Aquilla Martin (1796 - 1886)

Born 11 Jun 1796 in Charles County, Maryland, USA

Husband of Mary Byrne (Fairfax) Martin — married 1821 in Preston County, Virginia, USA

Died 11 Feb 1886 at age 89 in Kingwood, Preston County, West Virginia, USA

Biography

The West Virginia Argus.
KINGWOOD, W. VA., FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 1886.
VOL. XV. NO. 17.
Page 3, Column 3
A GOOD MAN GONE.
Died, of [sic] February 11, 1886, at the residence of his daughter, Mrs. Emeline Breakiron, near Morgantown, in the county of Monongalia, Aquilla Martin, Esq., formerly of this county.
Mr. Martin was born in Charles county, Md , June 18, 1797. At five years of age his father and mother determined to remove to Kentucky, but on reaching a point upon their journey near where Reedesville [sic] now stands they abandoned the trip on account of Mrs. Martin’s failing health and concluded to locate there. They kept a tavern at Reedesville [sic] for two years and then removed to near Morgantown. Mr. Martin, the subject of this sketch, spent the majority of his life in Monongalia, Harrison and Taylor counties. For many years prior to the War he resided near Pruntytown, engaged in farming and stock raising, and accumulated considerable property. He was twice married, his first wife being a daughter of Col John Fairfax, of Virginia. Four children were bon to them, Col. John A. F. Martin, of Preston county, being the only surviving member. A daughter of John Miles, Esq., of Greenbrier county, became his second wife and they had five children, all of whom are dead except Mrs Breakiron. In 1861 three of his children died within two weeks of diphtheria, and a son died from injuries received by the kick of a horse. After these misfortunes he quit house keeping, rented his property, and went to live with his surviving children––spending his summers, generally, with Col. Martin and his winters with Mrs Breakiron. For many years he had been a devout Christian, a member of the M. E. Church. He died peacefully and without pain his last words, “I am gong,” addressed to his daughter, being the only warning she had of his approaching end. Mr. Martin was a man worthy of love and of all honor, gentle, upright, blameless, always true to his own convictions of duty, fearing nothing from the consequence of right action, large in heart ond [sic] impartial in intellect.
His remains arrived in this city Monday, in charge of Col. Martin, and were conveyed to Pruntytown where they were interred in the Smith cemetery.––Grafton Standard.

Sources

• Jeffrey L. Haines, Family Notes, MS, 2017.

Aquilla Martin obituary