Many Martin family researchers list the land upon which James Martin lived in Albemarle, Virginia as the New South Wales Plantation. This is identified as the 1600 acres James bought from John Chiswell along the banks of Rockfish River, a tributary off the James River. Many Martin researchers list the place of birth for James’ children as New South Wales, the country. So, I thought I would express my thoughts on this.
I will immediately debunk the idea that the Martin’s are from New South Wales. First of all it is a state on the East Coast of Australia that was established as a British penal colony in January 1788. James died in 1775. So, I would say there is little chance that his children were born there.
In my opinion, the better theory (assuming the plantation name is correct) is that James named it “New South Wales” in reference to a fresh or younger version of South Wales.
South Wales is the region of Wales that is bordered by England to the East and Mid Wales to the North. It includes the areas of Pembrokeshire and the lands of the Marcher Lords. For those that have not researched the long history of the Martin family, after the Norman invasion of England in 1066, the Martin men became known as some of the Marcher Lords. In 1094 Martin de Turribus (Tours) subdued the territory of Cemaes (Keymes) in Pembrokeshire in South Wales and was given the Title of Lord of Cemaes and the associated lands by King William II.
Two generations later, William Fitz Martin married the daughter of the Prince of South Wales as part of a peace deal. Peace was short lived and the Martin family ended up building a castle on a knoll in Newport, Pembrokeshire, Wales around 1191. In 1245 William’s grandson, Nicholas, was the fifth Baron of Cemaes. Although he was living in England, he still held the lands and castle at Newport and was called by King Henry III, along with the other Marcher Lords, to fight against the Welsh in an uprising. According to history, there were many Welsh uprisings and many Martin men defended this land for their King.
The history of the Martin family in South Wales continued until the Barony fell into abeyance in 1324 when the last of the heir male line died without children. The lands passed to a younger sister and then to her son, only to be completely gone by 1391.
Luckily for me, a younger brother of the sixth Barony of Cemaes continued the Martin line from which I am part of. Although this line did not inherit the massive land holdings in Wales, there were smaller land holdings and dowry lands for the younger males in a family.
History is great, but the South Wales connection ended about 300 years before James was born. Could that history have made it through family stories so much so that James named his plantation in honor if it? Possibly. It certainly seems much more plausible than the Australian state of New South Wales.
I do not believe my Martin family came from a penal colony in Australia, but I also feel like something is missing in this story. Wales is approximately 100 miles from Dorsetshire, England, where the Martin’s lived until the first brothers came to America. Why would James name his plantation New South Wales? What is the connection? Did the stories of the brave Martin knights and Barons survive through generations? Was there something else that made this an important connection for James? I guess this needs more exploration to solve the question of why James Martin named his plantation New South Wales.
Update 2023: After reviewing a very detailed map of Virginia “The marches of Lord Cornwallis in the southern provinces, now states of North American, there is an area on the map labeled “North Wales”. It is located to the east and north of Three Notch Road, by Tuckahoe Creek. It appears to be on the northeast side of the North Anna River where it forks with the South Anna River in Caroline County. It is also on the 1770 Virginia Map.
North Wales is a historic 1776 Virginia Plantation on 1,471 acres located in Fauquier County, VA near Warrenton, VA. In 1718 the property want granted by Lady Catherine Culpeper of Fairfax to Col. Rice Hooe Jr. and Capt. Hohn Hooe. John willed it to daughter Ann and husband William Allason who built the original home between 1776 and 1796. Later owners transformed it into an equestrian estate and then into a private sportsman’s club, adding a carriage house, stables, offices, tenant houses, tennis court, and more. In 1999 the plantation was placed on the National Register of Historic Places by the U.S. Department of the Interior. In 2015, the plantation sold for $21 million.
If there was a plantation built called North Wales in Virginia, could the Martin family have decided to name their plantation as South Wales? The Martin plantation was located south of the North Wales plantation. Or perhaps the Martin plantation was built first and the North Wales plantation was named after the South Wales plantation?? This idea is a stretch, I admit that. But it is the only reference I have found to a Wales plantation name – north or south.
Has anyone else found a plausible explanation or any reference to the New South Wales Plantation? Where did the idea that this was the name of the Martin plantation originate? Where’s the proof?
Let me know what you think!
Happy researching,
Cheers,
Deborah