(submitted by Dr. Greg Stott)
Born in England to John and Margaret Martin, William Henry Martin (1854–1932) immigrated to Canada in 1873 and settled in Warwick Twp. by 1877 when he married Margaret Adeline McLean, the daughter of Donald and Margaret. The Martins settled on the north ½ of Lot 25, Con. 5 NER with neighbours Charles and Sarah (MacDonald) Zankey to the north.
The Martins had a family of at least one daughter, Betsy Ann Martin (1879–1938) who married Jacob Richter, and two sons, Henry (1882–), and Wallace (1886–). They also raised their grandson, Leo “Duke” Martin (c. 1897–1966), as one of their own.
The Martins and their neighbours often shared the work on their farms. They were frequent visitors at the Dunham farm on Lot 24, across the road. Shortly after Adeline’s death in 1912 Lorena Dunham sent her youngest daughter, Cecile, over on an errand to the Martin home. The little girl happened to walk into the Martin home and was terrified to see the deceased Mrs. Martin carrying on a conversation in the farmhouse kitchen. Spooked, she fled back homeward to tell her mother she had seen a ghost. As it turned out the apparent apparition was none other than Mrs. Martin’s sister, Mary Ross.
Lorena Dunham often went across the road to help with certain seasonal household activities after Adeline’s death and helped the Martins make their yearly supply of ketchup in a large cauldron.
William Martin moved into Arkona where he eventually married the widowed Sara (Neff) Mackenzie, another native of Warwick. In 1927 the newlyweds returned to the empty farmhouse to fix it up. They moved in that summer. Given the formalities and social niceties of the day, when outside of the family circle Sara always referred to her husband as “Mr. Martin” and he and in turn called her “Mrs. Martin”. It caused more than a ripple of amusement amongst the neighbourhood’s youth when Sara inadvertently referred to her husband as “Billy”. After William’s death the farm was sold.
The Martins’ grandson Duke remained in Arkona, where he worked in a small shop fixing blades and other implements.
Leo “Duke” Martin. Source Arkona Through the Years, 1976.
Chapter 24 of 25 - Martin Family
Contact Us
Subscribe to this page