I spread the pages on one of the old white linen damask tablecloths. I have made copies that are more readable, and have been studying them for years. This picture is not for the information on them, but just for the look of old paper on an old tablecloth. The papers and the tablecloth were Grandmother Mabel's things, and the first of the papers has her name on it, as well as my father's. You can see that the papers were folded to fit an envelope. They had been mailed from Jamestown, New York, to Merrill, Wisconsin, where my grandparents lived. I don't know who punched them with a three-hole punch. Certainly not I! Although I am fond of keeping papers in three ring binders, I would not do this to any ancient document.
This is a list of the descendants of my 2nd great grandparents, Henry Martin and Anna Fenton., compiled in Nov. 1919, by Anna Louise Martin Ward. It is typed on the letterhead of her husband's furniture store in Jamestown, N.Y. I bet she did all the secretarial work for the company. She did a fine job with a manual typewriter. I recently learned that Jamestown was called the " furniture capitol of the world,” so Gerald Ward’s occupation was not unusual. The Wards had no children. They had nieces and nephews. One of their nieces remembered visiting the store after they moved to Buffalo. In 1919, Anna Melvina Martin Fenton, the only one of Henry and Anna’s children still living, resided with them. No doubt she helped to compile the list. Another resident was Ella Shaw. Listed as a boarder, she was the step-daughter of Anna Louise’s Uncle Marcus, my great-grandfather.
There were a lot of tablecloths like I used here, in various sizes, belonging to various relatives. They were used for all holiday dinners, ironed by women more skilled than I have ever been, completely smooth and shining with their damask patterns clearly visible. The ones I have now came from Mabel, packed away in a wrinkled state, worn thin, and sporting a few stains.
I’ve been working with this list for years now. Almost every one of these people appears in some kind of public record. The only exceptions are a few who apparently died young. I've traced down further generations.
Some of the family lines have disappeared. I'm surprised by how many had no children. I am the last of mine. There are still descendants of Henry and Anna out there, but I have not been in touch with any of them. I don't know whether they would be impressed with their heritage.
If your surname is Griffith, Robbins, Bentley, King, Barnette, Seymore, Mosher (Mosier), Thayer, Laydan, Yochim Hanlin, Wilcox, Gahring, Zeiter, or Cruey you might be a descendant of Henry and Anna Martin. If your surname is Martin, you are not.We still might be related, anyway. Henry's father William was a veteran of the American Revolution, and I think there are still a few Martins descending from him.
Links to blog entries:
Henry Martin
Anna Fenton, Mrs. Henry Martin
Melville H. Martin, the youngest child of Henry and Anna
Anna Louise Martin, granddaughter. For a readable copy of her list, this is the place to go.
Jacob Fenton, Henry Martin's father-in-law
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