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WILLIAM MARTIN, born 29 March 1718, died 16 Jan. 1780, aged 62 years, ”and his wife MARGARET MARTIN, born 26 April 1721, died 23 Dec. 1796, aged 75 years, ”are buried at Cocalamus, Fayette Township, Juniata County, Pennsylvania, in what is now, or has been at least recently, the yard of the Evangelical United Brethren Church.
William and Margaret were almost certainly born in Northern Ireland and probably married there since William’s will mention’s his wife’s inheritance from her father’s estate in “Ireland.” It is quite probable that immediately after their arrival in Pennsylvania, they lived for a time in the vicinity of Silver Springs Presbyterian Church, near Mechanicsburg, Allen Township, Cumberland County. There was a William Martin among the taxable of Allen Township in 1762 (Hist. of Cumberland and Adams Cos., 1886, p. 27). William’s daughter Agnes Martin married Robert McTeer about 1766, and the McTeers were certainly residents of Allen Township and members at Silver Springs. Agnes’s brother David Martin married Grizella McMeen, whose father Josiah McMeen was identified in 1784 as a resident of Allen Township.
But Martin was a very common name among the Scotch-Irish. There were many Martin families in the early lists of both Cumberland and Mifflin Counties, and none of these can be positively connected with William and Margaret. In 1971 there were no other Martin gravestones at Cocalamus. The church there was not built until 1884 ad thus is quite unrelated to the much earlier burials at the site.
According to the History of the Susquehanna and Juniata Valleys, 1886 (p. 827), William Martin was a landowner in what is now Fayette Township, Juniata County, as early as 1767, when he was listed with 100 acres, three acres cleared, one horse and one cow. In the same locality, James Martin has 50 acres and a horse in 1768, and David martin took up land there about 1770.
This area was first purchased from the Indians in 1754 and was organized immediately into Fermanaugh Township, Cumberland County, which then included all of present Juniata County north of the Juniata River. Thereafter the locality around Cocalamus became successively Greenwood Township, Mifflin County (1789-1831), and Fayette Township, Juniata County.
During the Revolutionary War the tax lists of Fermanaugh Township, Cumberland County, show William Martin (1778-9); Widow Martin (1780-85); William Martin, unmarried in 1778; David Martin (1778-85); James Martin’s heirs (1779-80) [3 Penn’s Archives, Vol. 20, passim].
A John Martin’s heirs were listed in 1779 but no evidence has been found to prove or disprove that the two Martin families were related. In August 1779 Elizabeth Martin of Fermanaugh Township, widow and administratrix of the estate of John Martin, came into court to report a balance in that estate of L1148,05 to be distributed to the widow, to son John (double share) and to daughters Jean, Mary and Elizabeth. Frederick Watt Esq. and James Taylor Esq. were appointed guardians of all four children who were minors under 14 years (Cumberland Co. Orphans Court 2:267).
The will of William Martin of Fermanaugh Township, written 20 Aug. 1778, probated 10 April 1780, bequeathed to his son William Martin, the plantation and personal estate, he to pay all debts; to wife Margaret her choice of a horse and a cow, her keep at the expense of her son William, also her bed and bed clothing, her spinning wheel, and “the money due her from her father’s estate in Ireland”; to daughter Elizabeth Martin, L75 to be paid three year after her father’s death, her bed and bedding, saddle, spinning wheel, to daughter Janet, L75 to be paid at the end of five years, bed, bed clothing and spinning wheel; to daughter Margaret, L75 to be paid within eight years, also bed, bedding and spinning wheel; to daughter Sarah L30 within 9 years, to daughter Anne (Agnes) L30 within ten years, to the children of son James, namely, Charity, Margaret and George, L10 to be divided equally at age 21l; to grandson, William Martin, smith’s tools, ïf he learn the trade, ”if not, these to be divided between sons David and William. Executors: sons David and William martin; witnesses: Hugh Laird, Abraham Miller (Cumberland Co, Wills D:10).
On 10 Jan. 1791 William Martin of Fermanaugh Township, Mifflin County, yeoman, for L200, conveyed to John Shalleberger of Greenwood Township, Mifflin County, 143 acres in Greenwood Township, being “land surveyed in an Order of Survey #243 to William Martin dated 1 Aug. 1766.”and presently abutting on lands of Samuel Sharon and David Martin (Mifflin CO. Deeds A:143).
Surveys at the Pennsylvania Land Office in Harrisburg show this property as an irregularly shaped tract containing 352 acres 77 perches “resurveyed agreeable to the old lines Nov. 22nd, 1793 for William Martin in pursuance of an Order of Survey No. 243 dated Aug. 1, 1766”; two unnamed streams are indicated on the draught, one flowing east-west and the other cutting through the northeast corner. Adjoining property owners are identified as Geo. Kelso, Jane Martin, David Martin, Jno Thomas and Rob’t McTier jointly, and Wm McAlisster’s lad (Pa. Land Survey Records C-223:132). [The Editor wishes to insert here the fact that when he last visited the office where these records are kept, he found that they had been removed from the second floor location in the Capitol, where they had been for many years, and were now in a first floor location in Ssuquehanna (sp) and other valleys. We understand that the records were damaged but how badly we do not know.]
In this transactions both deed and survey conveniently overlook the fact that two William Martins are involved. The warrantee of 1766 was most certainly William Sr. because William Jr. was then only twelve years old, but the grantee of 1791, who was also the recipient of the survey of 1793, could only be William Jr., whose father had died in 1789. However, no actual title flaw is implied since William Sr.’s will gave the plantation outright to William Jr., and this final deed is in apparent recognition of that fact.
Several pages of Robert McTeer who married Sarah Martin.
He was a veteran of the American Revolutionary War having served under Capt. William Butler 2nd Battalion.[1]
Cocalamus, Fayette, Juniata, Pennsylvania, USA
Buried at Lancaster, PA. I don't have his wife Margaret's maiden name. She was born 26 April 1721 in Northern Ireland (would this have been Ulster?), and died 23 December 1796 in Cocolamus, PA (buried in Fayette, PA). William and Margaret were married about 1738 in Lancaster, PA.
It's been suggested William was from County Donegal, which is in what is now Ireland, but it is in the northern part of the country. It's possible that's where he sailed from.
Thank you to JaAnna Nelson for creating Martin-4423 on Jun 1, 2011 through the import of Ancestors of Lynn E Nelson.ged.
Thank you to Dave McNally for creating Martin-13496 on 3 Aug 2013.
Thank you to Anonymous Costa for creating Martin-21635 on Feb 22, 2015through the import of Step Back In Time!! C77.ged.
Thank you to Michele Shoun for creating Martin-74378 on 5 Apr 2022.
Click the Changes tab for the details on contributions by JaAnna, Dave, J., Laura, Phillip, Vincent, James Sally, Carl, Janet, Billy, Michele and others.
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M > Martin > William Martin Sr.
Categories: Patriotic Service, Pennsylvania, American Revolution | NSDAR Patriot Ancestors
I don't know who supplied the Revolutionary War info for William Martin Sr. I think it must have been his son, William Martin Jr (https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Martin-4419). --Michele Shoun
Not saying he couldn't be but I'm not sure what you're basing that on. William was born in a different country and died in a different County and neither have any family ties that I can see. - Dave