[p. 583] a leading citizen of
Slippery Rock Township, whose well improved
farm of 150 acres is situated seven
miles southeast of New Castle, was born
December 17, 1839, in what was then Mercer
County, Pennsylvania. His parents
were John and Margaret (Dodds) Martin.
William Martin, the grandfather, lived out his life in Ireland. He was the owner of a farm of some extent, which, in that country is known as "forever land." John Martin, father of George, was born also in Ireland and was reared to manhood on his father's farm. Six years after his marriage to Margaret Dodds he brought his family to America and settled near Eastbrook, in Washington Township, in what is now Lawrence County. He continued to live there until the death of his wife, in 1871, when he moved to the farm owned by George Martin, with whom he lived until his death, which took place March 20, 1877. Of their ten children, two were born in Ireland and all lived to maturity except one. The following survived youth: Elizabeth, who married Henry Gillespie, both deceased, had two sons and two daughters; Anna, who married William McConnahy,[sic] both deceased, had five sons and three daughters; Margaret, who is the widow of Robert Armstrong, has a son and daughter and resides with the latter, Anna Catherine, who is the wife of Newton Nelson, of Lawrence County; Mary, who married Ezekiel Wilson, both deceased, had five sons; James D., who married Amanda Garvin, resides at Lamar, Colo., and they have three sons and six daugters; William who married (first) Sarah Stewart, of Lawrence County, and (second) Margaret Dodd, of Westmoreland County, has three sons and three daughters by his second union. He served three years of the Civil War as a member of the Eleventh Regiment, Iowa Volunteer Infantry, and now resides at Eskridge, Kansas; George, Daniel C., who is a clergyman, having a charge in Pittsburg, married Lucretia Mott McIntosh, who was named for the great Quakeress philanthropist, and they have three daugters and four living sons, one being deceased. Thomas J., the youngest member of this large family, resides on his farm in Waubunsee County, Kansas, twenty-five miles southwest of Topeka. In 1862 he enlisted in Company F, One Hundredth Regiment, Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, in which he served for three years, taking part in many battles. During the battle of the Wilderness he was wounded in the leg and was sent to a hospital, returning to his regiment as soon as sufficiently recovered. At the battle of Spottsylvania Court House he was very seriously injured, was again sent to a hospital and again returned to his regiment, finally receiving his honorable discharge from the service. He married Jemima Davis, of Lawrence County, who died in 1904, while they were living at Crawfordsville, Iowa, after which he moved to his present farm. He has three sons and two daughters.
George Martin attended the schools near his home through boyhood and assisted in cultivating the home farm. When the first call was made for soldiers, in 1861, he enlisted under Col. Robert McComb, but the quota was filled before this regiment was made up and their services at that time were not needed. Mr. Martin then went to Oil City, where he worked for a year and then went back to the farm, taking the management of it for his father and operating it until his first marriage, in 1866, when he moved to Washington County, Iowa, where he bought and operated a farm, remaining there until after the death of his wife, when be came back to Pennsylvania, and after his second marriage he bought his present farm. When Mr. Martin, first acquired the place scarcely any improving had been done and little clearing. Years of the utmost activity followed and he each year made improvements. In 1876 he replaced the old barn with the present substantial structure, and in 1877 the old log house gave way to the present handsome residence. The fine condition of his land gives testimony to the work that has been put upon it. Mr. Martin has carried on general farming and has dealt largely in live stock and has been a heavy shipper of cattle to Pittsburg and Philadelphia, and of milch [sic] cows to the latter place.
Mr. Martin was married (first) to Marietta Hope, who died in January, 1871, in Washington County, Iowa. She was a daugter of Hugh Hope, of North Beaver Township, Lawrence County. She left no children. Mr. Martin was married (second) to Rosa A. Douthett, who is a daughter of William and Mary Douthett, of Brownsdale, Butler County, Pennsylvania, of which place her father was a native. Her mother was born in Mercer County. Mr. and Mrs. Martin have three sons and one daughter, namely: John W., who resides near Edenburg, in North Beaver Township, married Harriet A. Taylor and they have three sons, Merle K., Francis R. and Paul E. Wilson D., residing in Iowa, married Susan McCleary; George E., residing on Martin Street, New Castle, which was named in honor of his father, is a contractor, and married Amanda Patterson; and Mary W., who married William Munnell, a farmer, lives near Hermon Church, in Slippery Rock Township.
Mr. and Mrs. Martin are strong workers for the cause of temperance, Mrs. Martin being an active member of the W. C. T. U. and Mr. Martin deeply in sympathy with the Prohibition movement. Mr. Martin has accepted no public office except that of school director, but has ever shown his interest in the welfare of the community. He is a leading member of the Covenanter or Reformed Presbyterian Church, and was a delegate in June, 1908, to the General Assembly of this religious body, which was held at Philadelphia.
20th Century History of New Castle and Lawrence County Pennsylvania and Representative Citizens Hon. Aaron L. Hazen Richmond-Arnold Publishing Company, Chicago, Ill., 1908
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