Charles Martin (1735 - 1800)

Born 1735 in Virginia

Husband of Elizabeth (Burroughs) Martin — married about 1759 in Monongalia, Virginia

Husband of Mary (Beal) Martin — married about 1776 in Monongalia, West Virginia

Descendants

Died 20 Mar 1800 at about age 65 in Monongalia, Virginia, USA

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Biography

Please read over Research Notes before connecting this profile to parents

Colonel Charles Martin was born around 1735 in Virginia. He died in 1800 in Monongalia County [West] Virginia in 1800. A 1912 sketch^[1] provides different information for birth year: “Charles Martin, born in 1715, died about 1790, came to Virginia and settled in what is now Monongalia county, on Crooked Run, near the Pennsylvania line. There he erected a fort against the hostile Indians.” The 1790 death date is incorrect as Charles signed his will in Nov 1798; the year of birth is still in question.

Charles was married to Elizabeth Burroughs or Burrows. Their children were:^[2]:

1. Jesse, born on the old homestead in Monongalia county. Married Hannah Scott
2. William, born on the old Martin place, moved to tract near Farmington patented by his father. Married Hannah Randall
3. George, born on the ancestor’s home farm, moved to lands given to him by his father near Farmington. Married Elizabeth Hoard
4. Presley, born on the old Martin homestead; moved to farm near New Martinsville, West Virginia. Represented his county in the Virginia legislature. Married a woman named Peggy.
5. Spencer
6. Ann, married Richard Harrison
7. Elizabeth, married Norman Randall

He married for a second time to a woman named Mary, possibly surnamed Beal.^[3] They had one son:

1. Presley Martin

Charles was in Monongalia County by 1769> He received land grants based on the improvements he had made on property on the Monongahela in 1769^[4]

The settlers (of Morgantown, (West) Virginia in 1768) [included] Charles Martin.^[5] "Sometime after 1773, Charles Martin built a fort on Crooked Run (Monongalia County), not far from the side of the present Fort Martin Church. every vestige is now (1883) gone."^[6] Fort Martin was right on the Pennsylvania/(West) Virginia border [1].

In 1784, Charles received a grant for 400 acres in Monongalia County.^[7] He received additional land grants in 1785 (2 grants for 707 acres total), 1788 (two land grants in Harrison County for 800 acres total), 1789 (grant in Monongalia County for 400 acres), and 1795 (grant in Monongalia County for 500 acres).^[8] About the 1789 grant: "Charles Martin, Mononghela" received a land patent from the commissions appointed to "adjust claims to unpatented lands in the counties of Monongalia, Youghiogheny and Ohio" ^[9] In 1786, Charles Martin and his sons Jesse and George appeared on David Scott (assessor)'s tax list.^[10]

In 1799, he was accused of slander. The court case was dismissed in the May, 1800 court term, when Charles had died.^[11]

Charles was a major land owner up to his death. His will has bequests for more than 1,100 acres of land, eight slaves, and other property.

Last Will and Testament

CHARLES MARTIN’S WILL In the Name of God Amen I Charles Martin of Monongalia county and State of Virginia considering the uncertainty of this mortal life and being of sound and perfect mind and memory blessed be Almighty God for the same do make and publish this my last will and testament in manner and form following

Viz’t first I give and bequeath unto my beloved wife Mary Martin one half of my home tract of land where I now live and her part is to be bounded by Stuarts road and the State line and to include all between them during her natural life. I give and bequeath to my wife Mary Martin one negro woman caled Selvey and two of her Children called Lucy & Win during her natural life. I also give and bequeath to my wife Mary Martin one third of all my personal estate after my debts is paid absolutely excepting my Negros and the increase of my negro Woman Silvey to return to my estate and after the decease of my wife Mary Martin Silvy is to be a free woman and clear of servitude from my heirs forever.

I do also give and bequeath to my oldest son Jesse Martin my river tract of land containing four hundred acres and including the mouth of Crooked run and Bounded by the Monongalia and my home place to him and his heirs forever.

I also give and bequeath to my son George Martin three hundred and Seven acreas of land situated on Buffalon Creek and being the same tract whereon the said George Martin now lives and also one Negro man named Aurthur which the said George has now in possession which bequeathments is to my son George during his natural life only and then to descend to his heirs forever.

I also give and bequeath to my son William Martin one Negro boy called Litt to him and his heirs forever.

I also give and bequeath to my son Spencer Martin one tract of land containing four hundred acres and adjoining the tract whereon the said Spencer Martin now lives and situate on the waters of Traverbough {Teverbough} to him the said Spencer Martin and his heirs forever.

I also give and bequeath to my Daughter Elisabeth Randall one Negro girl called Sall to her and her heirs forever.

I also give and bequeath to my daughter Ann Harrison one Negro girl called Pegg now in her possession to her and her heirs forever.

I also give and bequeath unto my son Presley Martin four hundred acres of land whereon I now live Excepting and reserving the aforesaid bequeathments to his mother during her natural life and also one Negro boy called Abraham and one of the negro girls bequeathed to his mother after her death or the increase of my negro woman Silvey which my son is to have his choice after his mother death to him the said Presley Martin his heirs and assigns forever

and it is my desire that the aforesaid bequeathments all except to my son George Martin and my wife Mary Martin is to be to them and their heirs and assigns forever

and lastly as to all the rest residue and remainder of my real and personal estate goods and chattels of what kind or nature so ever is to be sold by my Executors at public sale and the money arising therefrom after all my just debts is paid and all other expenses is discharged to be equally divided between my son George Martin my son Wm. Martin my son Spencer Martin my son Presley Martin my daughter Elisabeth Randall my daughter Ann Harrison and my grandson Charles Martin the son of Jesse Martin as tenants in common and the money to be paid the legatees within two years after my decease.

I do hereby appoint my beloved wife Mary Martin Executrix and Stephen Capen of Dunker creek and my son Presley Martin Executors of this my last will and testament hereby revoking all former wills by me made. In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and seal this first day of November in the year of our Lord on thousand Seven hundred and ninety eight

Slave ownership

The 1785 personal property tax list for Monongalia County list the names of the following slaves: Win, Fillis, Silvey, & Nell

The 1792 tax list, gives the following names of his slaves: Jake, Phillis, Silvey, Nell, Cesar, and Arthur. It also says five of them were above 16, and one of them was 12-16 years old.

The enslaved men and women mentioned in Charles Martin's 1798 will:

Silvey, woman, left to Charles's wife Mary Martin, to be freed after her death

Lucy, one of Silvey's daughters, left to Mary Martin

Win, another of Silvey's daughter, left to Mary Martin

Arthur ("Aurthur"), man, left to George Martin

Litt, boy, left to William Martin

Sall (Sally?), girl, left to Elisabeth Martin Randall

Pegg, girl, left to Ann Martin Harrison

Abraham, boy, left to Presley Martin. He is also to have his choice of Lucy, Win, or one of Silvey's as yet unborn children after the death of Mary Martin.

Listed in his estate inventory was “one negroe woman named Phillis” who was valued at $200.

Research Notes

Profile was set up with middle name Thomas. There is no source for a middle name.

It is commonly stated on various genealogical websites that Charles Martin's parents were John and Sibylla (Michelbourn or Michelborne) Martin. Some of the sources are below. This couple was too old to be his parents. John Martin, born in 1652, would have been 83 at the birth of Charles in 1735. Sibylla's age varies wildly among websites (perhaps in an attempt to make this lineage work). She was anywhere between 89 years old and 50 years old at the time of Charles's birth -- and lived to be 105, dying in 1790!

If Charles descends from this couple, there is probably a generation in between, perhaps a son also named John? We just don't have any basis at this time.

Wiki Message board on Charles Martin: [2]

From the biography posted at FamilySearch.org[3] accessed 16 May 2018. This turns out (30 Dec 2020) to have been copied from the Find A Grave memorial:

Although he was born in old Virginia in the part that is now West Virginia, Colonel Charles Martin served in the Maryland militia during the Revolutionary War. His grave marker has long since disappeared. However, the "Abstract of Graves of Revolutionary Patriots" indicates through coordination of several types of records that Colonel Charles Martin is buried in this cemetery. If is unknown if his wife Elizabeth Burroughs (1745-1778) is buried at Fort Martin, or if she is buried at the nearby Burroughs Family Cemetery. This couple had at least 7 children: William, George, Jesse, Spencer, Ann, Elizabeth and Presley Neville Martin. Charles's father was John Martin (1652 - ) was born in Stenmer, Essex in England, and his mother was Sibylla Michelbourn (1685-1790) who was born in Virginia.

Upon saving, 14 December 2019, I received the following automated message:

WikiTree Warning: Check the data.

• A mother's birth date ([[Michelborne-6]|Sibylla Michelborne] born 1646) should not be more than 67 years before the birth date of one of her children (Martin-43498 born 1735).
• A mother's death date (Michelborne-6 died 1730) should not be before one of her children's birth dates (Martin-43498 born 1735).

Have detached Sibylla as mother based on lack of evidence (other than family legend) and dubious timing. However, the FamilySearch profile for Sibylla Michelborne Martin now suggests that Sibylla Michelborne Martin was born 1685, died 1790. This does make parenthood possible, but is completely unsourced (as was the original 1646 date).

Sources

1. ↑ Callahan, pg 1174
2. ↑ Callahan, pg 1174-75, Will of Charles Martin, 1798
3. ↑ Will of Charles Martin, 1798
4. ↑ Wiley, pg 39: " The Commissioners appointed to “adjust claims to unpatented lands” in Monongalia, Youghiogheny, and Ohio Counties granted certificates for lands on which improvements were made by the following named persons, in the years named: 1769: Charles Martin and Jonathan Wright, Monongahela
5. ↑ History of Monongalia County, pg 41
6. ↑ History of Monongalia County, pg 696
7. ↑ Sims Index to Land Grants, pg 355
8. ↑ Sims, page 307 and 481
9. ↑ History of Monongalia County, pg 39
10. ↑ History of Monongalia county, pg 85
11. ↑ Monongalia County West Virginia: Records of the District Superior and County Courts

• Sims index to land grants in West Virginia. Database and images at Ancestry.com accessed 31 Dec 2020

MARTIN,CHARLES or CHAS.

--1784 – 400 acre tract on Crooked Run, Monongalia County. Citing Monongalia Records (M.R.) Volume 1, pg 190 Image

--1784 – 400 acre tract on Wts. Monon. River. Citing M.R. Volume 1, page 190

--1785 – 307 acre tract on Buffalo Creek, Monongalia County, Citing M.R. Volume 2, pg 135

--1785 – 400 acre tract on Buffalo Creek, Monongalia County, Citing M.R. Volume 2, pg 149

--1789 – 400 acre tract on Hellen’s Run, Monongalia County, Citing M.R. Volume 4, pg 134

--1795 – 500 acre tract on Muddy Creek, Monongalia County, Citing Volume M.R. 4, pg 472

– 1788 – two 400 acre tracts on Mud Lick Run, Harrison County. Citing Harrison County Vol 3, page 112 and page 115. Image

• "West Virginia Will Books, 1756-1971," database with images, FamilySearch [4] : 12 March 2018), Charles Martin, 1798; citing Monongalia, West Virginia, United States, Will book, v. 001 1819-1903, page 304, county courthouses, West Virginia; FHL microfilm 840,755.

• Monongalia County West Virginia: Records of the District Superior and County Courts Vol. II 1800-1803 Compiled by Melba Pender Zinn Route 3 Box 169 Grafton, WV 26354 1990. BYU Harold B Lee Library, Provo, Utah Book F247.M7 Z56 1990

Notes: 68-1800, District Court, Monongalia County. Charles Martin summoned to answer Harry Stephens in a plea of slander, 11 April 1799. The last notation on the case cover is dated September 1799. May 1800 term of court, "abated by Martin's death."

• West Virginia estate settlements : an index to wills, inventories, appraisements, land grants, and surveys to 1850 by Ross B. Johnston. Found in the Family History Library, Salt Lake City, Utah US/CAN Book 975.4 P28jr

Notes: West Virginia Estate Settlements, Monongalia County

Martin, Col. Chas., Inventory 4-15-1800.

Martin, Col. Chas., S.B., 5-1800.

Martin, Col. Chas., Set., 5-11-1811.

• Wiley, Samuel T., History of Monongalia County, West Virginia: from its first settlements to the present time ; with numerous biographical and family sketches, Preston Pub. Co., West Virginia, 1883 [5]

• Callahan, James Morton, Genealogical and Personal History of the Upper Monongahela Valley West Virginia. Bernard L. Butcher, Ed. Volume III. 1912, Lewis Historical Publishing Company, New York. Digital copy available at Google Books [6] accessed 29 Dec 2020

Martin Family, pg 1174 and following

• Find A Grave: Memorial #61079503 Memorial for Col. Charles Martin, 1735-1800]. No photograph of stone.

Col Charles Martin

BIRTH 1735, Virginia, USA

DEATH 20 Mar 1800 (aged 64–65), Monongalia County, West Virginia, USA

BURIAL Fort Martin Cemetery, Fort Martin, Monongalia County, West Virginia, USA

MEMORIAL ID 61079503

" His grave marker has long since disappeared. However, the "Abstract of Graves of Revolutionary Patriots" indicates through coordination of several types of records that Colonel Charles Martin is buried in this cemetery."

• [7]] posted at West Virginia Genweb, accessed 30 Dec 2020.

(Presley Martin) "the son of Col. Charles Martin, the commander of the fort" [Fort Martin, Monongalia County].

See also:

• Daughters of the American Revolution, DAR Genealogical Research Databases, database online, (http://www.dar.org/ : accessed 14 Dec 2019), "Record of Colonel Charles Martin", Ancestor # A074118.

Frenchand Indian War militia and provisioners to the militia

Submitted by: Freddie Spradlin Date:Oct 2006 Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm

An act of assembly, passed March 1758, the 31st year of the reign of KingGeorge II, some of the militia were called out for service in theearly days of the French and Indian War, Annexed to this act, wasa schedule of the names of the militia officers and soldiers, andthe citizens who furnished provisions to that militia. Thisis the schedule pertaining to Fairfax County.

FAIRFAXCOUNTY. l.s. d. ToNicholas Minor, captain, 15 12 00 JosiasClapham, lieutenant, 00 7 16 WilliamTrammell, ensign, 00 5 4 ToCharles Martin, Francis Summers, Jesse Martin, serjeants, 3l.9s. 4d. each, 10 800 ToEdward Hardin, John Donaldson, William Calvin, Samuel JamesThomas, William Darns, Joshua Meaks, John Wren, WilliamShort Ridge, Samuel Jenkins, Samuel More, Richard Pell,William Bowling, Philip Merchant, George Valendingham, RobertBowling, Isaac Hussey, Benjamin Williams, Moses Howard,James Robinson, John Davis, Thomas Jenkins, Abraham Stiff,Joseph Adams, Joseph Bradley, Thomas Cartwright, FrancisAwbrey, Joshua Claypole, William O'Daniel, Thomas Saunders,Edward Rice, William Cottrill, John Car, Simon Shoemaker,John Shore, Joseph Martin, Peter Wilson, WilliamJackson, William M'Coy, Henry Townsend, Thomas Morgan,Thomas Ray, William Massey, Franklin Perry, George Shoemaker,2l. 12s. each, 117 00 00 Tocaptain James Hamilton, his pay and guards subsistence carrying soldiersto Winchester, 10 4 1

l.166 4 1

Aressted 11May 1763 Loudoun County, Virginia

Land Purchase 7 Nov 1767 200 acres, Cumberland Valley Township, Bedford County, Pennsylvania

• Birth Index, Monongalia County, West Virginia, Transcribed from microfilm 464964, volume 1 Registry of Births, http://files.usgwarchives.net/wv/monongalia/births/birth1853.txt,

"MARTIN William 1759 Charles/Elizabeth Burris" "MARTIN Spencer March 6, 1772 Thomas Charles/Elizabeth Burrows"