William Martin (of Montgomery Co, KY; Bath Co, KY; and Putnam Co, IN)

(Note:  The purpose of this paper is not to trace the William Martin family beyond Putnam Co, IN.  Rather, it is to show how this family connects back to our two counties of interest, Montgomery and Powell.)

A William Martin first showed in the 1806 Montgomery County, KY tax list, as a white male over the age of 21.  He continued thru the 1809 Montgomery tax list, but did not show in the 1810 tax list.  However, he did show in the 1810 Montgomery census.  In this census, he showed three boys under the age of 10, one male age 26-44, and another male over 45.  There were also three girls under the age of 10, one girl age 10-15, and one female age 26-45.  I suspect, though can’t prove yet, that this William lived in the section of Montgomery that split off to form Bath County.  (Note:  The 45+ male could be his father…needs more research.)

I haven’t checked the Bath County tax lists yet, but I need to.  William did appear in the 1820 Bath County census report.  He reported in the “township” of Bloomfield.  He had two boys between the ages of 10-15,  one male age 16-25, and one male age 26-45.  He also had one girl between the ages of 10-15, two females between the ages of 16-25, and one female between 26-45.

So, it looks like, based on the two census reports, that he had the following (by 1820): One boy born between 1800-1804, two boys born between 1805-1810, one girl born between 1795-1800, one girl born between 1805-1810, and two girls born between 1800-1804.  One girl had either died or moved away (married) by the 1820 census.  William and his wife were born between 1775-1784.

Now, William did not appear in the 1830 Bath County census.  One of his descendants (found years ago in a genealogy newsletter) stated that William moved to Putnam County, Indiana.  I did find a William Martin in the 1830 Putnam census.  A William and wife are living alone and their ages are between 50-60.  I suspect this is the same William.  This gives us a more refined birth date for these two people.  Based on this new information, their birthdates were between 1775-1780.

A Putnam Co, IN history book stated that a Robert Martin, born VA, was the son of this William Martin.  Mentioned that Robert and his wife moved to Putnam Co, IN in 1825.  The book did not state whether he came alone or with his father, William.  There is a Robert and wife listed in the 1830 Putnam Co, IN census.  They have a boy and a girl under the age of 5; thus, I suspect this is the same Robert mentioned in the book.  Based on the 1830 census, Robert was between 30 and 40 years old.  I suspect he is the boy born between 1800 and 1804.  If so, then Robert’s birthdate would be narrowed down to about 1800.  Also, if the book is true, Robert was born in VA.  As a final note, the book stated that the family moved to Bath County when Robert was a boy.  So, possibly they did move, rather than just having the borders change around them.

A history book for Douglas Co, IL also sheds some more light on this family.  It stated that William moved from VA to KY to Putnam Co, IN where he died.  It also stated that he married a Mary Cook.  One of their sons, William H. Martin, born in Bath Co in 1806, moved to Putnam Co at the age of 21 where he married at the age of 27 (married Elizabeth Walton Dills).  There is a William H. Martin and wife listed in the 1830 Putnam Co census.  There are two adult males between the ages of 20-30.  One of them would be William H.  Don’t yet know who the other people are in this census…possibly a brother, but will need more research.  But, he would be one of the boys born between 1805-1810.

By the way, both of these books stated that William (elder) was a Methodist minister.  Anyway, we now know two of William’s sons:  Robert, born around 1800; and William H., born 1806.

After reviewing some queries on the Putnam Co, IN website, I believe that a James and Rachel Moore Martin are another family of interest.  Per this website, James and Rachel came out of Montgomery and Bath counties and moved to Putnam between 1820 and 1822.  I suspect this James is another son of William and Mary Cook Martin.  There are two James Martins listed in the 1830 Putnam Co, IN census.  One is between 30-40 years old; the other one is married (no children) and is between the ages of 20-30.  If a James is indeed a son of William, then it would have to be the second one.  This James would be the last unknown boy born between 1805-1810. 

I recently found a 1996 query in my files.  Per this query, we can add the following information:  William Martin was born 11 Mar 1772 in Augusta Co, VA and died 10 Apr 1847 in Putnam Co, IN.  He married on 30 Jul 1795 to Mary Ann Cook who was born 26 Dec 1771, VA and died on 24 Oct 1857 in Putnam Co, IN.  The family came to Montgomery Co, KY in late 1800 or early 1801.    The query names three children:  Robert Martin was born 10 Jan 1800 in Albemarle Co, VA.  Elizabeth H. Martin was born 29 Oct 1801 in Montgomery Co, KY.  Nancy Martin was born 10 Mar 1810, also in Montgomery Co, KY.  The person who wrote this query believed they lived in the part of Montgomery Co, KY that broke off in 1811 to form Bath Co.  As a note, the query did not cite any sources, so I can’t say for sure how accurate it is. 

There is one puzzling aspect to the above query information.  If William came to Montgomery Co, KY in 1800 or 1801, why did he not appear in the tax records until 1806?  Was he living with someone else?  A William Martin did show for the 1800 tax list, then disappeared for 5 years.  Either he was simply missed, moved to another county, or was living with another family, possibly his parents; however, I have no indication of this.  May need to check another county, possibly Bourbon or Clark just to rule out the possibility he was in another county.

I did a quick check of the 1850 Putnam Co, IN census and discovered the following information.  A William A. and Elizabeth Martin with family in Cloverdale:  William was 44, Elizabeth was 44 as well, and they were both born in KY.  Their eldest son (still living at home) was age 19 and born in IN.  They also have a Mary A. Martin, age 79 and born in VA, living with them.  This must be William H. Martin and his mother Mary Ann Cook Martin.  A James and Aletha Martin with family in Cloverdale:  James, 47, was born in KY.  Aletha, 34, was born in NC.  The eldest son (still living at home) was age 20 and born in IN.  I suspect that due to the ages of the wife and son, she was probably a second wife.  A Robert and Lucy Martin with family in Cloverdale:  Robert was 47, Lucy was 44 as well, and they were both born in KY.  Their eldest son (still living at home) was age 22 and born in IN.

I suspect that these three men (Robert, William, and James) found in the 1850 Putnam Co, IN census were the sons of William and Mary Ann Cook Martin.