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