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From the roots in Ireland and England, the Martin Family Tree has spread its branches wide and has flourished in the United States. How much has it grown? I thought I’d find out by adding up the numbers of descendants for Peter S. and Ellen Martin, and for William S. Martin and Fanny Woll Knapp. (Note: I’m only including the names of deceased people, although i am counting living descendants.)
Peter S. and Ellen V. Martin
Generation Two
- Peter and Ellen Martin had five children, with two sons that live to adulthood: Peter S. Martin, William R. Martin and Edward Harry Martin, and two name unknown.
Peter and Ellen knew much tragedy with their children. Their first child, Peter S. Martin, Jr., died as an infant. He was followed by two healthy sons, William Reuben and Edward Harry. Later came another infant who died shortly after being were born. (This is based upon the 1900 Census where Ellen indicates four births and two living children. In the 1910 Census, she indicates three and two. Family knowledge suggests there may have been other stillborn children.)
In 1907, Father Peter Martin died when William R. and Edward Harry were just 20 and 17. Both men went on to marry, but William R. Martin had no children; Edward Harry fathered eight children with two wives. In the end Ellen outlived all of her children, and helped to raise some of her grandchildren.
Generation Three
- Edward Harry Martin and his first wife, Letha Rogerson, had three children: Peter Smith Martin II, Edward Harry Martin, Jr., and Katherine Martin.
- Edward Harry Martin and his second wife, Elizabeth Weidner, had five children: Ellen Harriet Martin, Florence Angie Martin, Effie Martin, a Living Daughter, and George Martin.
When Edward Harry Martin and Letha Rogerson married in 1913, it was the joining of two well-known families in Beaver County’s political scene. Josiah Rogerson, Letha’s father, had served alongside Peter S. Martin for many years. Peter was County Assessor, then later Head of the Probate Court which job became Head County Commissioner when Utah became a state. Josiah had held many different jobs in the Beaver County administration including Tax Assessor and Collector, County Clerk as well as Court Clerk, notably during the trial of John D. Lee for the Mountain Meadows Massacre. The Rogersons were faithful Latter-day Saints and had traveled to Utah with the fateful Willie’s Handcart Company in 1856. That their daughter would choose to marry out of her faith must certainly have been distressing.
But Edward Harry was a fun-loving, handsome young man with a car. What young girl doesn’t want that?
In 1927, Letha filed for divorce, claiming ill-treatment and failure to provide for the family from Harry. Just 17 months later Harry would marry 19-year-old Elizabeth Weidner. She was one of 15 children born to recent German-speaking immigrants from what was then Hungary, and is now Romania. Elizabeth’s father, Peter Weidner, was a shoemaker with the Royal Shoe Company, and then later on his own.
Generation Four
- Peter Smith Martin, Jr., and Leila Ann Terry had five children (still living).
- Edward Harry Martin, Jr., and Iva Banks had one daughter (died as an infant).
- Catherine Martin and Wesley Allen had two children (still living).
Notably, Edward Harry Martin’s grandchildren include one doctor, four nurses, several teachers, librarians, artists, musicians, writers, and athletes. What a wonderfully talented bunch!
Peter Smith Martin II worked on the railroad and was a beloved father to five children; his brother Edward Harry Martin, Jr. is a much sadder story.
Edward Harry Jr. married and had a daughter with Iva Banks, however, the child died shortly after birth. Harry, Jr. was well-known as a brilliant mechanic. He also had a penchant for roaming the hills, and one day just disappeared. To this day no one knows what became of him.
Katherine married the love of her life—Wesley Allen. Together they have a son and a daughter (both still living) who each have children and grandchildren.
- Ellen Harriett Martin and Henry Alison Lowder had four children: Larry Lowder, Alison Lowder, and two others still living.
- Florence Angie Martin had nine children: Frank Anderson, Elizabeth Anderson, Katherine Anderson, Merle LeRoy Starry, and five living children.
- Effie May Martin and Lawrence Stanley Wagner had seven children: Lawrence Stanley Wagner and six others, still living.
- Harry’s Living Daughter had four children: Judy Holder, Michael Holder, and two other living children.
- George Martin has two children.
Harry and Elizabeth’s first daughter was Ellen Harriet Martin Lowder who became a nurse; she died, unfortunately, at a young age, but not before bringing four children into the world. All four were redheaded!
Effie May married and moved to Canada where she raised her seven children. Although she also died at a relatively young age, she gave us an amazing group of fun-loving Canadian cousins. George Martin married twice, fathering a daughter with each wife.
Flo, or “Starry eyes” as she was known, raised nine children, four of whom predeceased her. Although she raised her children mainly in California, her living children currently reside in Utah and Oklahoma. There is one daughter of Edward Harry and Elizabeth Weidner still living in the Fresno area—she has two daughters and two sons, two living and two deceased.
Generation Five
- Peter Smith, Jr. and Leila have 18 grandchildren;
- Catherine and Wesley Allen have 8 grandchildren;
- Ellen Harriet has 4 grandchildren.
- Florence Angie has 17 grandchildren.
- Harry’s Living daughter has 13 grandchildren.
- Effie has 19 grandchildren.
The fifth generation (inclusive) from Peter and Ellen Martin—their great great grandchildren—are now cultivating careers and raising families of their own. They include doctors, lawyers, a physical therapist or two, teachers of children and university professors, professional musicians, several who serve in the military, and multiple athletes—football, soccer, ice skating, gymnastics; there are health gurus and tech gurus; business managers and entrepreneurs.
Generation Six
- Peter Smith Martin, Jr. and Leila have 32 great-grandchildren;
- Catherine and Wesley Allen have ?? great-grandchildren;
- Ellen Harriet has 3 great-grandchildren.
- Florence has ?? great-grandchildren.
- Harry’s Living daughter has ?? great-grandchildren.
- Effie has ?? great-grandchildren.
And what will Generation Six bring? Please help me find out by adding in the Comments Section below any information or numbers you may have for the great-grandchildren of the Martins listed. I will update the count as I receive new information.
William Martin and Fanny Woll
Generation Two
- William Smith Martin had one son, Peter Martin Knapp.
Fanny Woll emigrated to Utah from Norway in 1873. She, her mother Anna, and her sister Catherine had joined the church in Bergen and planned to join the Saints in Utah, as well as a brother who was a miner. Catherine had married Peter Audres Hol, a missionary in Norway, before they left. When they arrived, it appears the family’s lives took unexpected turns. Anna and Fanny stayed in Salt Lake City. Peter changed his name to Peter A. H. Franklin, and went to Beaver County where he energetically set about providing for his family. He is listed on the 1880 Census in Frisco, working as a mechanic, seven households removed from Peter S. Martin.
Franklin eventually started up a sawmill to provide timber as supports for the Horn Silver Mine. He also worked as a miner, wherein at one point he saw a vision while underground and decided he was meant for a higher calling. Peter became a minister and set out to reclaim lost Scandinavian souls in Utah who had been misled into becoming Mormons. Peter became quite adept at fund-raising for new churches, which skill he then employed as a mining speculator, eventually losing millions of other people’s dollars in mismanaged schemes. Members of the Woll family were among those who lost money.
Generation Three
- Peter Martin Knapp fathered four children with Anna Nelson: Godfrey Martin Knapp, Oliver E Knapp, Sidney L Knapp, and Anna C Knapp.
In late spring/early summer of 1882, Fanny Woll came in contact with a Martin brother while in Frisco visiting her sister, or perhaps while they were visiting Salt Lake City. She became pregnant and traveled to Chicago where she gave birth to a son on 24 February 1983. She apparently fabricated a husband and father for her son—Mr. Knapp—before also killing him off. Fanny returned to Salt Lake City as the widow Knapp, with infant son in tow. She named him Peter Martin Knapp. As Peter grew up, he evidently knew who his sire was. He lists his father as a miner born in Scotland on the 1930 Census (and others). (DNA indicates Peter Knapp is more likely the son of William, however, he is definitely the child of one of the two Martin brothers.)
Generation Four
- Godfrey Martin Knapp has one child.
- Anna C Knapp has three children.
Peter eventually married Anna Nelson and sired four children. (She had two children from a different father.) Peter worked in the copper mines in Utah for awhile, then moved to California where he worked as a clerk in the post office.
One son, Godfrey Martin Knapp, married and sired a son who is living today, who also has a grandson. Each of these sons has carried the middle name “Martin,” although only recently did the family realize the significance of the name. Anna Knapp had three daughters (still living) who have given her 11 grandchildren.
Generation Five
- Godfrey M Knapp has one grandchild.
- Anna C Knapp has 11 grandchildren.
The children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren of William Smith Martin and Anna Woll number 21 souls. They have become teachers, psychologists, miners, civil servants, and community volunteers.
