"Portrait and biographical album of Coles County, Illinois"
  
REEN BERRY MARTIN. The history of this worthy resident of Humbolt Township is substantially as follows : He is a native of Vanderburg County, Ind., and was born Nov. 26, 1 8-20, being the fifth of a family of eleven children, the offspring of Berry and Deborah (Cook) Martin, natives of South Carolina. The paternal grandfather of our subject, William by name, was a farmer by occupation, and served in the Revolutionary War. After the independence of the Colonies had been established he located in Georgia, where he carried on agriculture successfully and raised a fine family of sons and daughters. Among these his son Berry removed first to Georgia and thence to Indiana, where he continued a resident of Vanderburg County the remainder of his life. The mother of our subject was the daughter of Thomas and Elizabeth Cook, of South Carolina, where she was born and reared. Her marriage to Berry Martin took place in Georgia.
The subject of this sketch was reared on a farm in the wilds of Vanderburg County with no advantages for education. He was trained, however, to habits of industry, and when twenty-two years of age set out in life for himself, the most important step being his marriage with Miss Elizabeth Barrett. Mrs. M. was the fourth child of Isaac and Lucy (Fowler) Barrett, of Alabama, who in their youth removed with their parents to Indiana and were married in Warrick County. Our subject and his young wife began life together on a farm in Vanderburg, whence he afterward removed to Warrick County and thence to Gentryville, Spencer County, where he engaged to learn tanning and shoemaking. Of these trades he became master, and followed them in that locality for sixteen years. He invested his surplus capital afterward in 120 acres of land with several town lots. He also engaged in merchandising, but this not proving successful soon abandoned it.
After the outbreak of the late war Mr. Martin enlisted with the three-months’ men, but on account of an overplus of volunteers his regiment was sent home without seeing any active service. In the fall of 1861, he sold out his property in Spencer County, and coming to this county purchased eighty acres of railroad land on section 34, in Humbolt Township, where he took up his abode with his family. A year later, however, he sold his property and purchased a farm in the southern part of the county. He had occupied this about eight years, and then discovered a flaw in the title. In seeking to correct the error he lost the land entirely. Afterward he farmed on rented land seven or eight years, and then, in company with his son, purchased eighty-one and one-half acres on section 32, in Humbolt Township, where he has since resided. He has meddled very little with politics, but casts his vote in support of Republican principles.
Mr. and Mrs. Martin became the parents of ten children, of whom one, Benjamin F., is deceased. Rachel married Franklin Lozier, and is residing on a farm in Humbolt Township; Eliza is the wife of John Morgan, a farmer residing in Iowa; Lucy, the wife of Louis Mullen, is a resident of Phillips County, Kan.; Caroline married Silas Morgan, and lives in Logansport, Ind.; Elizabeth married John Donnelly, a farmer of Humbolt Township; Deborah Ann, Newton Jasper, Caroline and William are at home with their parents; Newton Jasper is farming on his own account in Humbolt Township. The parents and children are all members of the Methodist Episcopal Church.
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