Dear Jim - My Nancy Hill Harris is the daughter of Arthur Harris and Mary "Polly" Myrick or Myrich. Arthur is the son of West Harris Sr and (I've forgotten her name because I'm typing this from memory) so we are talking about the same family. My great-grandmother hired Rassie Wicker to research her family tree for Colonial Dames Membership. That is when we found out the marriage date for Nancy Hill Harris and John Bethune Martin did not jive with the birth date for "their" son, Atlas Jones Martin. Previously, several family members, now dead, had become members on the West Harris line. I ended up joining via another line from SC, but finding Atlas Jones Martin's mother is about to drive me crazy! My great-grandmother had Mr. Wicker work on it, my grandfather wrote tons of letters to elderly family members to find out anything about her, my father just collected and kept up with the files already started and traced land records (his forte'), wills and such to add to the files! . Ihave been working on this one item for almost 6 years (I know that's not long when talking about genealogy) and have spent almost 3 days from the time the doors opened until they asked me, very politely, to leave. I went to the court houses in Carthage and Troy (I think), but they were closed at the time. If John B. Martin was born in 1791, he could have gotten married as early as 1810, or so. The only child we know of from that union is Atlas Jones Martin who was born in 1820. Unless the "wife" died tragically with the other(?) children, I have to assume that either John B. Martin and unknown were married shortly before 1820 when A.J. Martin was born or that she was unable to get pregnant or carry a child to term. That leads me to wonder if she died during childbirth. John did not marry Nancy Harris until 1825. Who took care of Atlas Jones Martin until then? Did he marry in between or did he live with his mother and/or sisters who took care of the child? His mother died ! in 1824 so it would make sense that he would remarry as soon as he no longer had her to take care of his son. Or, did John Bethune Martin's wife not die during childbirth? Or was Atlas Jones Martin illegitimate and therefore out of respect for John Martin's father he was not named after Murdock Martin? Questions...questions...questions...Oh well, if anyone has any thoughts on the subject, please share! Thanks and peace! Fredreica speyer@bellsouth.net ----- Original Message ----- From: Jim Tucker To: Paul & Fredreica Speyer Sent: Friday, December 21, 2001 10:26 PM Subject: Re: [NCMONT] Wife of John Martin 12/21-8:20 pm Hi, I have a Nancy Harris whose parents were Green Harris & Mary "Polly" Hearne. Green's parents were West Harris, Jr. & Edith Ledbetter & Polly's parents were Ebeneezer Hearne 7 Dovey Walker. Don't have an birth date of Green Harris except abt. 1791. West , Jr. b.3/28/1756 d.7/26/1826. Does this help you any? If so please let me know. Thanks. Jim At 11:32 AM 12/20/2001 -0600, you wrote: >I am looking for the FIRST wife of my John Bethune Martin. He was born >about 1791 in Moore County, NC, in an area that may have been Bladen >or Cumberland County at one time. He married (2nd) Nancy Hill Harris >on August 24, 1824 in Montgomery Co. Before his marriage to Nancy >Harris, John B. Martin had a son named Atlas Jones Martin, who was >born December 22, 1820, North Carolina. Nancy Hill Harris is listed as >his mother on all family records, but I do not see that it is >possible. John and Nancy had a child soon after they were married and >it was not Atlas Jones Martin, so his date of birth is not in >question. The marriage date is in our family records and was found in >Raleigh at the Archives in published marriages from a NC newspaper. > >My John Martin was Clerk of County Court for Montgomery County (at >Lawrenceville) in the 1820's and 1830's. His name appears on many >documents as Jno. B. Martin, Esq. His brothers were Angus and Farquar >Martin. His father was Murdock or Murdoch Martin. They were all >involved in government and were friends and neighbors with a gentleman >named Atlas Jones. Since John Martin's second marriage was published, >I wonder if his first marriage (if they were married) was? If he was >married to Atlas Martin's mother, it would have been in 1819 or 1820, >I would assume, due to John B. Martin's age. Even then, he would only >have been about 18 or 19 years of age. > >John was born in America, but his parents were from Skye in Scotland. >I'm thinking they would have used whatever "Scottish Naming Patterns" >may have been in effect at that time. Why did J.B. Martin name his son >Atlas Jones Martin, after Atlas Jones? Was A. J. Martin illegitimate? >Was the mother estranged from her family and did she die during >childbirth and therefore the child was not named after her father? >>From what little I have been able to gather, Atlas Jones was in >between the age of John Martin and his father, Murdock Martin. I do >not believe that my John Bethune Martin's son, Atlas Jones Martin, >could have been the grandson of Atlas Jones. I have not ruled out a >family connection between the families of John B. Martin and Atlas >Jones, however. > >I am very interested in burial records from Harmony Presbyterian >Church, now Ellerbe Presbyterian Church, in Moore County; Mt. Carmel >Presbyterian Church, located on the border of Montgomery and Richmond >Counties; Longstreet Presbyterian Church; Bensalem Church and the Old >Scotch Graveyard in Moore County. These are the locations where most >of my ancestors (that I have been able to find) attended church and/or >are buried. > >I don't expect anyone to produce my missing ancestor, but if any of >you can offer hints, tips, suggestions, leads, etc. on how to go about >searching for the first wife of John Martin from marriage records, >church records, cemetery records, bastardy bonds, etc., I would >appreciate ANYTHING!!! Are there census records for Moore and/or >Montgomery County for 1820? I spent 2 days in Raleigh almost two years >ago and was unable to find her, but it was my first trip to an Archive >for genealogy research. If I could ever get back, I might know a >little more about what to look for and where!?! Thanks so much for >your help. > >Fredreica >speyer@bellsouth.net > > > > >==== NCMONTGO Mailing List ==== >Rules are few, no religion, politics, chain letters allowed. Flamming will result in removal from the list. >