Johann Martin Jr. (1844)

Born 5 Dec 1844 in Unterhaching, Bavaria, Germany

Ancestors

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Biography

"The record of John Martin, Jr. is not complete as no living descendants have been found. Numerous clues were pursued with no success. Only a few facts concerning him have been confirmed: viz., that he was the first child of John Martin and Elisabeth Bildheimer Martin, that he was born in Unterhaching, Bavaria Dec., 5, 1844, and that he came to America with his parents and grandparents when he was ten years of age; that he was a veteran of the Civil War; and that in 1880 he was living in Centerville, Iowa. All other information regarding him is hearsay; however, much of it is probably correct. His being a veteran of the Civil War is also attested to by a German letter in the possession of the family written from Memphis, Tenn., part of which will be reprinted below.

Thanks to his niece, Josephine Day Esser of Richmond, Calif., the letter mentioned above written to his sister, Maria Eva Martin Day, on Nov. 8, 1862 while he was serving in the Union Army is still preserved. It is dimmed with age but parts of it have been translated thus:

"On Nov. 1 I received a letter from my father, but I want to wait with answering it until we get paid, because I want to send him some money. I can well imagine that things are awful rough for him, a lot of work, and he all by himself. And he will hardly be able to sell anything. I can get along without money a lot better than he can...We don't hear much news. The war will either get worse before spring or peace will be made, because England and France want peace. If either the South or the North refuses, then we will have to fight England and France. Here in Memphis are thousands of of women and children who would be starving if we were not supporting them, because before we got here a sack of flour sold for 30 dollars and a bushel of salt for 20 dollars which sounds unbelievable. Three says ago a Southern soldier surrendered here and he was barefoot. A pair of shoes which cost one dollar in the North he had to pay 12 dollars for...200 miles from here in Mississippi, rebel soldiers went into farm houses and took all the meat except 50 pounds...they don't have any salt except what is smuggled through..." (Meriwether, 1962, p. 31)

Sources

• Bernhard Martin and His Descendants: Genealogical Records of the Descendants of Bernhard Martin to 1962. Agnes Immele Meriwether, Columbia, MO, 1962.