Milton P. Martin

As printed in 1912

MILTON P. MARTIN.

One of the remaining links in the chain that connects the present age to a period long buried in the miss of the past in this history of the city of Mt. Vernon is Milton P. Martin, now living in honorable retirement after a long and successful life in his native locality, spent principally in farming and sawmilling. He has been a witness of wonderful transformations in his home country, has seen the virgin forests filled by the woodmen and the raw prairie sod upturned by the plowman, log cabins give way to pretentious homes, and villages spring up on every hand. He has kept untarnished the honored name of the family, well-known in Knox county for a century, his sterling grandfather having braved the wilderness here in the early period of the nineteenth century, when Indians were numerous and hostile and ferocious wild beasts roamed where now are having fields of grain and the happy homes of men. The members of the Martin family have not been merely spectators to this change in the face of nature, but they have been active in the work of development, each playing well his role in the drama of civilization as staged in local arena, and no family within the borders of this county is more deserving of representation in a volume of the province of the one at hand.

Mr. Martin was born in Mt. Vernon, Ohio, on November 9, 1844, and is the son of George R. and Agnes P. (Shipley) Martin. George Martin, the great-grandfather of the subject, moved with his family to Knox county in the year 1811, from Pennsylvania. He located at the foot of Main street, Mt. Vernon, and for some time followed the carpenter’s trade. He lived only a few years after coming to his county. His oldest son and child, Jacob, the grandfather of the subject, then became the head of the family.

He, too, was a carpenter by trade, to which he added cabinet-making. He also following undertaking. His family lived on what is now the corner of Main and Front streets, his shop being located on Front street Jacob Martin married Ann Adams, daughter of John Adams, who came from Virginia in 1817 and settled in Morrow township, Knox county, where he engaged in farming. The brothers and sisters of Jacob Martin were: Joseph, George,

Elizabeth, Mary and Nellie, all of whom are now deceased. The following children were born to Jacob Martin and wife: George, Samuel, John, Frank, Joseph, Albert, Ellen, Martha and Clara. Albert, the youngest son, and Clara and Ellen are still living.

George R. Martin, the oldest son in his father's family, was one of the pioneer sawmill and lumber men of Knox county, having been engaged in this business here from 1854 to 1890, during which period he became widely known as a progressive and successful business man. His mill, which was the first steam sawmill in the locality, was located at the junction of the Martinsburg and Granville road in South Vernon. It was originally built by C. P. Buckingham and bought by Mr. Martin, and during all the years from 1854 to 1890 he operated a mill upon this same site. His death occurred in June, 1899, his widow7 surviving until in February, 1905. The father of the subject was a Republican. His father was an original abolitionist, and being of Scotch-Irish descent, both the Martin and Adams families having come from northern Ireland, were Presbyterians. George R. Martin was much interested in public affairs and while he always supported whatever measures that had as their object the general good, he was not an office holder or seeker of public favors. He was a man of intelligence and progressive ideas and stalwart integrity.

Nine children were born to Mr. and Mrs. George R. Martin, namely: Milton P., of this sketch: Ida is deceased: Frank A. lives in Richwood, Ohio: Alice is the widow of John Higbie; Jessie V. married Jesse B. Lafever, of Mt. Vernon: Harry lives in New7 Castle, Indiana; Luella married Hugh Green and lives in Harrison township, this county; George P. is deceased; one child died in infancy.

Milton P. Martin, of this review, grew up in Mt. Vernon and when old enough worked in his father’s mill. He was educated in the Mt. Vernon public schools. He has been twice married, first, on February 20, 1869, to Susanna Johnson, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. William O. Johnson, of Mt. Vernon. To this union two children were born, Mary E., now the wife of Dr. H. W. Pyle, and Fred J., of Clinton township, this county. The wife and mother was called to her rest on April 1, 1875. In October. 1887, Mr.

Martin was married to Alice Page, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. John Page, of Delaware county, Ohio. To this union one daughter was born. Marguerite P., who is living at home. The death of the second wife occurred on October 1, 1896.

In 1874 Mr. Martin left the sawmill business and moved to his farm in Clinton township and there engaged successfully in farming for a period of twenty-six years, until 1900, when he moved to the old family home near the site of the sawmill, where his father was an important factor for so many years and where some member of the Martin family has resided for a period of one hundred years. The subject is now living a retired life with his daughter, enjoying the fruits of his former years of toil and endeavor. Politically, lie is a Republican and has always been more or less active in public affairs, but he has never been an office seeker, though he served for years as a member of the township board of education. During the Civil war he enlisted, in January, 1864, in Company M, Third Regiment Ohio Infantry, and was with Sherman’s army in General Thomas’ division and he saw active service through the Atlanta campaign and other activities, in all of which he acquitted himself as an excellent and faithful soldier, never shrinking from duty, no matter how arduous or dangerous, according to his comrades. He was wounded in the battle of Lovejoy near Atlanta on August 19, 1864. He was mustered out of service on August 4, 1865, at Macon, Georgia. He is a member of Joe Hooker Post, Grand Army of the Republic, in which he has long been active, and in 1911 he represented the post at the state encampment. He is a public-spirited citizen and a worthy descendant of Knox county pioneers.

As printed in Past and present of Knox County, Ohio (1912). See the original pages. Wording is the original; obvious scanning errors have been corrected, and a few may remain.