Herbert Martin, Summerfield, Alabama 1917-1918

HERBERT MARTIN

Source: WWI Draft Registration Card
Dallas County, Alabama; Roll: 1509379; Draft Board: 0.
County: Dallas
State: Alabama
Birth Date: Apr 1900
Race: Black
Roll: 1509379

Address: Summerfield, AL
Occupation: Farm Laborer
Employer: Sol (Solomon) Green(e)
Nearest Relative: Lucy (Callens) Green(e), She is the wife of Sol
Height: Medium
Color of Eyes: Black
Color of Hair: Black
Signed By: R.J. Moore, 9/12/1918

Luke & Melyena Martin 1920, Valley Creek AL

Source: 1920 Census
Location: Valley Creek, Dallas County, Alabama
Rangeline Road

Luke Martin, Farm Laborer
Born 1883, Alabama

Melyena Martin, Spouse
Born 1893, Alabama

Children:

Julia Martin, Born 1913
Laman Martin, Born 1914

Who’ll Bid? – Slave Narrative

Tracing my lineage through blood and spirit, within a slave narrative.

Awhile back, I visited the site of the slave auction block in Cahaba. It is a grassy area, an otherwise unassuming square.

In truth, the auction block was a place of horror, of cruelty–and the stage for countless African-American families to be formed or broken. Shackled together, new families formed as they trod on dusty feet into uncertain fate. Families were torn asunder as mothers grabbed and screamed for lost children. Many begged or bargained for mercy, in a desperate attempt to save something–their loved ones, their pride, their lives. The lash struck against naked skin, cutting through until blood and pus spilled on the soil like so many tears.

The crumbled auction blocks lie in ruins, unseen amongst long grass and faded memory. Let us not forgot. The labor of every slave is the foundation for our very lives, and the hope for our children. It is my hope that my ancestors will be proud of how I received the hard fought inheritance of freedom, of dignity.
Lynn Mari, 2008

A slave narrative that struck a cord…

State: Alabama

Interviewee: Fitzpatrick, Reuben

“One time I was taken to the slave market and I was screwed on the block and Mr. Martin bought me and my Mamma. The man who was selling us would holler, “Who’ll bid? Who’ll bid?” We was supposed to be spry and fidgety as to make the men bid. My furst Marster was Wash Jones. He wan’t no good to us. He would hit us wid his cane jes’ as if it had been a switch. Be like the way Marse Wash treated us niggers. He bought us for his son.”

Source: Ancestry Library Edition

For More Information:

The Slavery and Civil War Museum (1410 Water Ave., Selma, AL)
http://www.theslaveryandcivilwarmuseum.org/

Wickipedia: Cahaba, Alabama
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cahawba,_Alabama

In Memory of CD “Dugga” Martin

C.D. Martin

C.D. Martin, 88, of Selma died May 10, 2008 at Vaughan Regional Medical Center.

Services are scheduled for 11AM, Thursday, May 2008 at Graveside Ceremony with the Rev. James E. Jackson officiating. Burial will follow in Fairlawn Cemetery under the direction of Miller Funeral Service. Survivors include brother, Fred Martin Sr.; nieces, Mabel Reddick; Jeanette (Johny) Moss of Selma, AL; Rosalyn (Clarence) Hatcher, Valdosta, Ga; and Alice Lee West of Selma, AL; nephews, Thomas Akons III, Clarence Mitchell, Malachi Martin Jr. of Chicago, Illinois, and Roy Mitchell, Detroit, MI. And great nephews.

Obituaries for Thursday, May 15, 2008, Selma Times Journal

http://www.selmatimesjournal.com/articles/2008/05/27/news/obituaries/obit%2027.txt

Rest In Peace… On a sultry night in Selma, so hot the “skeeters” dropped from the sky and begged for a drop of water, my cousin Nile and I pondered over family stories. An incredible journey had begun, leading me from the muddy banks of Pig’s Eye to the backroads of Alabama to reconnect with family, and for the first time to look into eyes so like my own. Yet many questions remained unanswered. On a whim, Nile remembered our older cousin, “Dugga”. With excitment, Nile raced for the door. I panted in tow, dripping with sweat but eager for the adventure ahead. There was but a drip of gas in the tank as Nile sped down the narrow streets–in a town as small as Selma you can get pretty far on the last penny of gas. Many unseen events seemed to connect us, as small but important stitches in a family quilt we all shared–a quilt made of our memories, experiences and kindred connections. Nile and I arrived at Dugga’s house, he opened the door and with a smile said to Nile, “I was just thinking of you!”. Dugga invited us in, we sat knee to knee in his small living room while he patiently answered our questions, and told us stories of our family. I will always be thankful Dugga opened the door to us that night–a cousin he hadn’t seen in awhile, and a cousin he had just met. The stories he shared gave new energy to my work to create a family scrapbook, and in his passing, I hope we all realize how important it is to listen, to leave a legacy to the next generation and most of all–to find peace within our own families because after a person dies, it will be too late to look back and seek that lost connection.

Lynn

“Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn.”- Romans 12:15

WWI Draft Card: West Martin

Date: 1917-1918
#2084 No. 283

Name: West Martin
Born: 1889
Race: African
Address: 614 Minter, Selma, Ala.
Place of Birth: Summerfield, Ala.
Occupation: Planter
Employer: Ebenezer Deus (sp?)
Dependants: Wife, 4 children
Height: Tall
Build: Medium
No previous military experience

Note: West or “Wess” Martin is a cousin. His wife is Alberta McIlwan/Mc Clwain Martin. Their children are Malachi, Rosa, Aldolphus and CD Martin. I am looking for more information about Wess and this line of Martins. If this name sounds familiar, please leave a comment. Thanks

1880 Census: Dallas Co., AL with NC Origins

It’s interesting to look at the origins of your ancestors. Many of the pioneer Martins who migrated to Dallas County, Alabama came from North Carolina. They were primarily planters, their farms became the hamlets for generations of African-American families, who worked the farms as slaves. Of those families are my own kin, the Martins.

I am interested in further documentation on this topic, here are a few facts I found online:

“Extensive white settlement of Alabama followed the War of 1812 and the defeat of the Creek Nation. Most of the settlers came from North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia, pushed by land exhausted through the over-cultivation of cotton and drawn by the rich soil of the Tennessee Valley and the Black Belt. They brought with them slave labor and the plantation system, which were readily transplanted in Alabama. Steady demand for cotton made this product the nation’s leading export during the first half of the nineteenth century and solidified the planter elite’s sense of self-importance.”
A SHORT HISTORY OF ALABAMA AGRICULTURE, 1820-1945
by Dr. Dwayne Cox, University Archivist
http://www.lib.auburn.edu/archive/aghy/alag.htm

“In the Cotton belt, most slaves lived on plantations with less than 50 slaves. They worked in gangs, pressed on by an overseer, for the grueling year-long cycle of cultivation, which culminated in ginning and pressing the crop in January and February. The slave population almost tripled in size between 1790 and 1830. Most slave women had many children, beginning at age 19. Since children were most likely to be sold, this tragedy touched nearly every black family.” Africans in America, PBS: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part3/map3.html

“The conditions in Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia were favorable to an immediate expansion of cotton culture. There was a large, well-organized and mobile slave population which could promptly be transferred to new fields….
Many factors operated in favoring a rapid expansion of cotton culture. While cotton culture did not so rapidly exhaust a soil as did tobacco, the prevalent one crop culture without any crop rotation proved exhausting to the soils of the Coastal Plain and, to a less degree, of the Piedmont. Prices of cotton, on the whole, were falling and prices of slaves were rising.* Slavery, with its low economic efficiency, was therefore becoming unprofitable or less profitable in the older regions. The cheap and fertile lands to the westward were a strong inducement to the planter and especially his sons, who, as they set up in business, were lured westward. The Western Cotton Belt was the theater of the greatest expansion of slavery.” GEOGRAPHIC INFLUENCES IN AMERICAN SLAVERY BY F. V. EMERSON, University of Missouri
http://www.dinsdoc.com/emerson-1-2.htm

___________________________________

1880 Census: Summerfield, AL (Dallas County)

Emanuel Martin (b. 1835). farmer
Father’s birthplace: North Carolina
Mother’s birthplace: Virginia

Spouse: Laura (1852)
children: Henry (12), Mary (9), George Ann (7), Mack (6), Nannie (4), Robert Lee (2)

Jordan Martin (b. 1835)
Father’s birthplace: North Carolina
Mother’s birthplace: Virginia

Spouse: Jane “Judge” (b. 1850)
Children: Willie (12), Sarah Jane (9), James (7), Agnes (5)

NOTE: Jordan and Judge Martin are my kin. Their daughter, Sarah Jane, is the mother to my great-grandmother. I am wondering if Emanuel Martin is a relative to Jordan Martin. Any information would be much appreciated on the family or lineage of Emanuel Martin

Rachel Martin (b. 1835)
Father’s birthplace: North Carolina
Mother’s birthplace: North Carolina

Spouse: Bob Martin (b. 1825, Virginia, both parents from there). Farmer.
Children: Archie(18), Mary (14), Jimmie (11) , Bella (6)

PLEASANT HILL

Moses Martin (b. 1837, North Carolina). Farmer.
Father’s birthplace: North Carolina
Mother’s birthplace: North Carolina

Spouse: Eliza (b. 1855, Alabama)
Children: Nimby (7), Frank (4), Samuel (2), Lucy (1)

Solomon Martin (b. 1810, North Carolina). Farmer.
Father’s birthplace: North Carolina
Mother’s birthplace: Virginia

Spouse: Katie (b. 1835, South Carolina)
Children: Wilson (14)
Step-Children: William Moody (15), Susan Moody (13), Thomas Woody (11), Frank Woody (9), Loundes Woody (7), Eliza Woody (3 mos)

CAHABA

John Martin (1830, North Carolina). Farmer.
Father’s birthplace: North Carolina
Mother’s birthplace: North Carolina

Spouse: Ann (b. 1840)
Father’s birthplace: North Carolina
Mother’s birthplace: North Carolina

Eliza Martin (1842, North Carolina)
Father’s birthplace: North Carolina
Mother’s birthplace: North Carolina

Spouse: Widowed, also from North Carolina
Children: Kattarrine Martin (14)

BURNSVILLE

Cherry Martin (b. 1780, North Carolina)
Spouse: Widowed
Occupation: Decrepit
Resides with: Alex (both parents from Georgia) and Violet (mother from AL) RADFORD
and children: Harriet (18), Martin (15), Sherman (14), Paul (10), Silas (10), Amy (8), Martha (6), Hettie (7), Sam (5), Julius (4), Sallie (3), Multum (3 mos)

PENCES

Richard Martin (b. 1827, North Carolina). Laborer.

Father’s birthplace: North Carolina
Mother’s birthplace: North Carolinna

Resides with: Charles Brown (born in Virginia, both parents from there) and Julia (both parents from Virginia)
and children: Stephen (13), Willie (11), Ella (9), Charles (7), Fannie (5)
and a William Petts (22), both parents from Alabama
Note: Henry Martin (b. 1797), a Summerfield farmer, is from North Carolina

BROWNS

John Martin (b. 1832, North Carolina). Farmer.
Father’s birthplace: North Carolina
Mother’s birthplace: North Carolina

Spouse: Charlotte (b. 1830 in Virginia, both parents from there)
Children: Thaddeus (14), Dink (12), Jacob (10)

_______________________
PRINCETON

Robert Martin (b. 1819, North Carolina). White. Both parents from North Carolina.
Spouse: Mary A.C. (b. 1826, North Carolina, both parents from there)
Children: John W. (22), Smith C. (18), Richard H. (15)
Something Other than a Direct Relationship: Robert A. Martin (9). Born in TN. Mother born in North Carolina, father born in Alabama.
Servant: Alfred Ransan (15). Alfred was born in Arkansas, both parents are from North Carolina.

SUMMERFIELD
Henry Martin (b. 1797, North Carolina). White. Both parents from North Carolina.
Spouse: Amanda (b. 1832, Kentucky, both parents from there)
Something Other Than A Direct Relationship: Prudence Morrow (47), Widowed. Born in North Carolina, both parents from there.

MARTINS
Atlas J. “AJ” Martin (b. 1821, North Carolina. White. Both parents from North Carolina.
Spouse: Harriet E. (b. 1825, Alabama)
Children: E. Bryant (26), Mary B. (17)

Henry and Alice (“Allie”) Mc Clwain/Ilwain: 1900

Family of Henry and Alice (“Allie”) Mc Clwain: 1900
Valley Creek, Alabama

Henry Mc Clwain, 35
Alice Mc Clwain, 34
Pink “, 14
Alberta “, 15
Delhi “, 8
Mattie “, 5
Mary “, 4
Ada “, 3
Narca “, 2
Babe “, 1
Mealy Mc Clwain, 60
Lucy Morre, 50

Note: Alberta Mc Clwain/Ilwain is a cousin by marriage. Her husband is known by both “Wes/Wess” and “West” Martin. I am looking for more information on this family line. Henry and Alice Mc Clwain/Ilwain also lived in Selma.

Valley Creek Presbyterian Church Cemetery * Land & Kin

http://ftp.rootsweb.com/pub/usgenweb/al/dallas/cemetery/valleycreek.txt

Valley Creek Presbyterian Church Cemetery
Dallas County, Alabama

On Valley Creek Church Road, off State Hwy 22 North.
When you come out of Selma on State Hwy 22 North right outside the city limits to the left is Valley Creek Church Road. Turn left on that
road and go about four miles, The cemetery is on the right on a hill and you really have to watch for it or you will pass it.

Surveyed and recorded by Kay Pomeroy & Jean Pickering

Thank-you!

The Green, Martin, and Ford family lived throughout Dallas County in Valley Creek, Woodlawn, Summerfield and Selma. The history of my family begins in slavery, and has developed along farming, and the families whose land my ancestors worked.

This cemetary record of Valley Creek Presbyterian Church Cemetery includes plots from the Crawford, Morgan and Kenan families of Valley Creek. These are the places my family would have worked and lived, along the gravel background leading into an isolated, wooded hamlet of farms. Other families in this cemetary include Waugh, Bondurant, Callen, Gilmer and others.

______________________________________________

James Ellis Crawford Nov. 26, 1859 Oct. 17, 1916. Dearest PAP thou hast
left us here thy loss we deeply feel but tis GOD who hath bereft us,
He can allour sorrows heal.

Note: My great-grandmother, Mary Ella Martin-Morton (Mel, Mary) worked on the Crawford Place in Valley Creek, off Rangeline Road. She raised several children there, including my grandfather. The Greens and the Martins are cousins, and would often visit each other.

__________________________

Roy R. Morgan Pfc. US Army World War II May 15, 1916 Dec. 1, 1988.

Daddy
John Lewis Morgan October 19, 1885 July 14, 1969

Mama
Vesta Crawford Morgan October 5, 1889 September 1, 1985

Infant son of John & Vesta Morgan Aug. 18, 1910

Note: An older cousin told me, that her family worked the land of John Morgan. I used her recollections when researching family history and found the families of Willie and Ethel Greene and of Sol Greene to live next to John and Vesta Morgan in Valley Creek My great-grandfather, Pettus Ford, is also said to have worked the Morgan Place.

_____________________________

One head stone
William Josiah Rountree born July 10, 1843 died March 10, 1916
Confederate Soldier 1861 1865
Sarah Elizabeth Morrison wife of W.J. Rountree born Aug. 1847 died Feb.
26, 1914 She hath done what she could. Sarah Rountree

Jessie D. Rountree son of W.J. &s.e. Rountree Aug. 14, 1866 Dec. 2,
1929

Granville Allen Young Sept. 30, 1833 Feb. 4, 1922

Note: 1930 Census, Valley Creek (Dallas County), AL

Green, Lizzie b. 1891
Green, John b. 1864 (Husband)
Father: Grandville Allen
Nephew: Dock Green b. 1915

I think this family is kin. My Uncle Solomon “Sol” Green/Greene also had a son called Dock.

_____________________

Row 6

James Kenan, born 1808 in N.C. died 1874 in Ala.

Erected by his wife in memory of William K. Kenan, youngest son of Tho & Mary R. Kenan who was born in Duplin County North Carolina 27th of September 1819 died in Dallas County Alabama July 31st 1858. There is a voice which sorrow hears. When heaviest weighs life galling chains, tis heaven that whispers “dry your tears the pure in heart shall meet again” (on back) Them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with Him.

D.L. Kenan, 1816 1910 Son of Mary Rand and Col. Thomas Kenan.
(Mary Rand Kenan)

Victoria Corr, wife of Danial Love Kenan May 5, 1843 May 1, 1935
(Victoria Kenan)

William Owen Kenan, Feb. 9, 1869 Dec. 16, 1923

Thom- AN 1812
(This stone is broken next to the Kenan’s)

Sarah L. Smith daughter of Col. Thomas and Sarah L. Kenan, who died the 20th of Nov. 1845 and composed firmly in the righteousness of Christ.

Sacred to the memory of our father Col. Thomas Kenan and our mother Mary Rand Kenan. Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God. Col. Kenan was the son of Genl. James Kenan of Duplin County North Carolina. He was born on the 26th of Feb. 1771 and died on the 22nd of Oct. 1843 in the 73 year of his age. He frequently represented his native County in the Legislature and the Wilmington District in Congress. In Jan. 1833 He removed with his family to Dallas County Ala. where he resided at the time of his death. Mrs. Kenan was the daughter of John Rand and Elizabeth Hinton, she was born in Wake County North Carolina on the 17th of Jan. 1781 and died in Dallas County Ala. on the 21st of Sept. 1856 in the 76th year of her age.

Note: The Martins are said to have worked in Kenan’s Mill, grinding corn. The Green(e) lived in Summerfield near Kenan’s Mill, on a farm.

1900 Cenus* Summerfield, AL: MARTIN

1900 Census: Summerfield, Alabama
MARTIN

Martin, Amanda V. White. Head (68), widower.

Martin, William. Black. Head (30) born May 1870.
Della, wife. Born 1878.
Jennie, daughter, born 1895.
Ada, daughter, born 1896.
Louesa, daughter, born 1897.
Rosey, daughter, born 1898.
John, son, born 1900.

Martin, Sarah J. Black. Head (25) born April 1875.
(Sarah J. Martin may be kin. If anyone has any information please e-mail me or leave a comment).

Green, Jim. Black. Head (29) born May 1871.
(Cousin)

Martin, Julia. Black. Head (18) born 1882.
(Aunt.)

Matin (Martin), Jim (this probably is “James” son Judge and Jordan Martin, and an Uncle). Black. Head (26) born 1876.
Lucy, 1888.
Frank, 1896.
Hubbard, August 1898.
Jordan, July 1899.

Waugh, Ned. Black. Head (1887).
Jancey (?), wife.
Fanny, daughter.
Martin, Cloud (a twin), April 1889. Nephew.
Martin, Manuel (a twin), April 1889. Nephew.
Moses, 1891. Nephew.

Martin, Isaha. Black. Head (27).

David & Emily Robins: 1880, Dallas Co, AL

Name: David Robins
Home in 1880: Summerfield, Dallas, Alabama
Age: 38
Estimated birth year: abt 1842
Birthplace: Alabama
Relation to head-of-household: Self (Head)
Spouse’s name: Emily
Father’s birthplace: Alabama
Mother’s birthplace: Alabama
Occupation: Farmer
Marital Status: Married
Race: Black
Gender: Male

Children of David and Emily Robins:
Sarah Robins 12
Celia Robins 10
Simon Robins 6
Martha Robins 5
Andeson Robins 2

Note:
A son named Jon Robins may also have been part of this family.

Simon Robins and Sarah Jane (Sarah, Sarah J.) Martin are the parents of my great-grandmother, Mary Ella (Mary, Mel) Martin.

In 1870, the Robins family lived close to the farm of Silas and Margaret Green (in Summerfield), who are also my kin.