My husband & I are getting very frustrated and discouraged in trying to locate proof of his GGGgrandfather, William MARTIN, a Kanawha County, Va/WVa man, being born to a William & Elizabeth Martin in Bedford County, VA in 1831. We've been through all the censuses, several records on Ancestry.com, asked for research to be performed at the WV State Archives & we've even been down to the Bedford County Museum in VA to look at their records, all without gleaning anything concrete. This is a major brick wall. My understanding is that William MARTIN was born approximately 1831 (if he didn't lie on his 1856 Kanawha marriage record about his age) in Bedford County to parents named William & Elizabeth Martin. We have found two possibilities for William's parentage: William Martin & Elizabeth Shaon, married in 1816 in Bedford; and William Martin & Elizabeth Ellis, married in 1831. We have no way yet of confirming he's the son of either couple or neither couple. Does anyone have any tips, suggestions, clues, on how to find some kind of birth record prior to 1853 in Virginia? Or, even better, does this William Martin ring any bells with anyone? His occupation was that of a cooper (maker of barrels). William &/or his family may have also lived in the Roanoke County area as well before moving to Kanawha County/Kanawha Valley area (which is why I am also sending this to the Roanoke & Botetourt mailing lists). Speaking of which, do any history buffs out there know why a young man in his early 20s would leave the Bedford county &/or Roanoke area to go over 200 miles over to Kanawha circa 1845? Much thanks, Lori J. Martin --------------------------------- Yahoo! Messenger with Voice. Make PC-to-Phone Calls to the US (and 30+ countries) for 2¢/min or less.

Lori, The marriage bonds of Bedford County, Virginia, list the marriage of William Martin, Jr., son of Joseph Martin (not William Martin), to Eleanor (not Elizabeth) Ellis on Oct 5, 1830, (not 1831) at Bedford County. The "Jr." in this case denoting a younger William Martin, rather than a son of a William Martin. If you are sure that your William Martin was a son of a William Martin and his wife's given name was Elizabeth, then this would seem to preclude this William Martin, Jr., from being your ancestor. Here is the listing from the Bedford County Rootsweb site: * Oct. 5, 1830; William Martin, Jr., s Joseph & Eleanor Ellis, dt Benjamin; Newlon Kasey, Surety Also, the first William Martin listed in the 1850 Kanawha County, Virginia, census was age 19, but appears to be the son of Dioclesian Martin, not William Martin. The second William Martin listed in the 1850 Kanawha County, Virginia, census was age 16 and appears to be the son of Eliza Martin. If your William Martin's mother was Elizabeth, then this second William Martin would seem more probably your ancestor, but with a date of birth in 1834 rather than 1831. The third William Martin listed in the 1850 Kanawha County, Virginia, census was age 14 and apparently the son of John Wright, which seems to preclude him from being your ancestor. Did you obtain your William Martin's parents' names from his marriage record? If not, you may want to double check your source for their names. Hope the above is of some help to you. Best wishes, Bob Grant Lori Martin wrote: >My husband & I are getting very frustrated and discouraged in trying to locate proof of his GGGgrandfather, William MARTIN, a Kanawha County, Va/WVa man, being born to a William & Elizabeth Martin in Bedford County, VA in 1831. We've been through all the censuses, several records on Ancestry.com, asked for research to be performed at the WV State Archives & we've even been down to the Bedford County Museum in VA to look at their records, all without gleaning anything concrete. This is a major brick wall. > > My understanding is that William MARTIN was born approximately 1831 (if he didn't lie on his 1856 Kanawha marriage record about his age) in Bedford County to parents named William & Elizabeth Martin. > > We have found two possibilities for William's parentage: William Martin & Elizabeth Shaon, married in 1816 in Bedford; and William Martin & Elizabeth Ellis, married in 1831. We have no way yet of confirming he's the son of either couple or neither couple. Does anyone have any tips, suggestions, clues, on how to find some kind of birth record prior to 1853 in Virginia? Or, even better, does this William Martin ring any bells with anyone? His occupation was that of a cooper (maker of barrels). > > William &/or his family may have also lived in the Roanoke County area as well before moving to Kanawha County/Kanawha Valley area (which is why I am also sending this to the Roanoke & Botetourt mailing lists). > > Speaking of which, do any history buffs out there know why a young man in his early 20s would leave the Bedford county &/or Roanoke area to go over 200 miles over to Kanawha circa 1845? > > Much thanks, > Lori J. Martin > > >--------------------------------- >Yahoo! Messenger with Voice. Make PC-to-Phone Calls to the US (and 30+ countries) for 2¢/min or less. > > >==== VABEDFOR Mailing List ==== >Messages from this list are "warranted" to be free from viruses ... >BUT some virus might masquerade as a mailing list message >ALWAYS be careful with unexpected attachments in email messages. > > > -- Robert N. 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