph married to Ann from 1754 onward.

Research Notes

What is the record for title of “Captain?” No known military record.

He is referred to as “Gent.” 1755 deeds in Spotsylvania County.

There is no documentation for a middle name of ‘Lynch’- this is likely a mistake from genealogists who confused him with his great grandson, Joseph Lynch Martin.

William Martin has been disproved as a father.

The following is from Martin family descendant/researcher Col. Joe Martin, who travelled to Bristol, England in July, 2014, to search for information confirming Joseph Martin’s parentage and birth.

“We did find a William Martin in Bristol, in fact several of them; one was listed in a newspaper article as dying at his home on Orchard Street on 4 Feb. 1765. No additional information was listed in this newspaper article. We found a rich, prominent William Martin who was the High Sheriff and Lord Mayor of Bristol in 1757, member of the Merchants Corporation and Alderman at the time of his death. However, we could not find a “will” in the Bristol Civic Archive Records but did find a “recorded and approved will” dated 20 Mar. 1765, in the Canterbury Archives Records office. This is where a “Will” would have been approved for someone who had multiple properties; all these multiple property “wills” had to be approved by the Canterbury Archives Record Office at this time. However, this “will” did not mention “where he died or when he died”. I’ve communicated with this archives office and two different researchers who work there and they have searched their records and no other information was found concerning this approved “will” for this William Martin. In this “will” he mentions, his brother Thomas, two sisters, nieces and several other relatives, but no children were mentioned. He also mentions a wife, Sarah, who he leaves a home to her located on Castle Street, which is only a few blocks from the Orchard Street home. The newspaper article said “a William Martin had died on 4 Feb. 1765 at his home on Orchard Street. This is puzzling for me. We searched all 16 parish records in Bristol for a Joseph Martin, birth or baptismal record, none were found. Therefore, we have nothing to tie Joseph Martin to this William Martin or any of the other William Martins found. I feel confident; this William Martin, whose “will” was approved by the Canterbury Records Office on 20 Mar., 1765 is the same person who is buried in the Lord Mayors Chapel in Bristol. His granddaughter, Sarah Reed Rydell is also buried with him in the church vault. This is proven by a plaque located on the wall of the church. We searched all the other archives in Bristol, including records at the Library, merchant seaman’s records, shipping records, and the old 1750’s city council office records. No records were found to establish that William Martin was the father of our Joseph Martin, the c. 1725 immigrant to America.”

Traditional

Please note that William Martin seems to have been disproved as father of this Joseph Lynch, and the “lost inheritance” story may very well be apocryphal.

MARTIN FAMILY HISTORY :

History on the Martin's dates back to 316 AD where they preached Christianity to France. They departed and left for England in the first sea-worthy vessel that hauled horses as cargo for battle. There they participated in the battle of Hastings in 1066, and traveled with William the Conquerer. Early ancestors were from northern France and Martin de Tours was from Pembroke County, England and had a sister who married Calfulnius Presbyter Britannus. Their son was the famous St. Patrick of Ireland. In 1208 AD the son of William Martin, Sir William Martin, (great-grandson of Martin de Tours) married the Princess of South Wales. William Martin was born at Pembroke Castle in Wales. In the middle 1600’s William Martin lived at the Manor of Pindergast in England and entered the mercantile business in Bristol, the second largest city in Great Britain at the time. William Martin had his own fleet of ships in the seaport of Bristol England.

Joseph Martin was born in Bristol, England and was the youngest son of William Martin. Joseph was trained by his father in the merchant shipping business and was part of a very prosperous business.

About 1724, when Joseph became of age for romance, he fell in love with a young lady the family did not favor. To avoid any problems, his father outfitted a sailing ship named "Brice" and put aboard his son Joseph as "Supercargo". (n.b. The name "Brice" later became a family name.). ... “The Brice” [was bound for] Virginia [with Joseph] in charge of a load of goods for a trading expedition. “The Brice” made several trips to Barbados, but was eventually stolen. Joseph collected compensation money for the ship and purchased estates in Charlottesville, VA.

When Joseph settled down in Colonial Virginia he fell in love with a local Plantation owners daughter by the name of Susanna Chiles and they were married soon after. When word of his marriage arrived in England, hisfather was so enraged that he would marry below his stature that disinherited his son and cut him from his will.

Family history reflects that after both Joseph and his father William had passed away, the family members in England offered to share in the family estate. Joseph, the third son of Joseph booked passage on a sailing ship to England to conclude the inheritance offering however missed the ship sail date and thus never made it to England. After this misfortune no further attempt was made to share in the Family fortune.

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References

• Caroline County was established in the British Colony of Virginia in 1727 from parts of Essex, King and Queen, and King William counties.
• The County of Louisa, Virginia was formed in 1742 and was created out of Hanover County, Virginia. The county is named for Princess Louise of Great Britain, the youngest daughter of King George II, and wife of King Frederick V of Denmark.
• Albemarle County, formed in 1744 from Goochland, had its basic road network laid down between 1725 and 1750.
• baptism seen as 12/22/1701 at Westminster without references - removed
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Martin_%28general%29 (may have errors), cites
  • 1. The Martin family of Virginia claims descent from the Martins of Withy Bush House, Prendergast, Pembrokeshire, Wales.[2]
    • 2. Withington, Lothrop (1980). Virginia Gleanings in England: Abstracts of 17th and 18th-century English Wills and Administrations Relating to Virginia and Virginians : A Consolidation of Articles from the Virginia Magazine of History and Biography. ISBN 9780806308692. < GoogleBooks >
  • 2. The family name was pronounced MAR-TEEN in England, but the family's origins are likely Cambro-Norman.[3][4]
  • 3. Although Joseph Martin inherited from his father over 300 acres of land as well as a half-interest in a plantation on a tributary of the Potomac River that Joseph Martin Sr. held jointly with Col. Francis Warner of Essex County, the son elected to dress in buckskin and spend his time inland on the frontier.[11]
• Stephen B. Weeks, "General Joseph Martin and the Revolution in the West." Pages 401-477 in The Miscellaneous Documents of the Senate of the United States for . the Second Session of the Fifty-Third Congress 1893-94, in twelve volumes, Vol. 4, No. 104, Annual Report of the American Historical Association for the Year 1893. < PDF > Page 409-410 (document attached)
• John Reed, "Reminiscences of Western Virginia, 1770-1790" (and of Joseph Martin), in Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, Vols. 6 and 7, 1899, 1900. Also Publications of the Southern Historical Association, Vol. 7, 1903.
• William Martin, "A Biographical Sketch of General Joseph Martin" (father of William Martin), published in the Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. 8, 1901.
• http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=6095545 may have errors
• Source: "Ancestral File v4.19," database, FamilySearch (http://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.2.1/MZSD-PD2 : accessed 12 August 2012), entry for Joseph MARTIN. (Obsolete)
• http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~mysouthernfamily/myff/d000...
• http://www.small-stuff.com/MARTIN/DNA/tree23.htm (dead link)
• GENERAL JOSEPH MARTIN, OF VIRGINIA: AN UNSUNG HERO OF THE VIRGINIA FRONTIER. BY DR. WILLIAM ALLEN PUSEY Chicago, Illinois. Read before The Filson Club, February 3, 1936., < PDF >
• https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Martin-4368 cites

1. Coldham, Peter Wilson. Complete Book of Emigrants 1700-1750 Genealogical Publishing Co., Baltimore, MD. p. 347. "21 Oct - 9 Nov Shippers by the Brice, Mr Joseph Martin, bound from Bristol .Virginia; Thomas Chamberlayne, Thomas Martin & Co. William Curnock."
2. Land records place her parents in St. Margaret’s Parish in King William County. “Chiles Family.” The William and Mary Quarterly Vol. 8, No. 2 (Oct., 1899), pp. 105-106 Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1915909
3. A Biographical Sketch of General Joseph Martin. The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography , Vol. 8, No. 4 (Apr., 1901), pp. 347-359 Published by: Virginia Historical Society Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/4242374
4. 3 November 1732, Davis, Rosalie E, Louisa Co., Virginia Deed Books A & B 1742-1759.
5. Juror, 1737. Dorman, Frederick, transcriber. Caroline County Virginia Order Book, 1732-1740. 1971.
6. County Court, Louisa County, Deed books, 1742-1865; general indexes to deeds, 1742-1872, 1969-1978, Deed book, v. A, 1742-1754 -- Deed book, v. B, 1754-1759; digital images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CS42-43Q3-Y?i=90&c...), images 91-92. Grantor: Michael Holland, Grantee: Joseph Martin, Date: 12 Nov 1744.
7. Marriage bond Joseph Martin to Ann Sandige. Virginia County Records - Spotsylvania County, 1721-1800, Volume I, Book E, transcript Ed. William Armstrong Crozier
8. Albemarle County Will Book 2, page 112. Image of will here < FamilySearch >
9. Will, see reference above
10. Woods, Edgar. The History of Albemarle County. The Michie Co., Charlottesville, VA, 1901. p. 263
11. Joseph Martin gave 130 acres of land to George in July, 1754, suggesting that George was now 21. Deed, Louisa County, Virginia, Deed Book B, p. 10 image at deed
12. Joseph Martin sold 350 acres of land to Thomas Burrus for L40 in 1758. Deed, Louisa County, Virginia, Deed Book B, p. 269, image at Burrus deed
13. Albemarle County, Virginia Will Book No. 2 with Inventories & Accounts 1752-1785, pages 112, 113 & 114; https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-89P7-97CR

• < “Stray Leaves” >
• https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/60955458
• https://www.colonial-settlers-md-va.us/getperson.php?personID=I1132... (document attached) cites
  • [S80] Genealogies of Virginia Families Vol. III, from Tyler's Quarterly Historical and Genealogical Magazine, 245
• “General Joseph Martin Biography” (2021). The Martinsville-Henry County Historical Society < link >
• “Transcript of Will of George MARTIN the Elder of St. Philip and Jacob, Gloucestershire, dated 28th February 1735/6, proved PCC 1st September 1737.” (document attached); < Wikitree image >. “Images of will transcript in possession of Joseph Martin, descendant. This page specifically mentions son Joseph in Virginia”
• https://www.familytreedna.com/public/martin?iframe=yresults Y-line descendants of Joseph Martin are part of the FTDNA Martin group, Haplogroup is R-M269. They are Group 23 on the project results page.

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• Reference: MyHeritage Family Trees - SmartCopy: Jan 12 2024, 23:27:06 UTC