Martin Jackson Blevins (1840 - 1887)

Born 1840 in Missouri, United States

Ancestors

Descendants

Died Aug 1887 at about age 47 in Yavapai, Arizona, United States

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Biography

Martin was born in 1840. He was the son of Armstead Blevins and Delila Schultz. He passed away in 1887.

Armsteadt Blevins (age 39 and b. in TN) was head of household in Navarro Co., TX in 1850. His apparent wife Delila Blevins (age 33 and b. in AL) was listed with Masanair (age 13), Monroe (age 12), Martin (age 10) and Wade H. (age 8). The first three children were b. in MO and Wade was b. in AR.

1850 Census

M. J. Blevins (age 30) was head of household for the 1870 census in Llano Co., TX with apparent wife Mary L. (age 26). The children were Arnold A. (age 9), Albert (age 7), William H. (age 5), John B. (age 3), and Delily (age 2). On the next line of the census is listed S. M. Blevins (age 30 and b. in AR). Also in the household are Jane Blevins (age 26 and b. in AR) and five children all b. in TX. They are Henry (age 9), Evaline (age 7), Riley (a male age 5), Roldy (a female age 3) and Emma (age 2).

1870 Census

Mart Blevins (age 39) was head of household in the 1880 census for Llano Co., TX. Also in the household were his wife Mary (age 34), four sons and two daughters. The sons were Arnold (age 18), Albert (age 16), Wade (age 15), John (age 13), and Houston (age 8). The daughters were Delily (age 12) and Arlymesy (age 4). On the same page of the census was listed Delily Blevins (age 62 and b. in AL). She was listed in the household of Arnold Actkison (age 50). She was listed as his mother-in-law. Two neices Elly Blevins (age 13) and Emmy Blevins (age 11), and son Balor Actkison (age 20) were living in the same household.

1880 Census

Biography from Karylon Hallmark Russell

“According to the date for permanent settlement on the composite Portrait of Llano County Pioneers, Arnold A. Atkison, arrived in Llano County in 1860. He came with his in-laws, Armstead and Delila Shults Blevins, whose daughter, Misanair, he had married in 1852. The couple had four children--Delila Jane (Arnold/Pullen), Armstead A. (Bud), Allen A., and John Baylor Atkison, with another daughter, Alice, who died young. Misanair’s brothers who came were Seth Monroe, Wade Hampton (Buck), and Martin J. Blevins, who later married the youngest Atkison sister, Mary L. The Atkisons and Blevins settled in the area of Campground Creek, a tributary of the Colorado River, located a short distance downriver from Old Bluffton. Also coming to join Arnold A. Atkison by 1861 were two bachelor brothers, Albert A. and Agrippa A. Atkison. They served with other Llano County men in Captain Seth Mabry’s Co. E, 17th Texas Infantry, but Agrippa died from disease during the war. After Albert married Miss Sarah Hammons in Cherokee County, Texas, he and other members of the Hammons family also moved to Llano County, including an older Atkison sister, Margaret C., and husband, Thomas Jefferson Hammons. Several other Hammons sisters joined them with their families.”

(Published in Llano News, Llano, Texas, 28 Oct, 2015)

Rescue of Cynthia Ann Parker in 1860

A list of about 95 Texas Rangers recruited from Parker and Palo Pinto Counties of Texas involved in the rescue of Cynthia Ann Parker from Comanche Indians in 1860 included privates with the names W. H. Blevins, A. Blevins, and M. J. Blevins. These names were identified by a family descendant as Wade H. Blevins, Armstead “Armps” Blevins, Martin J. Blevins, and Seth Monroe Blevins. There was a M. M. Schultz listed who may have been Wade H. Schultz, brother-in-law to Armstead Blevins, who according to family tradition also participated in the rescue. The article was based on the diary of James H. Baker, the first schoolteacher of Palo Pinto Co., TX.

(Article by Mary Whatley Dunbar in The Senn Weekly Farm News in Palo Pinto, TX in 1937.)

Biography from Find A Grave

"The Disappearance of Martin "Mart, Old Man" Blevins and the start of the Pleasant Valley War

The Blevins family left Lanno County, Texas after problems with the law caused by some of Mart's sons and settled in the Pleasant Valley area of northern Arizona located in Gila County. This area was the most remote section of wild, lawless Arizona. The nearest white settlement was a hundred miles away, The valley soon became a haven for cattle rustlers and "wanted" men. This would explain why the Blevins family ended up in Pleasant Valley. Their ranch was located on Canyon Creek, well located for any unlawful activities his son's may engage in. It was located in a wild remote section near the western boundary of the White Mountain Apache Reservation. His ranch was known as the Canyon Creek Ranch and was the headquarters of the Pleasant Valley rustlers, with Andy "Cooper" Blevins (oldest son of Mart Blevins) as the leader.

One morning in August 1887, a number of horses had been discovered to be missing from the Canyon Creek Ranch and presumed to be stolen by Indians or other rustlers. Mart Blevins went out, well-armed, in search of the horses and against the advise of his sons, never to be seen again. After about a week of Mart being missing, his son Hampton "Hamp" and a group of other cowboys went out searching for him. The disappearance of Mart Blevins from his ranch on Canyon Creek brought about a series of events that escalated the Pleasant Valley war.

The body of Mart Blevins was never found. Several stories circulated for many years. Three years after his disappearance, a skeleton with a spike driven through the skull was found not far from the ranch, and many believe that this was Mart Blevins. In 1894, a foreman for another cattle ranch on Cherry Creek found a human skull in a hollow tree on one side of the upper tributaries of that stream. Leaning against another tree was a rusty rifle that was identified as the property of Mart Blevins, with no other bones found in the area. One story said that Mart's gun was in another family's collection of guns. The bottom line is that his disappearance has never been solved.

For the continuance of this story please read the biography for William Hampton "Hamp" Blevins on Findagrave #204875616.

There have been many books, short stories, movies and Youtube videos made of the Pleasant Valley War or theme of the story. Thanks especially to Earle R. Forrest, author of the book Arizona's Dark And Bloody Ground published in 1936."

Sources

• "United States Census, 1850," database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MXLG-QGL : 23 December 2020), Marlin Blevins in household of Armsteadt Blevins, Navarro, Navarro, Texas, United States; citing family , NARA microfilm publication (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).

• 1850 Census: "1850 United States Federal Census"
  The National Archives in Washington D.C.; Record Group: Records of the Bureau of the Census; Record Group Number: 29; Series Number: M432; Residence Date: 1850; Home in 1850: Navarro, Navarro, Texas; Roll: 913; Page: 103b; Line Number: 14
  Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry Record 8054 #1058188 (accessed 21 July 2023)
  Martin Blevins (10) in Navarro, Navarro, Texas, USA. Born in Missouri.

• "United States Census, 1870", database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MXG3-R54 : 29 May 2021), M T Blevins, 1870.

• 1870 Census: "1870 United States Federal Census"
  Year: 1870; Census Place: Colorado River, Llano, Texas; Roll: M593_1597; Page: 281A
  Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry Record 7163 #7765472 (accessed 21 July 2023)
  M J Blevins (30), Farmer, in Colorado River, Llano, Texas. Born in Missouri.

• "United States Census, 1880," database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MFNB-BCC : 15 January 2022), Mart Blevins, Justice Precinct 2, Blanco, Texas, United States; citing enumeration district , sheet , NARA microfilm publication T9 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.), FHL microfilm .

• 1880 Census: "United States Census, 1880"
  citing enumeration district , sheet , NARA microfilm publication T9 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.), FHL microfilm .
  FamilySearch Record: MFNB-BCC (accessed 21 July 2023)
  FamilySearch Image: 33S7-9YB2-SXJ Image number 00657
  Mart Blevins (39), married, Farming, head of household in Justice Precinct 2, Blanco, Texas, United States. Born in Missouri, United States.

• "Texas, Index Card Collections, 1800-1900"
  Original data: Index Card Collections. Austin, Texas: Texas State Library and Archives Commission
  Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry Record 2265 #107587 (accessed 21 July 2023)
  Name: Martin Blevins; Card Type: Biographical Index.

• Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/203499349/martin-jackson-blevins : accessed 9 July 2022), memorial page for Martin Jackson “Mart, Old Man” Blevins (1840–Aug 1887), Find a Grave Memorial ID 203499349, ; Maintained by Mitzi Butler (contributor 48615267) Burial Details Unknown.

• "Arizona Deaths, 1870-1951," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FLVQ-X6J : 6 April 2020), Martin Blevins in entry for John Black Blevins, 1929; citing Tucson, Pima, Arizona, reference , Department of Library and Archives, Phoenix, Arizona; FHL microfilm 2,114,586.

• Death of son John Black Blevins: "Arizona, U.S., Death Records, 1887-1968"
  Arizona Department of Health Services; Phoenix, AZ; Arizona Genealogy Birth and Death Certificates
  Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry Record 8704 #600069511 (accessed 21 July 2023)
  Martin Blevins in death record for son John Black Blevins, 23 May 1929, husband of Mary Blevins, in Tucson, Pima, Arizona, USA.