I have been researching my family’s genealogy for about 17+ years now. As I sat this afternoon trying to organize a huge bucket of information I have collected over the years, I decided to start this blog. It’s a way to organize and record my research and share it with my family and ultimately other Martin family researchers.
I read that the Martin name is the 12th most researched family on the internet. On Geni.com alone there are over 5,000 profiles with the Martin surname! I know I have reviewed many of them. Which leads me to the other goal I have for this site – to help debunk the misinformation about the Martin family out there.
I have to say that genealogy research has changed dramatically since I started researching back in 1996. It was harder and it was easier. I spent hours and hours searching through the stacks at the public library, and luckily, my public library has a great genealogy resource section. The records were not that easy to find, but when I did find something, I was confident that it was probably right. Today, finding information is a breeze using the internet – BUT I’m not always confident what I find is correct. I try to base all of my research on primary documents – wills, land deeds, parish and vestry records, census records, old English visitation records, etc, etc. etc….. But with the advent of the internet and the many on-line family group sheets, I have found that I need to be very, very careful about what I use to document my family’s history.
So, this is a collection of my research notes as I piece together my family’s history. I hope you find it interesting and perhaps even something to help you piece together your Martin family history. If you have something to share I would love to hear from you!
Cheers,
deborah
Hi Deborah, I am writing to you about my Martin kin. I have the hardest Martin line in the world to research.
If I didn’t exist I would believe they didn’t. I know I have researched your line in the last six years and I am not sure if we are distant cousins.
Could you please take a look?
My 3rd Great-Grandparents were William Henry Martin 1817-1902 born in Virginia and Olivia Ann Elliott 1819-1900 born in Fayette,Kentucky. I can follow their trail from their marriage date of 5-9-1844 in Woodford County, Kentucky but anything before is a mystery.
There are over 150 trees on Ancestry stuck on William’s parents. Many researchers guess they were Samuel and Ailsey Martin of 1800’s Virginia.
They list and copy Ailsey Dews as the mother. I have a marriage record for Ailsey married to Elza Martin in 1820 Barren County,Kentucky. So maybe she married Samuel the Elza but her decendants say she was married once and the listed children dates don’t match.
Many researchers list James Lee Martin and Catherine Maria Otterbach as my 5th Great-Grandparents. They had a son Samuel but I can’t trace him. In James Lee’s line is Johan Jost Merten of Germantown,Virginia.
I have chatted with over 100 researchers some pros and they can’t find anything in a way of evidence.
I would value your opinion as my research is on hold till I find a lead.
Thank you for your time,Alan
Reaching out to all Martins!
Gedmatch # A667497
Hi Alan, I’m afraid I don’t recognize your line of Martin’s. I looked it up on WikiTree, which is a good resource, and I found some information on Johan Jost Merten: https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Merten-15. My Martin family moved out of Virginia in late 1700s and never lived in Kentucky. Have you looked for wills? I know the frustration of seeing 100’s of stuck or misleading trees. I will see what I can dig up on your family – you never know, we might be distant relatives!
Hi Deborah,Many researchers list Johan Jost Merten as my ancestor.I can’t confirm anything. Do you Gedmatch? My number is A667497.Could I please send you a screenshot of our theory of relationship with Johan Jost Merten? All four of my Grandparents have Martin lines and I could really use help separating them. Please and Thank you,Alan
alkimelibra@gmail.com