James MARTIN and Hannah CARTER

[Michael Hill]

Robert Hill suspected that James MARTIN and Hannah CARTER, who married 28 May 1818, might have been John's parents. He photocopied a page from "Virginia Ancestors and Adventurers, Vol. 1", by Charles Hughes Hamlin, c1967, which contained the following deed book extract:

Patrick Co. Deed Book 7, page 384:

25 June 1830 - Indenture in which William Carter, Senior, of Patrick Co., Va. makes a deed of gift for love and affection for his grandchildren: Susan Martin, Anne Martin, Ruth Martin, and John Martin, children of James Martin OF THE COUNTY OF SURRY, STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA, a Negro woman, Zelpha, and her two children, Matilda and Jean, and a Negro boy named Clark, etc.

Recorded August Court 1830.

It seems likely that this is the father of Hannah Carter. I noticed that there's no mention of a grandson named James. I've been assuming that the James P. Martin living with John and Elitha in the 1850 census, who would have been alive in 1830, was probably John's brother.

[Michael Hill]

Alecia Tipton found the James Martin/Hannah Carter family in the 1820 and 1830 census schedules in Surry County, North Carolina. (Surry County was mentioned by William Carter as James Martin's home in 1830.)

Alecia wrote in an e-mail to me:

I did check the 1820-30 Surry census. It does look like that James is over there and his wife is dead. He also has an older child in house. But maybe he was married before. His near neighbor was Micajah Forkner. That is who one of the Carter girls married. The Surry James was born about 1784-90.

Here are the ages in the census schedules for James Martin:


1820 census (Capt Forkners District, Surry Co., North Carolina)[INDENT]1 male under 10
1 male 26-45
1 female under 10
1 female 16-26

2 male slaves 14-26
1 male slave 26-45
1 female slave under 14
2 female slaves 14-26
[/INDENT]


1830 census (Surry Co., North Carolina)[INDENT]1 male under 5
1 male 15-20
1 male 40-50
2 females 5-10
1 female 10-15
[/INDENT]
Based on the census data, Alecia wrote that James might have been married before and I think she's right. Given that James and Hannah married in 1818, James's oldest son was probably from a previous marriage. That would explain why, in 1830, William Carter mentioned three Martin granddaughters and only one Martin grandson. And Hannah having died prior to 1830 explains why William didn't mention her.

Is it possible that John "Jackson" Martin was actually born in Mt. Airy, North Carolina rather than Mt. Airy, Virginia? Or maybe he was from Mt. Airy, North Carolina, but born in Virginia (perhaps at the Carter home). Does anybody know how close Captain Forkner's District was to Mt. Airy, Surry County, North Carolina?

[Michael Hill]

Yesterday, John Ford wrote in an e-mail to me:

I was rereading various Martin notes, including the marriage bond of John Martin and Litha Smith in Stuart Va, 23rd day of June 1848 and noticed Hardin H Hanby signed the marriage bond, as well as John Martin.

He also recalls seeing other Martin-Hanby connections.

According to some family trees submitted to ancestry.com, William Carter's wife and mother were both Hanbys.

[Michael Hill]

Using Google, I found Bobbi Keenan's "John Martin Family" webpage at home.earthlink.net/~fkeenan/john_martin_family.htm.

It shows that James Martin who married Hannah Carter was the son of John MARTIN and Nancy SHIPP. Here's what it has about James and Hannah:

...... 2 James Martin
.......... +Hannah Carter
............... 3 Susan Martin
................... +William G. Haynes
....................... 4 John G. Haynes
........................... +Emily Gordon
....................... 4 William Exavia Haynes
........................... +Nancy Margaret Bowman
............... 3 Ann Martin
............... 3 Ruth Martin
............... 3 John Martin

I wrote to Bobbi asking if she had any information that would help support or refute the possibility that our John "Jackson" Martin was the son of James Martin and Hannah Carter. Her reply included the following:

I wish I could help but I only have one undocumented fact for you. I believe that James Martin who married Hannah died in 1833. This and the names of James' 4 children came from the estate records of James's father, John Martin.

"Susan Martin (now intermarried with your petitioner William Haynes), Ann Martin and Jack Martin children of the above mentioned James Martin who died some years since ". Ruth was not mentioned in that particular paragraph, but was mentioned in an earlier one in the estate records. This particular record was dated Nov. 24, 1843. Perhaps she was no longer alive in 1843, or just forgotten to be mentioned?

Bobbi recalls John Martin's estate papers being over 100 pages long and there were many suits between family members. The quote she included was from the Stokes County probate records.

More about John Martin, father of James: Stokes County Historical Society

So, if our John was the son of James and Hannah, then he was orphaned when he was around seven years old.

[Michael Hill]

Bobbi Keenan scanned and e-mailed me the attached court document, which mentions the children of James Martin.

Here's a transcript:

State of North Carolina
Stokes County
Court of pleas & quarter session
September Term 1842

Petition for
Sale of slaves

Hampton Bynum & others
v.
Joseph Martin
John Martin
Samuel Martin
George Martin
&
Susan, Ann, Ruth
& John Martin infants
& minor heirs of John
Martin Decd.

It appearing to the satisfaction of
the Court that the defendants in this case
are not inhabitants of this state, it is therefore
ordered by the Court that
[beginning of inserted text]
publication be made for six weeks in the Carolina Gazette printed
in Salem for
[end of inserted text]
the Said defendants
be & appear before the justices of our
next Court of pleas & quarter sessions
to

In an e-mail to me, Bobbi also noted the following about James:

It further appeared in evidence that James Martin one of the administrators (of John Martin) had in their possession the funds of the testator a considerable amount and that James lived until 1833, when he died insolvent.

[Michael Hill]

I found William Carter's will on microfilm at the Oakland Family History Center (film 33330: wills, inventories & accounts, Vols. 1-3 1791-1847, Patrick County, Virginia). It's dated 23 Feb 1843 and contains the following quote:

I give to my grand children Susan Martin Anne Martin Ruth Martin and John Martin children of my deceased daughter Hannah Martin in addition to what I have given their mother in her life time three negro girls namely Matilda, Jane her sister and Elvy and their increase to be equally divided among them when John the youngest arrives at the age of 21 years, and in the mean time if either or all three of my said grand daughters marry each of them so marrying is to have one of the said negro girls to wait upon her until the time of division aforesaid, and should any said grand daughters chose to remain with their grandmother they are to be supported free of charge so long as they so live with her[.] I also desire that my grand son John Martin receive at the expense of my Estate (if he does not receive the same in my life time) a good plain English education and it is my desire that he remain with his grand mother during her life time or until he arrives at age and attend to her business for her.

He made a codicil on 11 Oct 1843 "in consequence of the death of my grand daughter Ruth Martin since the execution of my said Will".

This last will and testament of "William Carter dec'd" was presented in Patrick Co. court in the February 1846 session.

Among other things, the will establishes that the orphaned children of James and Hannah Martin were living with their grandparents, William and Susan Carter, in Patrick County in 1843.

[Michael Hill]

I found William Carter's will on microfilm at the Oakland Family History Center (film 33330: wills, inventories & accounts, Vols. 1-3 1791-1847, Patrick County, Virginia). It's dated 23 Feb 1843...

Here are sections of William Carter's will that would have affected his grandson John Martin after the death of William's widow (which apparently happened in 1857). A question mark in square brackets means that I was uncertain of the preceding word when I was transcribing.

Item the 13th. It is my will and desire that my executors shall and they are hereby authorised to sell and convey my Hensly tract after after the death of my wife my Reask[or Reash?] Tract if my son Madison shall convey the same to me in my life time or to my executor Archelaus H. Carter after my death and if he shall not then the place in Bushy[or Berkes?] fork, conditionally devised to him shall be sold in lieu thereof. The Karns[or Rams?] Cove[or Cave?] tract, David[?] or Cross Road Tract, Silver leaf tract on the carolina line and all my other tracts of land of which I may [word?] [word?] and which I have not herein devised & the proceeds thereof shall be equally divided as follows. Nancy Forkners Children one equal share. Hannah Martins children one equal share. Sally Hanby one equal share. William Carters children one equal share and Malinda Perkins one equal share.

Item the 14th. It is my will and desire that all my slaves and other property not herein devised shall belong to my wife during her life and it is further my desire that if my wife shall think proper she may at any time give up any of the slaves or other property to either of those to whom the same[?] are herein after devised after her death, provided the same[?] be valued at the time and a refunding bond given conditioned to pay to the other legatees[?] the value of said property over and above the share of the legatee[?] receiving the property.

Item the 15th. After the death of my wife it is my It is my will and desire that all the perishable property which she may leave shall be sold by my executors and the negros if possible divided[?] in kind[?] as follows my son A H Carter to have one share my son Madison D Carter to have one share my son David H Carter one share to be held by his mother in trust as herein before provided, Sally Hanby one share. The children of Nancy Forkner one share, the children of Hannah Martin one share the children of William Carter one share and Malinda Perkin one share to be held during her life and afterwards to her children.

Item the 16th. It is my will and desire that all my moneys that may remain in the hands of my executors after paying of debt whether derived from debts collected, sale of perishable property or from any other source except the sale of lands herein before provided for shall be equally provided[?] among the same persons and held in the same manner as is above directed in reference to the slaves bequeathed to my wife during her life.

The 1857 probate/estate records after Susan Carter's death should have some mention of the grandson John Martin. I haven't seen the 1857 documents yet, but I hope they include some specific tidbit of information that will indicate whether the grandson John Martin was our John "Jackson" Martin.

[Michael Hill]

Here are sections of William Carter's will...

I just posted the entire transcript and scanned images of William Carter's will on www.hillnetwork.com/gen/martin

[Michael Hill]

John Ford sent me copies of genealogy reports authored by George W. Clower and by Dr. O. Norris Smith, which he received from Barbara Baughan at the Patrick County Historical Society. John noted that the reports show that the Hardin H. Hanby who was the surety for the 1848 John Martin/Elitha Smith marriage bond was the husband of Ann Martin, daughter of James Martin and Hannah Carter.

According to "Descendants of Jonathan Hanby (1741-1817), Captain of Virginia Troops - Revolutionary War, Justice of the Court of Patrick County, Virginia," by George W. Clower, Ann Martin--daughter of James Martin and Hannah Carter--married Hardin Henderson Hanby on 28 Jan 1846 in Patrick County, the marriage bond dated 19 Jan 1846. It also says that Ann died in 1847, childless, and that Hardin married twice more.

The O. Norris Smith report states that Hardin Henderson Hanby married Ann Martin in 1846 (no children), Polly Cooper King in 1848 (2 children), and Susan N. Hanby in 1854 (4 children). It did not mention who Ann Martin's parents were.

After seeing these reports, I searched ancestry.com and found Ann Blomquist's family tree, which quotes an e-mail from Rhonda Cook citing the first two marriages of Hardin Hanby. The date for the second marriage (to "Mary C. King") is given as 15 Aug 1848.

So, according to this information, when Hardin H. Hanby signed the marriage bond for the John "Jackson" Martin and Elitha Smith marriage, he was the widower of Ann Martin and less than two months away from his second marriage.

As John Ford pointed out, this shows a connection between our John "Jackson" Martin and the family of James Martin and Hannah Carter.

[Michael Hill]

The following passage (scanned image attached) is from the same 24 Nov 1843 Stokes County court document that Bobbi previously quoted:

The petition of Samuel Martin, George Martin, Thomas Martin, Hampton Bynum and his wife Polly, John Harris [ink smear] William Haynes and his wife Susan of full age, and Ann Martin and Jack Martin infants under the age of twenty one years who exhibit this their petition by their guardian and next friend Archelaus Carter...

This is dated nine months after William Carter's 1843 will, which established that the Martin children were living with William and Susan Carter in February 1843.

This Stokes County court document adds the following to the discussion of whether John "Jackson" Martin who married Elitha Smith was the son of James Martin and Hannah Carter:

1. As mentioned before, this court document refers to the son of James and Hannah as "Jack" rather than John.
2. Archelaus Carter may have played a more important role in the life of his nephew John Martin, son of James and Hannah, than we previously realized. Note that John "Jackson" and Elitha named their first son James (after his father?), their second son George (after her father), and their third son Archelaus.
3. After looking at Patrick County deed indices and property tax records, it appears that John "Jackson" Martin did not own the property he was shown on in the 1850 census. I've speculated that the property might have been owned by Susan Carter. Another possibility is that it was owned by Archelaus Carter, although I believe he died prior to 1850. I found 1848 will, inventory, and sale records listed in the Patrick County index to wills for A. Carter; I'll obtain copies of the documents to see if they are for Archelaus and if they contain any mention of John or Jack Martin.

(Attachment shows the passage quoted above. It is not the entire document.)

[Michael Hill]

Some recently uncovered information about the Carter/Martin connection:

1. A.H. Carter was appointed guardian for Ann, Ruth, and John Martin in the Patrick County December Court of 1842. Evidence of this appointment was submitted to the Stokes County Court of Pleas and Quarter Session and registered in that county in December 1844.

2. In his will dated 27 Jan 1848, Archelas H. Carter of Patrick County, "of sound mind and disposing memory but in feeble health," devised much of his land (including his home in Patrick County) to his nephew, John Martin. Archelaus left most of the rest of his property to his "natural son George W. Bolt". He also left slaves to both of them. The executors were Archelaus's nephew John Martin and brother Madison D. Carter. This could explain the property that John "Jackson" Martin was shown to own in the 1850 census. (Barbara Baughan sent me an e-mail telling what was in the will and then I made a print from the microfilmed Will Book, which I will post to the Martin website soon.)

3. Another piece of evidence is less promising. Barbara Baughan looked at Patrick County land tax records and found that Archelaus Carter's land was transfered to "Capt. John Martin", resident of Patrick County, around 1856. Two things that trouble me about this:

(a) The tax records appear to lag the actual transfer of property in that they continued to list the property as belonging to "Archelaus Carter, dec'd" through 1855, but the records then show the property as belonging to Capt. John Martin, resident of Patrick County, through 1866, well after our Jackson Martin had moved to Texas.

(b) I never heard of our John "Jackson" Martin being a Captain or even as having been in the military. I wonder if "Capt." was used in the tax books based on the rank of John's grandfather as a way to differentiate him from other Patrick County John Martins or as an honorary title.

Barbara searched later Land Tax List Books and found that these 179 acres were transferred to William M. Francis from "Jn. Martin" in the 1867 book. The land stayed with William M. Francis in the 1868, 1869, and 1870 books, but was no longer with him in the 1871 book. Mr. Francis also owned two other sizable pieces of land on the Dan River, so I can't tell which land he was on in the 1860 and 1870 census pages

Barbara looked for a deed transferring the land from John Martin to William Francis, but didn't find one.

4. The only deed I found related to Archelaus Carter's land in either Patrick or Stokes was an 1847 sale of land to Robert Hines in Stokes County. (Archelaus's will also devised to Robert Hines about 100 acres of land that was adjacent to the land he had sold him.) I found no other deeds in these two counties transferring Archelaus's land from Archelaus, to John Martin, or from John Martin.

5. Purchases of items from Archelaus Carter's estate included the following:
- Jno. Martin purchased livestock, tools, furniture, farm equipment, and what looks like (hard to read) a crop of tobacco.
- George Smith (Elitha's father?) purchased what looks like (hard to read) a steer.

6. Joseph Smith's estate was settled around the same time as Archelaus's. M.D. Carter, F.G. Smith, and David Hanby all purchased items from both estates.

7. In March 1857, following the death of Susan Carter, the children of Hannah Martin were allotted slaves valued at $1100 and had to pay $23 to reduce the total value to $1077, which was their combined share. I did not see a single estate item purchased by John or Jack Martin, which is consistent with the fact that our John "Jackson" Martin had left for Texas shortly before then.

[Michael Hill]

I've been assuming that the James P. Martin living with John and Elitha in the 1850 census, who would have been alive in 1830, was probably John's brother.

John Ford, William Martin, and Alecia Tipton have all suggested that the "James P. Martin" on the 1850 census was actually James G. Martin, a nephew of the James Martin who married Hannah Carter.

John Ford recently corresponded with Mondell Martin, who provided information from his research about James Gaines Martin. According to both Mondell and Alecia, James Gaines Martin, son of Joseph Martin and grandson of "Rock House", was born 16 Oct 1825. Mondell's information also indicates that he didn't marry until the late 1850s, which would have made him single in 1850 and within a year in age of the "James P. Martin" on the census. Assuming that our John "Jackson" Martin was the son of James Martin and Hannah Carter, they were first cousins.

[Michael Hill]

In an earlier message I wrote:

Bobbi recalls John Martin's estate papers being over 100 pages long and there were many suits between family members. The quote she included was from the Stokes County probate records.

I wanted to follow up with some additional information about why there were so many lawsuits. Bobbi Keenan explained it well in an e-mail:

The gist of the story is that John "Rock House" Martin stated in his will that he wanted his grandson John Martin Cloud to be educated etc. etc. and the question becomes who was supposed to pay for his education. There are suits about whether John really meant for the estate to pay for John Martin Cloud's education or for James Martin personally to be the guardian and pay for the education. Well, John Martin Cloud becomes the lawyer his grandfather wanted him to become and he ends up suing everybody because he said his education and expenses were not paid in accordance to the will. At least that is what I could make of it all.

She also transcribed the will, which I posted at www.hillnetwork.com/gen/martin.

[Michael Hill]

This thread began with a suggestion that James Martin and Hannah Carter might have been the parents of our John "Jackson" Martin. The subsequent messages documented our effort to prove or disprove this hypothesis. Although we haven't yet found the piece of evidence that definitively settles the matter, the existing body of circumstantial evidence is sufficient for me to believe that our John "Jackson" Martin was indeed the son of James Martin and Hannah Carter. I'll try to present the case here.

First I'll list what I know about our John "Jackson" Martin's time in Virginia. Then I'll list what I know about John Martin, son of James Martin and Hannah Carter. And last, I'll list the reasons why I think they were one and the same person.


Here's a summary of what I know about our John "Jackson" Martin's days in Patrick County, Virginia:

1. He was known as "John", "Jack", and "Jackson". Although I have no reason to believe that he was better known as "Jackson" than as "John" (the only document I?ve seen that calls him "Jackson" is the 1850 census), I'll refer to him as "Jackson" in this post to avoid confusion.
2. I do not know of any family history passed down about his parents or siblings.
3. Jackson's grave marker says that he was born 12 Jun 1826. According to family history, he was born in Mt. Airy. In addition to the Mt. Airy in Surry County, North Carolina, there are three small Mt. Airy towns in Virginia. I never heard which Mt. Airy he was born in. Census data (for him and his children) indicate that he was born in Virginia.
4. Jackson married Elitha Smith (a native of southern Patrick County and daughter of George Smith and Sarah "Sally" Smith) on 27 Jun 1848 in Patrick Co., Virginia. H.H. Hanby was the surety for the marriage bond.
5. The 1850 census lists Jackson Martin (23, VA, Farmer) as head of household along with Elitha (20, VA), James (1, VA), and James P. (25, NC, Laborer) Martin in the Southern District of Patrick County, Virginia. Value of real estate: $5,000. The slave schedule shows ten slaves for "John Martin". (I'm confident that the "John Martin" on the slave schedule is the same person as the "Jackson Martin" on the population schedule. The slaveholders listed on the slave schedule appear to be in the same order on the population schedule. By comparing the two schedules, it's clear that the same person was just listed differently on the two schedules. Ten years later, John and Elitha had five slaves in Texas.)
6. Jackson and Elitha had four children in Patrick County. James was born 18 May 1849, George was born 25 Mar 1851, Archelaus was born 29 Mar 1853, and David was born 22 or 23 Sep 1855. The Patrick County birth register (FHL film 33352, which begins in 1853) lists the places of birth for Archelaus and David Martin as "Waters Dan River" and "Big Dan River", respectively. Their next child, Sarah Anne, was born in Texas on 26 Oct 1857.
7. According to family history, the family moved to Texas because Jackson had tuberculosis and they thought the climate would be better for him. A Patrick County court document from the February 1857 term replaced John as administrator of Elitha's father's estate because he had "removed from this county." This means that they left Virginia for Texas sometime between September of 1855 and February of 1857.

There was a John Martin who was about the same age as our John "Jackson" Martin and who lived in southern Patrick County in the 1840s. Here's a summary of what I know about this John Martin:

1. He was the son of James Martin (son of John Martin and Nancy Shipp) and Hannah Carter (daughter of William Carter and Susan Hanby).
2. He was born between 1822 and 1826 (based on court documents that referred to him as a not yet 21 years old--if the 1830 census is believed, the lower bound is 1825).
3. He was known as both John and Jack.
4. He had three older sisters: Susan, Ann, and Ruth. Susan married William G. Haynes in 1843 and died in 1899. Ann married Hardin Henderson Hanby in 1846 and died in 1847. Ruth died in 1843.
5. He and his sisters were deeded four slaves in 1830 by their maternal grandfather, William Carter.
6. His mother died between 1826 and 1830. His father died in 1833.
7. He and his sisters were living with their grandparents, William and Susan (Hanby) Carter, in Patrick Co., Virginia when William Carter signed his will on 23 Feb 1843. The household ages listed on the 1840 census suggest that they had been living with the Carters since at least 1840. I would guess that John and his three sisters began living with the Carters right after their father died. Three months before William Carter's will was signed, their uncle, Archelaus H. Carter was appointed guardian for Ann, Ruth, and John.
8. William Carter died 17 Dec 1845 and left slaves and money to John and his sisters. Additional slaves were left to them after the death of Susan (William's widow) in 1857.
9. John apparently had a very close relationship with his uncle and legal guardian Archelaus Carter, who died in 1848. Archelaus Carter's will, written shortly before his death, made his nephew John Martin co-executor and left John land along the Dan River, partly in Virginia and partly in North Carolina, including his home in Patrick County. He also left John some slaves. Based on the many items that John purchased from Archelaus's estate, it appears that John intended to farm the land and that tobacco was one of the crops.
10. The 1848 will of Archelaus Carter and subsequent sale book entry following Archelaus's death are the last court documents I've found that specifically mention this John Martin. Patrick County land tax records show that Archelaus Carter's land was transferred to "Capt. John Martin" around 1856. Until that year, it was still shown as belonging to "Archelaus Carter, dec'd". Then it transferred to William M. Francis from "Jn. Martin" in the 1867 book. It appears that the tax records lagged actual occupancy by quite some time. Following the 1857 death of Susan (Hanby) Carter, there was not a single estate item purchased by John Martin, which makes it likely that he was no longer there.

Now here's a summary of why I think our John "Jackson" Martin and John Martin, son of James Martin and Hannah Carter, were one and the same person:

1. The evidence indicates that John Martin, son of James and Hannah, (referred to as "Jack" in at least one court document) was born in 1825 or 1826. Jackson Martin was born 12 Jun 1826. The fact that John Martin, son of James and Hanna, was orphaned at a young age is also consistent with the lack of family history about Jackson's family.
2. I haven't been able to pinpoint exactly where in Surry County James and Hannah lived, but my best guess is that it wasn't too far from Mt. Airy, North Carolina. (The 1822 Surry County tax list shows James Martin on $2500 worth of property in Captain Zachery's District near the Ararat River.) Census schedules indicate that Jackson was born in Virginia, but, as stated above, family history has it that Jackson was born in "Mt. Airy". While there are three towns named Mt. Airy in Virginia, none is in Patrick County. If John, son of James and Hannah, was actually born at the home of his mother's family (the Carters in Patrick County, just across the state border), this would be more or less consistent with what we heard about "Mt. Airy" and the information on the census pages: perhaps Jackson was from Mt. Airy, North Carolina but was born in Virginia.
3. The land that Archelaus Carter left to his nephew John Martin in 1848 was on the Dan River and the house was in Patrick County, Virginia. This is consistent with what we know about where Jackson and Elitha lived: on the Dan River in Patrick County. It also provides the only explanation we've found of how Jackson and Elitha came to own so much property and so many slaves in the 1850 census. We couldn't find a deed showing how he got the land, nor could we find any probate records for a Martin leaving the land and slaves to a son.
4. The "Jackson Martin" shown on the 1850 population schedule and the "John Martin" shown in the 1850 slave schedule (mentioned above) were the same person, based on adjacent names on the slave schedule. And there is no doubt that this person was our Jackson Martin who married Elitha Smith because it shows Elitha on the population schedule. If our Jackson and the John, son of James and Hannah, were two persons, then both should show up in the 1850 census. The only other John/Jack/Jackson Martin slaveholder in Patrick Co., Virginia or Stokes and Surry Counties, North Carolina was a "John J. Marten" of Stokes Co., age 36--too old to be the son of James and Hannah.
5. Jackson and Elitha named their first three sons (all born in Patrick County) James, George, and Archelaus. If Jackson was the son of James and Hannah, then the names make sense: James was his father's name, George was Elitha's father's name, and Archelaus was the name of his uncle, who was probably a father figure--at the very least, the source of most of his wealth.
6. The surety for Jackson and Elitha's marriage bond was H.H. Hanby, who was the brother-in-law of John Martin, son of James and Hannah (he was the widower of John Martin's sister Ann). According to Ann Blomquist's family tree on ancestry.com, he was also John Martin's first cousin once removed.
7. The following connections indicate that the family of Elitha Smith, wife of Jackson, knew the Carters and so would have known John Martin, son of James Martin and Hannah Carter:
   1. The 1840 census shows Elitha's uncle, Fowlkes Smith, listed just five households away from William Carter's household, which included William Carter's grandson John Martin. (Elitha's family--headed by her father George Smith--is on page 8; William Carter and Fowlkes Smith are on page 12, so even Elitha's family didn't live all that far from the Carters. By the way, J.E.B. "Jeb" Stuart's family, headed by Jeb's father Archibald, is listed only six households from George Smith on the 1840 census and on the following page on the 1850 census--Jeb, who would later become famous as a Civil War cavalry commander, is listed as "James" on the 1850 census.) Also, Fowlkes Smith was married to Mary Ann Hanby. William Carter's mother was a Hanby, as was his wife Susan. According to Ann Blomquist's family tree posted on ancestry.com, Fowlkes G. Smith's wife was Susan (Hanby) Carter's niece and also related to William Carter a little more distantly.
   2. In an 1848 Patrick County deed book entry entitled "A division of the lands & personal estate of Joseph Smith", Madison D. Carter (brother of Hannah) and Archibald Stuart (Jeb's father, friend of William Carter, and witness for wills of both William and Archelaus Carter) were two of the three persons listed to divide the property among the widow and children of Joseph Smith, Elitha's maternal grandfather. Carter and Stuart might have been selected because they were attorneys, but they must have been known by Elitha Smith's family.
   3. Purchasers of items from Archelaus Carter's estate included George Smith (Elitha's father), F.G. Smith (Elitha's uncle), and the above-mentioned Hardin H. Hanby. Purchasers of items from Joseph Smith's estate (Joseph, who died 7 Nov 1847, was Elitha's maternal grandfather) included Madison D. Carter, brother of Hannah Carter.
8. I haven't found any evidence of John Martin, son of James and Hannah, living in or around Patrick County after Jackson and Elitha moved to Texas, other than the land tax records, which seem to have lagged several years behind actual changes in property ownership.

Please feel free to add anything that I missed, pro or con. Taken as a whole, I think the circumstantial evidence is pretty convincing. Although I haven't given up on uncovering additional evidence about this matter, I'll soon update the chart on www.hillnetwork.com/gen/martin to show James and Hannah as the parents of John "Jackson" Martin.