Richard Martin is currently protected by the Puritan Great Migration Project for reasons described in the narrative. Join: Puritan Great Migration Project Discuss: PGM
Richard Martin of Ottery St. Mary, Devon and of Rehoboth, Massachusetts was almost certainly the Richard Martin, son of Richard Martin, baptized on 22 November 1609 at Saint Mary Ottery, Devon, England.[1] The will of Richard Martin the elder of Ottery St. Mary, Devon who died 6 August 1633 was destroyed by fire.[2] However, the will was briefly abstracted in the Snow-Estes Ancestry which states it was proved in 1634 and that it named sons Abraham, Robert, and Richard; daughter Agnes; a daughter Jane who was deceased.[3] This proves the name of the father of Abraham, Robert, and Richard, as well as their origins. He married Elizabeth Salter at Ottery St. Mary and had eight known children.
Richard's two older brothers Robert and Abraham immigrated to England by 1635 and eventually settled in Rehoboth, Massachusetts.[4][5] Richard was still in England in 1660, when his brother Robert wrote his will leaving land to Richard "if either hee or his Children Did or Could Come over ... to enjoy the benifit of it."[6] Also mentioned is his "elder brother Abraham" "if he needeth it." In his will, written on 9 September 1669, Abraham left some household goods and weaving looms to be divided among the children of his brother Richard and the children of John Ormsby. [7]
Richard Martin clearly did soon come over soon after 1660 and settle on his brother's land as his daughter Grace married in Rehoboth in 1664.[8] Of his children, Grace, Agnes and John all came with their father to New England, while sons Richard and Francis remained in England. In 1679, Richard Martin deeded land to his son John land rights that "my brother Robert did give me by his will."[9]
Richard Martin died testate on 2 March 1695. His will names his sons Richard and Francis who were then living in England, grandchildren by Richard and Francis, and his children Grace Ormsby, Annis Chaffee and John Martin all living in New England. His estate included an "old great bible" was valued at £22.18.08. His son John submitted a bill for expenses paid by him during the first Indian war and for caring for his father for six years.[10][11]
Name and Origins
Two different origins have been given for the Martin family, Batcombe, Dorset and Ottery St. Mary, Devon. That Richard, Robert and Abraham are brothers is primarily proved by their wills as well as other family connections. The will of Robert Martin names "my brother Richard in Old England, and "my Elder brother Abraham." The will of Abraham Martin names "my brother Richard." Richard Martin mentioned land that "my brother Robert did give me by his will."[9]
In his Certificate of Conformity to immigrate to New England, Robert was noted as "of Badcombe, husbandman."[5] This is usually taken to mean Batcombe, Dorset or Batcombe, Somerset which is about 60 miles from Ottery St. Mary (could this be Branscombe, Devon which is less than 10 miles from Ottery St. Mary, and about the same to Bicton?). Because of this sole record, the Martins are sometimes said to be from Batcombe, Dorset. Anderson incorrectly states that the origins Robert and Abraham are unknown, and when he says they are from Batcombe, Dorset he simply means this is the last place they can be found immediately prior to their immigration.[4][5]
The evidence is over whelming that the family was actually from Ottery St. Mary, Devon. The will of Richard Martin refers to his son Francis, and the 2 sons of Francis in Old England - a Francis Martin had exactly two sons baptized at Ottery St. Mary. The will of Richard Martin refers to a grandson Richard, son of Richard, in Old England - a Richard Martin had a son Richard born in 1676. Richard had a daughter Grace - Grace Martin daughter of Richard was baptized at Ottery St. Mary in 1640. Richard Martin had a daughter Agnes - Agnes daughter of Richard was baptized at Ottery St. Mary in 1650. His brother Robert who was the one called "of Badcombe" was actually married at Ottery St. Mary, so he was in Ottery St. Mary long before he could be said to be in Batcombe.
Birth
Baptized: on 22 November 1609 at Saint Mary Ottery, Devon, England.[12]
While cannot be certain this is the correct baptism for Richard Martin the immigrant, it is the only known baptism which fits the data. He married in 1631, and had children born from 1632 to 1652. Since his older brothers were born c1589 and c1591, it is possible Richard was born before the parish registers of Ottery St. Mary start in 1601. However, this would mean he did not marry until he was in his 30s and continued having children into his 50s, which is also unlikely.
Marriage and Children
Married: Elizabeth Salter on 9 June 1631 at Ottery St Mary, Devon, England.[1][13]
Children: of Richard Martin and Elizabeth Salter:[1]
William Martin. Baptized on 4 March 1632 at Ottery St. Mary, Devon, England.[14] William was buried on 10 May 1632.[15]
Elizabeth Martin. Baptized on 16 June 1633 at Ottery St. Mary.[16][17] Elizabeth was buried on 1 January 1659/60.[18]
Grace Martin. Baptized on 21 September 1640 at Ottery St. Mary, Devon.[19] She married John Ormsby on 5 January 1664 in Rehoboth.[8] Grace died 4 July 1710 in Rehoboth.[20]
Richard Martin. Born say 1644. No baptism or marriage record has been found at Ottery St. Mary for Richard, as they are lost in the appropriate time periods. He was named, along with his eldest son John, in his father's will as living in Old England. A John Martin, son of Richard and Mary Martin, baptized on 11 December 1676 is likely the grandson named in Richard's will.[21]
Francis Martin. Born say 1646. No baptism or marriage record has been found at Ottery St. Mary for Francis, as they are lost in the appropriate time periods. He was named, along with his two sons, in his father's will as living in Old England. Richard Martin baptized on 19 March 1673/4 and Abraham Martin baptized on 25 December 1678, sons of Francis and Sarah Martin, are likely the two grandsons named in Richard's will.[22]
Agnes (Anne) Martin. Baptized on 7 February 1649/50 at Ottery St. Mary.[23] She would be the same as Richard's daughter Anne Martin who married Joseph Chaffee on 8 December 1670 in Rehoboth.[8]
Mary Martin. Baptized on 7 February 1650/1 at Ottery St. Mary.[24] No further records.
John Martin. Baptized on 20 January 1652/3 at Ottery St. Mary.[25] He married Mercy Billington on 27 June 1681 in Rehoboth.[8]
Death
Died: 2 March 1695 in Rehoboth, Bristol County, Massachusetts.[26]
my grandson John my son Richard's eldest son (in England)
my daughter Grace Ormsby
my grandchild John Ormsby my daughter Grace's eldest son
my son John Martin that is now with me
my three children now in New England, viz John, Grace, Annis
my daughters Grace Ormsby and Annis Chaffee
son John to be sole executor
Inventory valued at £22.18.08. Included an "Old Great Bible."
Research Notes
Ottery St. Mary parish records: The parish records of Ottery St. Mary do not begin until 1601, so the birth records of Abraham, Robert and potentially Richard are lost. It also makes proving their parents almost impossible. The records are incomplete from 1643-1644, and missing entirely from 1645-1648. This is undoubtedly when Richard's sons Richard and Francis were born. The marriage records for 1663-1679 are also missing which is when Richard's sons Richard and Francis would have married.
Exeter records: During the Exeter Blitz of WWII the city library was destroyed with the loss of over a million documents and books. This includes the wills from this part of England. For Example, Richard Martin the elder of Ottery St. Mary who died 6 August 1633 is likely the father of Abraham, Robert and Richard. However, his will was lost forever in the fires of WWII.
Possible parents: Richard Martin was previously given as parents Richard Martin and Katherine Lyde. Richard Martin and Katherine Lyde were married on 23 November 1579 in Branscombe, Devon, England.[27] Branscombe is less than 10 miles from Ottery St. Mary making this a possibility that these are the parents of Richard, Abraham, and Robert. The problem is the dates are getting very stretched out. Richard and Katherine married in 1579, Abraham was born c1589, and Richard was (apparently) born in 1609. These dates make it unlikely that they are the correct parents for the three brothers.
Brother Abraham: His brother Abraham Martin came to New England by 1635, when he received at land grant at Hingham, Massachusetts. He was in Rehoboth by 1645. In his will, written in September 9, 1669, Abraham left some household goods and weaving looms to be divided among the children of his brother Richard and the children of John Ormsby who had married his sister Grace.[7][4]
Brother Robert: His brother Robert Martin, and wife Joanne (Upham) Martin, came to New England and settled at Weymouth, Massachusetts in 1635. At that time, Robert was noted to be husbandman "of Badcombe," though they had been married at Ottery St. Mary.[28] Robert died in 1660, and his undated will names among others his brother Richard and Richard's two son who were then living in Old England.[6] His wife Joan died in 1668, and her will names many relatives including "my brother Richard Martin," and "cozen" Grace (Martin) Ormsby and her husband "cozen" John Ormsby.[29]
Brother Isaac: Certainly another brother was Isaac Martin who first appears in Hingham, Massachusetts in 1639 where Abraham first settled. Isaac Martin then received a land grant in Rehoboth in 1643, where Abraham, Robert and Richard all eventually settled.
John Martin of Swansea: John Martin of Swansea was likely a very near relative of Richard Martin. Some older sources mistakenly make John Martin of Swansea the same as Richard's son John - this is incorrect. This John Martin was the son of Edward and Judith (Upham) Martin, baptized 22 February 1634/5 at Ottery St. Mary. His mother Judith Upham was the sister of Joan Upham who married Robert Martin; her brother John Upham and sister Sarah (Upham) Ormsby also immigrated to New England. So John Martin of Swansea and the Martins of Rehoboth all originated from Ottery St. Mary and had multiple intertwining connections by marriage.
Incorrect wife: This profile previously included a wife Elizabeth Edmunds - this is incorrect. A different Capt. Richard Martin married the widow Elizabeth Edmunds on 28 November 1689 in Charlestown.[30] She was the widow of Joshua Edmunds.
MARTIN, Richard (-1694) & 2/wf Elizabeth (____) EDMUNDS (-1726), ae 84), w Joshua; 28 Nov 1689, 29 Nov; Charlestown {Charlestown 325, 658; Middlesex Court Rec. 618; NYGBR 54:191} (This is for Capt. Richard Martin of Charlestown and his second wife).
Not applicable:
Different Richard Martyn (bef.1629-1694): MARTYN, Richard (-1694) & 3/wf 4/wf Mary (BENNING) [WENTWORTH], w Samuel; aft 13 Mar 1690/1, by 1691, aft Apr 1691; Portsmouth, NH {Reg. 17:212; Wentworth 1:116; GDMNH 464, 738}
↑ 10.010.1 NEHGR, vol. 63 (1909): page 79. "Will of Richard Marten."
↑ 11.011.1 Bristol County, MA: Probate File Papers, 1686-1880. (AmericanAncestors.org online database). Probate #17029. Original will or Richard Martin, 1695.
↑ Charlestown. Roger D. Joselyn, ed. Vital Records of Charlestown, Massachusetts, to the Year 1850, vol. 1. (Boston: NEHGS, 1984): page 149.
Source list:
Anderson, Robert Charles. Great Migration: Immigrants to New England, 1634-1635, volume V, M–P. (Boston: NEHGS, 2007): pages 54-56, biography of Abraham Martin. AmericanAncestors.org link
Anderson, Robert Charles. Great Migration: Immigrants to New England, 1634-1635, volume V, M–P. (Boston: NEHGS, 2007): pages 57-60, biography of Robert Martin. AmericanAncestors.org link
Hotten, James C. The Original Lists of Persons of Quality; Emigrants..., 1600-1700. (London,1874): pages 286. Google Books link
Massachusetts Land Records, 1620-1986; Plymouth Deeds 1651-1681; vol 2-4. (FamilySearch online database). Vol. 4. page 330. Image 629 of 677.
The Mayflower Descendant, volume 17. (Massachusetts Society of Mayflower Descendants: Boston, Massachusetts, 1915): page 112. "Plymouth Colony Wills and Inventories: Widow Joanna Martin's Will," by The Editor. AmericanAncestors.org link, Internet Archive link
The Mayflower Descendant, volume 17. (Massachusetts Society of Mayflower Descendants: Boston, Massachusetts, 1915): pages 160-161. "Plymouth Colony Wills and Inventories: Robert Martin's Will," by The Editor. AmericanAncestors.org link, Internet Archive link
The Mayflower Descendant, volume 19. (Massachusetts Society of Mayflower Descendants: Boston, Massachusetts, 1917): page 32. "Plymouth Colony Wills and Inventories: Abraham Martin's Will," by The Editor. AmericanAncestors.org link, Google Books link
The Mayflower Quarterly, vol. 49 no. 4 (Nov 1983): pages 170-179, see 175. "The Martins of Swansea and the Martins of Rehoboth," by Hodge, Harriet Woodbury. AmericanAncestors.org link
New England Historical and Genealogical Register, vol. 63 no. 1. (January 1909): page 79]. "Will of Richard Marten."Google Books link
New England Historical and Genealogical Register, vol. 127 no. 1. (Jan 1973): page 175. "Ottery St. Mary Origin of Thomas Harris," by Edward M. Harris. AmericanAncestors.org link
H. Tapley-Soper. The Register of Baptisms, Marriages & Burials of the Parish of Ottery St. Mary, Devon, 1601-1837, pt. 1 and 2. (Exeter: Devon & Cornwall Record Society, 1929). FamilySearch.org link
Chaffee, William Henry . The_Chaffee_Genealogy: Embracing the Chafe, et al, Descendants of Thomas Chaffe of Hingham, Hull, Rehoboth & Swansea, Massachusetts 1635-1909. (The Grafton Press, 1909): pages 20, 25.
Pope, Charles Henry. The Pioneers of Massachusetts: A Descriptive List, Drawn from Records of the Colonies, Towns, and Churches, and Other Contemporaneous Documents. (Baltimore, 1900): page 303. Google Books link
Snow, Nora E. The Snow-Estes Ancestry. (Hillburn, NY, 1939): page 267.
Torrey source: Beecher-Bullard: Frost, Josephine C., Ancestors of Henry Ward Beecher and His Wife Eunice White Bullard. (Brooklyn, N. Y., 1927): page 67. Ancestry.com link Note: Source confuses John Martin of Rehoboth with John Martin of Swansea.
Torrey source: Guild Anc. (1891): Guild, Howard Redwood, Ancestry of Calvin Guild, Margaret Taft, James Humphreys, and Rebecca Covell Martin: Including over One Hundred Surnames, 1620–1890. (Salem, Salem Press, 1891): page 25. Note: Useless, makes multiple errors.
Torrey source: Drown (Ms): Benton, Charles E., Ancestry of Harriet Maria Drown Benton, typescript (n.p., 1914). (only available at NEHGS).
Woolson-Fenno 91: Woolson, Lula May (Fenno), The Woolson-Fenno Ancestry and Allied Lines, with Bio. Sketches ([Boston]: privately printed, 1907). Note: Useless, source confuses John Martin of Rehoboth with John Martin of Swansea.
Acknowledgements:
WikiTree profile Martin-5259 created through the import of 2010-09-14.ged on Jul 28, 2011 by Bob Carson.
Re Batcombe, Dorset. The registers don't exist for this period but one piece of negative evidence is the 1641 Protestation return. This was signed by males over 18 in the parish and all signed in this parish. There are no Martins.http://www.opcdorset.org/BatcombeFiles/BatcombeProtestation.htm. Unfortunately, Ottery St Mary's returns haven't survived.
It didn't survive the WW2 bombing of the Exeter archives.
There is a finding aid on Genuki for Devon wills ( the original of the FMP one).https://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/DEV/DevonWillsProject. His will has a code which signifies that it was indexed by Fry in 1908 but no known transcript exists.
Martin-6524 and Martin-5259 appear to represent the same person because: There are currently three profiles for Richard Martin. Martin-5259 is the lowest profile number, so should be the target to merge into.
Martin-45019 and Martin-6524 are not ready to be merged because: Please see previous notes on Martin-6524 regarding merges. Another option would be to remove the parents connected to Martin-45019 and submit as new merge for review. The parents appear to be the main issue . Ages don't make sense.
I am sending you a PM to address the confusion that seems to be in play. The profile of both these men as you are proposing should have the same wife. Any info on one profile during a merge will combine. The parents on Martin-45019 have not been detached and don't make sense (please review)
Martin-45019 and Martin-6524 appear to represent the same person because: Same name, exact same spouse on both profiles with exact same marriage date, same birth year, same death date/place
Thank you for reviewing. Teresa (WikiTree Arborist)
Martin-45019 and Martin-6524 are not ready to be merged because: Mother's death date is prior to Richard's birth date - additional research may be needed to connect to these parents, also see notes in Martin-6524 re parentage questions
no, I don't think so. No children who are PGM, but brothers only.
I see Joe has updated this profile excellently. Not sure if the origination of the family is on the profiles of the brothers... that needs to be done. Then I think PGM adjunct can be removed from this profile.
I still have bit of work to do on these profiles. The key 1633 will of Richard's father was destroyed but I have found a reference to it which proves his parentage and that of his brothers. I need to make this clear on all the profiles. Since all this started because of a claim the parents are unproven and so detached, perhaps it would be best to keep the profile project protected.
Martin-22038 and Martin-6524 are not ready to be merged because: Birth year and location as well as marriage location should be resolved first. Spouses look the same but also need additional research to determine LNAB before merging
https://www.findmypast.co.uk/transcript?id=GBOR%2FOR%2FDEVWILLS%2F199593
Richard Marten Probate year 1633 Place Ottery St Mary Court (Episcopal) Principal Registry of (The Bishop Of) Exeter
There is a finding aid on Genuki for Devon wills ( the original of the FMP one).https://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/DEV/DevonWillsProject. His will has a code which signifies that it was indexed by Fry in 1908 but no known transcript exists.
edited by Debra (Adams) Akin
Thank you for reviewing. Teresa (WikiTree Arborist)
Still no source for his parents
I see Joe has updated this profile excellently. Not sure if the origination of the family is on the profiles of the brothers... that needs to be done. Then I think PGM adjunct can be removed from this profile.
Comments Joe?
Joe, will you please comment again, later after your work is completed, if you think Adjunct or PPP should be removed? Thank you.