52 Ancestors 52 Weeks Week 26

Do You Know John R. Martin?

I have written about Samuel Sanders Martin and Mary Ann "Polly Ann" Allman before now. Samuel is the son of John Martin and Polly Ann, was his wife. I've had a very hard time finding any information about John. Not that I haven't found a John Martin in records. The real problem is that I have found far too many! So the real problem has been to sort out which is mine. Sounds easy, but it is not.

I can tell the family story about this man. It is very little, though. According to the story he was in the civil war. That was it. Not only does he have one of the most common names, there is very little about him in family lore. For years I have searched just to separate one out of the pack to claim as my own. Lately, I have been looking more at everyone around him in a different way. How and who do they connect with? Where can I find one instance that will separate my John from the many others?

First of all, I know that John was married to Mary Ann Allman, called Polly Ann in the marriage record. I wrote about that last week when I profiled Mary Ann. They were married on October 3rd, 1852, and both had 'Consent of father' beside their names. Since John was born about 1832, he would have been about 20. I don't believe that he would have needed his father's consent but it shows his father was wanting the marriage to take place. His bride was only 15.

The next time I find them is in the 1860 Census. This was in Sparksville, Washington County, Indiana, and John Martin is listed as 25, Polly Ann, 23, and daughter Rebecca Elizabeth is 3. Again this was in July of that year and my great-great-grandfather was born earlier that year, in February. Infants are not listed in this census. John is a farmer.

I did find one thing that could set my John apart from the others. His daughter Rebecca, married a John Beck. So I looked for any documents that she would have created in her lifetime. When I found her death certificate I had a very happy moment! Her parents were listed as John R. Martin and Mary Ann Martin. John R. is the important one here. This is possibly the only instance with John being listed as having a middle name. I was very happy to find it, though it could be wrong, and it could be the only time it is listed, at all. But it is something!

Now, the trail goes cold here. But I do have another thing to search. The family lore said he was in the Civil War. Maybe. So I searched for him there, under Jackson County, Indiana enlistments. I found a John Martin in the Indiana Volunteers, Tenth Cavalry Regiment, Company C. Other than: Private, Jackson County, and the dates, enlisted, December 1, 1863, and mustered out on August 31, 1865, there is no information. Following that regiment got me nowhere. Well, I know that if this entry is him, he survived. I thought for many years that he may have died during the war, mainly because he seemed to disappear afterwards.

Mary Ann Martin married Reuben Cockerham in 1869. Where did John go? So there had to be a divorce or he died. This would have happened between August of 1860 and 1869.

I am at a stand-still again. I will continue to try, but I am losing hope on finding the right one.

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Sources:
"Indiana Marriages, 1811-2007," FamilySearch; John Martin and Polly Ann Allman, 03 Oct 1852; citing , Jackson, Indiana, county clerk offices, Indiana; FHL microfilm 1,314,624.
1860 U.S. census, population schedule. NARA microfilm publication M653, 1,438 rolls. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.
Historical Data Systems, comp. U.S., Civil War Soldier Records and Profiles, 1861-1865 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2009.
Indiana State Board of Health. Death Certificates, 1900–2011. Microfilm. Indiana Archives and Records Administration, Indianapolis, Indiana.

52 Ancestors 52 Weeks-Week 25

Mary Ann "Polly Ann" Allman

Mary Ann was called Polly Ann, even in some records. For a long time I was not certain that I had found the right one because of this. In her first marriage she was listed as Polly Ann Allman.

She was the daughter of Samuel and Rebecca Ann Hatton Allman, and born in Jackson County, Indiana.

In the 1850 census I found Mary Ann with her parents in Brownstown, Jackson County, Indiana. It lists Samuel, 30, Rebecca A., 27, Mary A. 13, John, 11, Minerva, 9, Nancy E., 4, and Philip, 6 months. Samuel is listed at having been born in Virginia, and his occupation is farmer.

On October 3rd, 1852, John Martin and Polly Ann Allman were married. She was just 15. Both received the 'Consent of father' beside their name. His has more writing I cannot read. I will work on it later.

In the 1860 Census in Sparksville, Washington County, Indiana, John Martin is listed as 25, Polly Ann, 23, Rebecca Elizabeth is 3. The census was taken on the 12th of July. Samuel, my great-great-grandfather, was born in February of that year. He would have been about 5 months old at the time of the census, which obviously did not list infants. John was listed as a farmer born in Indiana.

This is where things get cloudy. The family story was that John fought in the Civil War. Did he? There were several John Martins that did, and I will look at that when I focus on John. I can say that at this point, I do not know. I also don't know if he and Polly were divorced, or if he died.

Mary, "Polly", is not listed in the 1870 census that I have been able to find.

There is a record of a Mary Ann Martin marriage in 1869 to a Reuben Cockerham. Her sister, Nancy, married a Cockerham and her on her father's second marriage record it says, Oath of Danl. H. Cockerham next to Sam's name, which is, I believe, Reuben Cockerham's father. I don't know what that means. I will have to take it up later.

The things that I find strange here, is that I am unable to find Mary Ann after 1860. Another thing is, the first child of John and Polly was born 5 years after they married.  I cannot find any between those dates. Also, Reuben Cockerham would have been 5 years her junior, having been born in 1842. This one is going to take a while.

Sources:
1850 U.S. census, National Archives Microfilm Publication M432, 1009 rolls; Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29; National Archives, Washington, D.C.
"Indiana Marriages, 1811-2007," FamilySearch; John Martin and Polly Ann Allman, 03 Oct 1852; citing , Jackson, Indiana, county clerk offices, Indiana; FHL microfilm 1,314,624.
1860 U.S. census, population schedule. NARA microfilm publication M653, 1,438 rolls. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.
"Indiana Marriages, 1811-2007; FamilySearch; Reuben Cockerham and Mary Ann Martin, 19 Jan 1869; citing , Jackson, Indiana, county clerk offices, Indiana; FHL microfilm 1,314,625.
"Indiana Marriages, 1811-2007; FamilySearch; Samuel Allman and Mary Hall, 01 Jan 1853; citing , Jackson, Indiana, county clerk offices, Indiana; FHL microfilm 1,314,624.

#52ancestors #genealogy