Our journey began with the simple words of make a more permanent copy, spoken
by my brother Francis J. Martin, as he placed on my table the handwritten
small family history our grandfather Francis Stinson Martin and his third
cousin Osgood Martin, both of Ontario, Canada, had compiled in the mid-1930s.
I began typing the history, but my heart really was not in it. Interested in genealogy? Oh no, not I.
As I entered the names, made so familiar by our late grandfather, I came to a branch that ended with just the parents and eight children. The father was a favourite granduncle of our grandfather, but the family had moved away, ties lost. It was as though a melody had been interrupted in mid-note. I wondered where the descendants were, not knowing that the genealogy bug had bitten me then.
Our grandfather had started the family history with his great-grandfather William Martin, mentioning only he had a brother Amos who had lived north of Napanee, Ontario. Little did he and Osgood realize what a large clue that was. Francis J. and I started to dig into census, cemeteries, land records, talking to many Martins in the county our family lived. We were able to find the majority of the descendants of the granduncle, except for the youngest son and his eight children which turned out to be nine. Those descendants took a further ten years to be found. In the meantime, we were able to go back one more Martin generation, finding that we belonged to a far larger family than just our small branch.
The journey continues, the melody plays on. I still am looking for a more permanent copy. Not interested in genealogy? Oh no, not I.
(For sources, please contact me at the above e-mail address)
In Memory Of Fallen Peace Officers
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Lucy's Gardens
Time In Ontario, Canada
(Where I Live)