Letitia (Martin) Edwards (1747 - bef. 1797)

Born 25 Sep 1747 in Caroline County, Virginia [uncertain]

Ancestors

Wife of Edward Wade — married 15 Oct 1768 in Charlotte, Colony of Virginia

Wife of Charles Edwards — married 30 Apr 1779 in Halifax County, Virginia, United States

Descendants

Died before Mar 1797 before age 49 in Halifax County, Virginia

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Stephanie Barney [send private message]

Biography

By Jouett Taylor Prisley

Letitia, known as Letty, was the second of nine children and only daughter of Abraham and Elizabeth (Marshall) Martin. She most probably grew up in Charlotte or Lunenburg county, an area known to be home to the Martin family.

Edward Wade and Letty Martin's marriage bond was issued on 15 October 1768 in Charlotte County, VA.^[1] The family Bible record shows the marriage date as 10 October 1769.

Assuming the 1769 date of marriage is correct, she was 22 and he was 24. They had four children mentioned in Edward's will:

1. William Wade
2. Abraham Martin Wade
3. Edward Washington Wade
4. Betsy Marshall Wade

Since Edward's will was made and proved in Halifax County Virginia, it is assumed that was the family's home at the time. Edward was killed in action the Revolution seven months after executing his will.

About two and a half years later, Letty re-married to Charles Edwards on 30 April 1779 in Halifax County. Her second husband was 20 years older than Letty and a widower with two sons. In 11 years of her second marriage, Letty bore six more children: ^[2]

1. Mary Ann Hawkins, m. Britton Mims
2. Letty, m1. ____ Breedlove, m2. ____ Nichols
3. Robert
4. Jesse Edwards, m1. Elizabeth Moss, m2. Elizabeth Davis
5. Charley Edwards (twin dau.), b. 23 Mar 1783, m. Drury Mims
6. Charles Edwars, Jr. (twin son), b. 23 Mar 1783, m. Jane Thomas, d. 23 May 1842

Charles died in 1790, leaving her again a widow at the age of 43 with nine children, the eldest of whom could not have been more than 22.

Within the seven years before her death, Letty moved to Edgefield SC, probably to be near brothers' families. Based on some data, the FGS questions her death in Edgefield or Halifax: it was almost certainly the former. Letty died in 1797 at age 49. Her younger brother Barkley was noted as guardian of her younger Edwards children as late as 1806.

Sources

1. ↑ Ancestry.com. Virginia, U.S., Marriage Records, 1700-1850 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2012. Original data: Bentley, Elizabeth Petty, indexer. Virginia Marriage Records: From the Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, the William and Mary College Quarterly, and Tyler's Quarterly. Baltimore, MD: Genealogy Publishing Co., Inc., 1984. Online at: https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/3799:3143?tid=&pid=&queryId=56ca4cff8d46685c02899aa75cdd819b&_phsrc=iQF2568&_phstart=successSource
2. ↑ Key and Allied Families, by Julian C. Lane, Genealogical Publishing Co., 01 Jun 2009, p. 346

See also:

• Porcher, Anne Carrington (Martin). Martin Family, 1680-1934. Brooklyn, 1935, pp. 23-24 (images 90/92 of 164). Internet Archive Books. Accessed 18 AUG 2021.
• Chapman, John A. History of Edgefield County From the Earliest Settlement to 1897. Newberry, SC: E.H. Aull, 1897, p. 393. Google Books. Accessed 18 Aug 2021.
• "Genealogies of Virginia Families", William & Mary Quarterly, Vol V, Th-Y, pages 326-328
• Bell, Landon C.: Sunlight on the Southside: List of Tithes, Lunenburg Co VA 1748-1783, Genealogy Publishing Co., Baltimore, 1974
• Borchers, Donnis Mott: Thomas Lamar: The Immigrant, 300 Years of Descendents, 1977, LC#77-82890
• Martin, Abraham: Bible record, Martin Family Quarterly, v2 #2 p26-28
• Martin, Abraham's will: Charlotte Co VA Will Book 1765-91, p105
• Porcher, Anne C.: The Martin Family
• Woodland, Naaman J. Jr.: associate professor of history at Lamar U., Beaumont TX (much information from his own family research, and establishment of inaccuracies in the Martin line)

Profile history: WikiTree profile Martin-8718 created through the import of Martin_Cleaned.ged on Apr 3, 2012 by Donna Drury.