Moses Martin b. 24 February 1776 d. 4 March 1857

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Events

24 February 1776 birth: Orange County (Virginia), Virginia

August 1792 marriage count:

23 March 1794 child birth: Jessamine County (Kentucky), USA, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jessamine_County,_Kentucky, ♀ Polly (Mary Ann) Martin [Martin] b. 23 March 1794

4 March 1857 death: Washington County (Indiana), Indiana

Notes

!GENEALOGY-BIRTH-DEATH-MARRIAGE-SPOUSE-BURIAL-BIOGRAPHY: Letter and accompanying notes received from Walter K. Martin his letter dated August 15, 1995 from Pekin, Indiana 47165 and received 8/18/95. On the FGS by Walter K. Martin dated Jan 3, 1986, the following is listed: Recorded by Lennie Martin Berkey (Mrs. James G.) 1930; Updated by Marjorie Ann Martin Souder 1964; Updated by B.C. Holtzclaw Nassau-Seigen Immigrants to Virginia 1714-1750; Germanna Record No. 5, 1964; Updated from cemeterys, Old Bibles and Claude O. Martin's record by Walter K. Martin April 16, 1988. BURIAL: at Mt. Hebron Cemetery, Washington Co., Indiana; BIOGRAPHY: "Moses Martin's son John wrote the following letter which was published in Volume 1, May 1857 issue of the Christian Record edited by James M. Mathes. Washington Co., Ind. March 12, 1857

Brother Mathes: My only earthly parent is no more! My dear father Moses, Martin fell asleep in Jesus, on the first Lord's day in March 1857. His sufferings were severe till about 12 hours before he died, during which time, he seemed to be passing into a quiet slumber. From which he awoke no more. But from which the Lord shall awake him on the resurrection morn, to enter upon the enjoyment of the rich inheritance of heaven where our God shall wipe away all tears from his eyes. Few men live as long upon the earth as he did. He was born Feb 24, 1766, and died March 1st 1857, making him 91 years and 8 days old. Fewer still enjoy the blessings of the christian religion for so long a time as he did. About 70 years ago, he put on Christ, in the institution of Christian immersion. About this time he came from Virginia to Kentucky and left the "regular Baptists," and united with the "Emancipation Baptists" in the fellowship of which church he lived till 1817, when he emigrated to Indiana. About this time he embrased the principles of the current reformation, and was one of the first who was sacrificed by the Baptist Assocation. He then united with the Christian Church, and in its fellowship he lived and died. I rejoice that he could say with the apostle, "I have fought the good fight, I have kept the faith," and a crown is reserved for him. Your brother in hope, John Martin."

According to this letter, Moses came to Kentucky about 1787. This is a couple years earlier than his father Peter Martin is thought to have arrived in Kentucky. I was told many years ago by Martin Martin Kay that moses was the first of the family to move to Kentucky. On the other hand, 1787 is :about" 1789 and we are fairly sure 1789 is when Peter and most of his children made the move. What's a couple of years one way or the other. Moses married into a well-known family in Jessamine County, Kentucky. Later he is found in Woodford County and finally in Shelby County. These three Kentucky counties lie on an east-west line and his movement is steadily westward. He and Sarah were evidentally well-to-do as these three county courthouses abound in records of sales of land. In various versions the story is told that Moses, at some time became an abolitionish, freed his slaves, and freed Sarah's also but without asking her permission. This angered her so that they separated and did not live together for a while. They eventually got together and finsihed out their days in Indiana. Old Hebron Cemeteery, where they lie, buried in the Dutch custom in order of death rather than in family groups. Therefore, Moses and Sally (so reads her tomstone) do not lie together which may be symbolic as they did not always live together. This "scandal" was not talked about among the family. When one member became quite ill and began rambling about Moses and Sally's separation, all the others present hurried to imply that she was out of her head and didn't now what she was talking about. "Aunt Jane Baker," a neighborhood practical nurse, later told my Aunt Edna that "She did too know what she was talking about." I have no quarrel with Sally standing up for her rights of property, but it was unusal for that day. Sarah "Sally" Singleton Martin must have been an unusual woman, accustomed to buying and selling on her own. I found a deed in the Washington County Courthouse where she alone, Moses is not mentioned, sold a farm near here to her son Mason S. Martin. When I told my syster-in-law about Moses freeing Sarah's slaves without her permission, I said, "Doesn't that sound just like something a Martin would do?" She replied that it sure did, and what's more, in her opinion, the characteristic hadn't weakened a bit down through the generations. I'm afraid she may have a point there. We don't know exactly when Moses became an abolitionist. From the above letter we see he was a member of the Emanicpation Baptists. I don't know if this means that this group of Baptists favored abolition of slavery or, more likely, this group of Baptists favored freedom to interpret the Scriptures independetly. We do know historically that the restoration movement that swept through Kentucky in the early 1800's did contain groups that favored the abolition of slavery. Since he was dismissed from the Baptist Association about 1817, I suspect this was about the time he also became an abolitionist. I can say with certainty that it was between 1813 when he purchased a slave and 1822 when he freed the same slave. Note the following set of manumission papers from Deed Book S-1, page 475, in the Shelby County Courthouse, Shelbyville, Kentucky. This Indenture made this 7th day of December 1822 between Moses Martin of Selby County and State of Kentucky of the one part and Richard Woods a Man of Colour & now my slave of the other part Witnesseth that the said Moses Martin, having purchased the said Richard as a slave about the 25th day of December 1813 of Edward Woods for the Sum of $450. and the said Richard having been a Good honest faihtful slave and the said Moses deeming it unjust, Oppresive and Contrary to the Laws of God and the Spirit of the Laws of the Commonwealth, to hold any of the human family of Salvery for an in consideration of the Services aforesaid, and in pursuance of that principal heretofore described inimical to Slavery, the said Moses Martin doth bereby release, Manumit Set the said Richard Woods free and the said Richard being about 25 years of age about 5 feet 8 inches high a dark mulatto, and the said Moses Martin hereby Grants sets Over Manumits and declares the said Richard Woods to be entitled to all the rights and privledges of a free man as fully as he is authorized by law to enjoy the Same In Testimony whereof the said Moses Martin hath hereto set his hand Seal the date first above written. Shelby County Lct. Moses Martin (seal)" December Court 1822. This deed on manumision was acknowledged in Open Court by Moses Martin to be his act and deed and Ordered to be recorded. Ja. L. Whitaker, Cklg."

From the above document, we can see that Moses was still refered to as "of Shelby County" in 1822 even though he first emigrated to Indiana in 1817. He must have been back and forth settling his business. In 1819 he and Sally began selling their Kentucky property. In 1825, he first purchased land in Washington County, Indiana. Deed book D, page 16, dated 11 Nov 1825 shows Moses buying the NW quarter of Section 13, Township 1 North, Range 4 East. This farm adjoins on the south the farm where I now live and is owned today by my mother-in-law. Later Moses cleared and cultivated a large farm west of Salem. The county histories [!BIOGRAPHY: Goodspeed, HISTORY OF WASHINGTON COUNTY, INDIANA, a reproduction of a portion of the original "History of Lawrence, Orange and Washington Countries 1884" (Paoli, Indiana: Stout's Print Shop, 1965) p. 691] and [!BIOGRAPHY: Warder W. Stevens, CENTENNIAL HISTORY OF WASHINGTON COUNTY, INDIANA Indianapolis: B.F. Bowen and Company, Inc. 1916). Page: 604] say that Moses Martin owned a horse-mill in Martinsburg after 1819. One lists him as holding the office of Washington County Surveyor. Our son Jeffrey Dawson Souder, a Registered Land Surveyor, today holds the office held by his great great, great, grandfather Moses Martin from 1830-1837. Shortly after Jeff took office but long enough for him to have dug around among the dusty tomes in the vault, he came home one day and said. "Mother, guess who kept Book I in the Washington County Surveyor's Office, MOSES MARTIN!" Howard Martin's family in Kirkland, Washington, has an old surveying instrument known to thav ebeen used by Oscar Martin, grandson of Moses. Howard brought the instrumnet with him on eyear when he came in for a Martin reunion and I took Jeff's picture with it. Jeffrey sas it is of the correct vintage to have been the one used by Moses. He has the picture hanging in the County Surveyor's Office at the Courthouse today. In his later years, Moses fell, striking his head on the steps of the Mill Creek Church house. Afterward he thought he was two separate people and insisted on two plates being set before him at the table. Other than this, he survived in fairly good health to a ripe old age." A copy of the Moses Martin Bible record is in Martin File #2 at the Kentucky Historical Society in Frankfort, Kentucky.

!BURIAL: Washington County Historical Society, Washington County, Indiana Township Cemetery Books. (Salem, IN: Twelve Volumes, 1980-1989). Washington Township, p. 127

!GENEALOGY-BIRTH-SPOUSE: William A. Martin, A MARTIN GENEALOGY - TIED TO THE HISTORY OF GERMANNA, VIRGINIA, Heritage Books, Inc. 1540 E. Pointer Ridge Place, Bowie, MD 20716 (c) 1995 (published) 1995. p. 107

!BIRTH-DEATH: Information was received from "Beth Martin" via E-Mail: <bmartin@intrq.com> Dated: Mon, 18 Feb 2002 17:06:59 -0700. She sent a image from the book, "Washington County, Indiana Obituaries". See page 142, 157. This Obiturary claims to be reporting from the "History of Washington County Indiana 1916-1976 from February 1857. It cites that Moses Martin was born February 24, 1766 and died February 28, 1857 (this death date is not correct). It goes on to cite Sarah Singleton as being Septber 15, 1777 to August 8, 1845 which is different from what we have too.

http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=tsmith&id=I30352

[edit] Sources

1. ↑ rootsweb - http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=kyleyclark&id=I00112 http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=gwt1&id=I7748
2. ↑ http://souder.familytreeguide.com/getperson.php?personID=I71&tree=T1&PHPSESSID=e8180c20d52913b263eb2ce6ac9651ff -

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