Father of My Father - James Edward “Ed” Martin, His Male Ancestors and Their Wives

James Edward “Ed” Martin is the patriarch of the clan that celebrates with the annual Martin Reunion the first Sunday in August in Carroll County, GA. He is literally my father’s father’s father. I never knew my great grandfather except through my genealogy research and interaction with his family. But I would love to learn more and hope you will contact me with additional information.

Thanks to long years of research of many others before me, we know about the beginnings of our Martin line. DNA testing suggests Asian origins due to a rare C3 haplogroup. This is consistent with the troops of Attila the Hun who swept the area later known as the Hunsruck Region of Germany where the villages of our early ancestors are located.

Hans or Johann Martin (1588-1654) and wife Maria Leinweber (about 1589-?) had five children die on the same day, 8 Aug 1625 from unknown cause. They were Peter, Martha, Elisabeth, Johannes and either Margreth or Ottilia Margreth. The other children were born after 1625.

Daniel Martin (1626-1679) was a shoemaker in the village of Lauterecken, Pfalz, Bavaria, Germany where he was christened and died. Maria Elisabeth Trautmann (1629-1665 or 1694) was his wife.

Hans Caspar Martin, a shoemaker (1660-1748) and wife Anna Sara Huel (1660-1710) had 8 children. 4 of the 5 boys had Johann as the first name, one girl had Johanna as a first name and the other 2 girls had Maria for their first name. It was common to give the first name of a saint and call the child by the second or middle name.

Johann Valentin Martin (1694-1743 or 1744) was a butcher. The exact date of his death in Herrstein, Germany is unknown. It is said the he died before the marriage of son John Nicholas Martin but that has not been verified. His wife was Anna Elizabeth Schuettenhelm (1699-? ).

John Nicholas Martin (1724-1795)our immigrant father, arrived at Philadelphia on the ship Barclay on 14 September 1754 with his wife Ann Catherine Schmidt (1722-1800) and 2 or 3 children. He was a Lutheran minister and apparently educated because he signed his name on the ship's registry. He was born in Herrstein, Koblenz, Rhineland, Prussia also known as Oldenburg, Herrstein, Germany depending on the time period referenced.

Pastor Martin was self taught and ordained as a minister by the Salzburgers in Georgia. He became the 4th minister at St. John’s Lutheran in Charleston, SC and preached at the dedication of the church building in 1764. A building on the same site remains in use today with an active congregation. He served 3 different times at St John’s and is buried in the churchyard. Pastor Martin gave his sermons in German since he (and his wife) never learned English. He supported his new country by preaching against England and even burned his homestead twice by 1780 to keep it out of the hands of the British, making him a patriot of the American Revolution. He retired from the ministry about 1787 and lived on his farm. “During the later years of his life, his intellect failed…” and he died in 1795. John Nicholas Martin was reported to have held the Apostle John in particular favor and gave all his sons the first name of John.

John Christian Martin I (1753-1799), son of Pastor John Nicholas Martin, is listed as a sergeant on the 1779 Fusiliers Roll at Port Royal and Savannah and during the siege of Savannah during the Revolutionary War. He was later promoted to lieutenant. He is on The Original 1775 Roll of the German Fusiliers Company in Charleston, SC. Christian's brothers Leonard and Peter Martin and sister's husband Daniel Strobel also fought in the Revolutionary War. His occupation was tanner and he is buried at St John’s Lutheran Church in Charleston, SC. His widow Elizabeth Miller Martin (born 1753 to 1758, died 1840) remarried 2 June 1801 to Samuel or Sampson Rogers, and they had 1 child, William Rogers. Elizabeth moved with some of the family to Coweta County, GA and is buried in the family cemetery near Luthersville close to the Meriwether County line.

John Christian Martin II (1786-1835) migrated with some of the family including wife Anne Catherine Nauman or Norman (1786-1869) to Coweta County, GA about 1830 – 1834. They came in the old-time block-wheel ox carts and it took three weeks to make the journey. He was a brick mason, farmer, blacksmith and wood-worker. He was a captain in the War of 1812. He is one of the first to be buried in the Martin family cemetery in Coweta County formed in 1826 from Creek Indian lands after the Treaty in 1825 and opened up for increased settlement by the 1827 land lottery.

John Christian Martin III (1820-1908) was born in SC, died in Carroll County, GA and is buried at Stripling Chapel Cemetery. He was a blacksmith, farmer and wood-worker. John had children with the first 2 of his 3 wives: Emily Bates (1823-1860), Elizabeth Piper (1817 or 1818-1875) and Margaret A. E. Jones (born 1824-1835, died after 1910 Census). John Martin named his sons for prominent men.

James Edward Martin (1851-1914) was named for James Edward Oglethorpe, founder of Georgia. Ed made some of the furniture for his home (wood-worker?) with wife Rebecca Shadinger (August 1855-August 1936). Together they had 10 children, 9 who survived to adulthood. About 76 years passed between the death of Jennie Lee, who died as a child, and the next sibling, Florence. The average lifespan of the 9 adult children was 88 years.

Ed tanned (tanner?) the skins of animals (sheep and calves) and made the shoes (shoemaker?) for his little children using the same last. They wore the shoes to shape to their feet. He oiled the shoes with tallow to make them soft and water proof. He was also a farmer.

Martin Mothers Part I - Rebecca Martha Ann “Becky” Shadinger Martin, Her Female Ancestors and Their Husbands

Rebecca Martin (1855-1936) was a charter member of the Rebecca Martin Club of Stripling Chapel Methodist Church, Carroll Co, GA which was named in her honor. She was a widow for about 22 years before her death. I have been told that she took care of sick folks, running what today might be called a personal care home but I would appreciate documentation and remembrances you may share about her.

My daddy, George Marvin “Marvin” Martin son of Cliff, recalled his Grandma Becky very fondly although he was only about 15 when she died. He wrote “Becky was one of the most pleasant ladies I have ever known. She seemed always to smile, to enjoy life and the people around her. Never, to my knowledge, did she say one unkind word against anyone. I only know of her attitude toward grandchildren. She fed us well and turned us loose to play. She had a flair for soothing hurt knees and hurt feelings. I never heard her say no or don’t to any grandchild. She somehow managed to come up with a more interesting alternative activity. Without realizing it, we always switched our plan to coincide with what she wanted us to do.

We knew she loved each one of us for being a special individual, which was amazing considering there were so many of us. She baked piles of huge teacakes for us and kept a cool jug of a mixture of homegrown cider and grape juice dangling in the well. I guess that the greatest compliment I can give Grandma was that when we were children she let us be children.

…In Grandma Becky’s eyes danced a sense of laughter and to this day I can see that same sparkle in those children, most of whom are gone.”

…In retrospect, I am not surprised that my brother named his only daughter after Grandma Becky. Using Becky’s middle names, I dubbed my youngest daughter Martha Ann.

…How sad it is that in one more generation, no one will remember these grand old ladies (speaking of both the writer’s grandmothers). They were so much a part of a certain time, a time of fundamentals: hard work, the strength of the home and loving hearts.”

It is in honor of Rebecca Shadinger Martin that this reunion started as a birthday celebration in August sometime prior to 1932 at Grandma Becky’s home. Relatives and friends would come from all around. There were over 250 in attendance with many young cousins. The furniture was pushed back and quilts were laid out on the floor with boys in one room and girls in another. Thyra Martin Alexander remembers one of the games was a paper trail laid out through the woods using small pieces of paper. She couldn’t understand why that activity was for boys only. And there was plenty of food including barbeque and Brunswick stew cooked all night by the men folk.

Tracing the female line is more difficult than the male because of the surname changes. Maiden names often are not recorded. So it is with Grandma Becky’s mother’s mother, etc. Here is all I have.

France Ellen “Ellen” Jones (1828-1909) married John C Shadinger (1826-1915). Rebecca Martha Ann Shadinger Martin was the 4th of their 9 children.

Mary Westbrook (1804-?) and Tignal Jones (1801-?) were the parents of Ellen Jones Shadinger. That’s all I have. Please share any information with me.

We have a bit more about the wives of the fathers of Becky Shadinger Martin.

Elizabeth Mitchell (1809-1871) was the wife of Andrew Shadinger (born about 1802 to 1804-died 1831). They were parents of Becky’s father John C Shadinger. By age 22 Elizabeth was a widow with 3 children when her husband Andrew Shadinger was out cutting wood. The wind blew a tree over on him and killed him in 1831. She married Willis Jones about a year later. There were no children together and Willis is believed to have died around the 1850’s in Coweta County.

In about 1857 Elizabeth and her son John bought 202 1/2 acres on what is now Hwy 27 South, Carroll Co GA. Elizabeth Mitchell Shadinger Jones was living as widow in Carroll Co., GA in 1860; her real estate was valued at $3,000 and her personal estate was worth $9,600, which means that she was a fairly wealthy widow for her time. Her 2 younger children died before her. Daughter Mary died at a young age and son William died leaving 3 daughters, mentioned in Elizabeth’s will. Because his brother had no sons who lived to maturity (his only son William Jr. died young), most all Shadingers in GA descend from John. They hold an annual reunion the last Sunday in July at the home church in Carroll Co.

Elizabeth lived near John, her oldest son, in Carroll Co., GA and got to see all of his children before she died there in 1872. A grave marker has not been found for her. She was affiliated with the Primitive Baptist Church at Old Emmaus as were her older brothers, James and Hardy Mitchell.

Mary Ann “Polly” Avera (1770-1810) and Henry Mitchell (1767-1843) were parents of Elizabeth Mitchell Shadinger Jones. Polly was born in Johnson Co, NC and buried at Smith's Chapel Methodist Church Cemetery, Chester Co, SC along with Henry who was born in VA.

Anna Fail (1747-?) and Jacob Avera (1744-1807) were Polly Avera Mitchell’s parents.

And that’s it for Part I of our Martin Mothers. If you have more information please share with me. Photos would be especially nice.