Martin Family

08/19/2026. Martin Family History Summary: From Pioneer Virginia to Huntington, WV:

Generation 1: The Colonial Patriarch

Ancestor: Samuel Martin Sr.

• The History: The earliest confirmed patriarch of the direct paternal line, living in the English/Welsh colonial settlements of Bucks County, Pennsylvania, before the family's westward migration.

• Generation 2: The Migration to the Virginia Frontier

• Ancestors: Samuel Martin II (1720–1782) & Ann (1725–Deceased)

• The History: Son of Samuel Sr. In the late 1760s, Samuel II and Ann packed up their household and migrated south down the Great Wagon Road, settling on Reedy Creek in Bedford County, Virginia.

• The Family Unit: Their household included children Rachel (1739–1831), Thomas Sr. (1750–1833), Joseph (1755–1824), Samuel III (died 1777), and Job (1753–1839).

Generation 3: The Revolutionary War & The "John/Job" Mystery

• Ancestors: Samuel Martin III (died 1777) & Job Martin (1753–1839)

• The History: Job and his brother Samuel III both stepped up to fight in the Revolutionary War. Samuel III tragically died in 1777 during the height of the war (likely in battle or camp). Job served as a Fifer in the 5th Continental Line, survived the Siege of Yorktown (1781), and later became an early pioneer settler of the Kanawha Valley/Fayette County region in West Virginia.

• The Name Mix-up Explained: The family lore name of "John" stems from two things: 1) in 18th-century cursive script, handwritten entries for "Job" and "John" are nearly identical and easily misread by later generations, and 2) the memory of the lost brother, Samuel III, was often blended into the oral history as "John/Samuel."

Generation 4: Settling the County Border

• Ancestor: Joseph Martin (1778–1860)

• Spouse: Margaret "Peggy" Wilson

• The History: Son of Job Martin (named after his uncle Joseph). He established the family homestead right along the rugged frontier border of what would become Nicholas and Fayette counties.

Generation 5: The Belva Border Homestead

• Ancestor: Abraham Martin (1824–after 1880)

• Spouse: Mary Pauline Ripptoe

• The History: Son of Joseph Martin. He lived and worked right on the Nicholas/Fayette county line where the town of Belva sits. Mary Pauline brought a deeply rooted French Huguenot (Ripptoe/Reptau) lineage into the family, tracing back to early landowners in Albemarle and Amherst counties, Virginia.

Generation 6: The General Store Era in Belva

• Ancestor: Joseph Alexander Martin (1855–1920)

• Spouse: Ann Eliza Dorsey (Affectionately known to the family as "Annie")

• The History: Great-grandson of the Revolutionary War fifer. In the late 1890s and early 1900s, Joseph and "Annie" lived in the booming timber and railroad town of Belva, West Virginia. They laid the groundwork for the family's local commercial footprint, operating a community dry goods and grocery business from their property.

Generation 7: The Grocer Turned Fire Captain

• Ancestor: Charles C. Martin

• The History: Son of Joseph and Annie. Around the turn of the century, he formally ran the family business in Belva, which was recorded in local business directories as "Martin C.C. & Co., Grocers." 

• As the local timber boom slowed, Charles liquidated the store and relocated the family west to the rapidly expanding city of Huntington, West Virginia. There, he built a highly respected civic career, rising to the rank of Fire Captain. In their later years, his parents, Joseph and Annie, moved into the city to live with him.

Generation 8: The Link to You

• Ancestor: Charles C. Martin Jr. (Officially registered at birth as Charles Lawrence Martin)

• The History: Your father. His dual naming is a classic artifact of West Virginia's early vital statistics system, where formal courthouse registrations often differed slightly from the practical "Junior" name used by the family at home.