Bedford County , Pennsylvania
Ancestor Stories

James Alexander Martin Sr.
 
 
Anthony, Bowman, Decker, Hughes, Martin, Naugle, Null, Penlow/Penrow, Quarry, Smith
Lois (Martin) Allison lallison@bedford.net describes her "Brickwall"as follows:
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"James (Jim) Alexander Martin was born Jun 29, 1886 in Shirleysburg, Huntingdon Co., Pa. He lived
most of his married life in Alum Bank, Lincoln Twp., Bedford Co., Pa. with his wife Laura Cecelia
(Smith) Martin and their three children, Kenneth Sr., Harry and Violet. Jim, as he was called, had
various trades over the years. Some included working for a street car company while living in South Fork, farming, cutting trees and selling them for paperwood, working for the saw mills, laborer, and working
as a janitor for the Mt. Union Evangelical United Brethren Church near Lovely, PA for many years.
Jim never drove a car but traveled by foot or horse back or horse and sled. "
 
(Photo supplied by Lois (Martin) Allison)
 
"This is a picture of my Grandfather, James (Jim) Alexander Martin on his farm in Alum Bank, Lincoln Twp., Bedford Co., Pa. and one of his horses. The picture is undated, but I believe it to be in the late 40's."

"The story was handed down that James' father may have been one of the Johnstown flood victims and that he was last hear of around May of 1889. Between 2,000 and 3,000 persons were dead or missing from that tragic event. We have never been able to prove this story or know what may have happened to him. However, when Jim was about age three, his father was never heard from again, and he went to live
with Ephraim Bowman and his wife Annie."
 
(Photo supplied by Lois (Martin) Allison)
 
"My sister Linda (Martin) Anthony was able to obtain this picture from a Grandchild of Edith
(Bowman) (Smith), Naugle, Null, after meeting them at a reunion and then corresponding.
They did not know who the person in back, far right was.
This is our Grandfather James (Jim) Alexander Martin, and the Ephraim Bowman family".

First row, far left,
Ephraim Bowman, Florence, Annie M. (Hughes) Bowman, and Edith May Bowman

Back row, left to right
Clayton Bowman, James Alexander Martin (raised by Ephraim and Annie)
(To put a date with the picture, I would guess about 1910).
The Ephraim Bowman Family
 
Ephraim Bowman b. 28, Nov. 1838, Huntingdon,Pa. m. 13, Mar. 1893 in Bedford Co., d. 2, Jan. 1920 Summerhill, Cambria Co., Pa. bur. St. Johns Evan. Lutheran Church, Summerhill, (Cambria Co.) Pa.
Military: Co. D., 143 Reg. Pa., P.V.T.
Other wives: Lavinia Querry/Quarry
 
Anna Margaret Hughes b. April 15, 1861 Pa. d. Nov. 19, 1931 at Lee Homopathic Hosp., Johnstown, Pa. bu. Wesley Chapel Cem., Johnstown, Pa.
Other husbands: Blair Penlow/Penrow d. abt. 1882
 
Children:
1. Clayton Mathias Bowman b. 2, Feb. 1891, Saxton, Bedford Co., Pa. m. Violet (?)
d. 19, May 1965, Johnstown, Pa. bu. Wesley Chapel Cem., Johnstown, Pa. (Note: in Clayton's obit. there is a reference to his having a step-brother James A. Martin of Alum Bank, Pa.)
 
2. Edith May Bowman b. May 9, 1894, (Obit. states, Piedmont, W. Va. other source Md.) d. 2, Dec. 1993, Berlin, Pa. bu. Mt. Union Cem., Alum Bank, Pa. m. lst Blair Smith, 2nd. Ira Naugle, 3rd. John Null
3. Florence Marie Bowman b. Sept. 1896 (per Census b. Md.) d. unknown m. Hen Lonsinger and lived in Baltimore, Md. according to brother Clayton's obit. Living in Windber according to father Ephraim's obit.

"Jim always referred to Ephraim as "Daddy Bowman" and we always assumed that Ephraim Bowman
was Jim's grandfather. Our research lead us in this direction for some time."

"After searching through many Census records we finally were able to confirm that we were indeed headed in the wrong direction. A search in the Grantsville, Md.., 1900 Census, Garrett Co., uncovered that Jim was living with the Ephraim Bowman family and listed as his nephew. Another search uncovered that Jim was Ephraim's nephew in the W. St. Clair Twp., Bedford Co., Pa., 1910 Census. This was our turning point."

"When the Ephraim Bowman family lived in West St. Clair Twp., Bedford, Pa., Jim met Laura
Smith. Laura's brother Blair Smith had married one of Ephraims daughters, Edith Bowman.
Jim was about 16 years older than Laura and her being only 15 years of age, they
went to Maryland and were married in Cumberland on 9th of Sept. 1914."
 
(Photo supplied by Lois (Martin) Allison)
 
"This is James (Jim) Alexander Martin and his wife Laura Cecelia (Smith) Martin
They must have been out picking berries somewhere in the area because Grandma Laura has her
berry bucket she always used. However, we have been unable to identify the location of the old house.
Again, we believe the picture dates to late 40's."

"We believe Jim may have had relatives living in the Maryland area. On their marriage application both
of their birth places are shown as Grantsville, Md.. We know Laura was born in Alum Bank, Bedford Co., Pa. but assumed Jim was probably born in Md.. At the time of his death, his family still assumed Ephraim was his Grandfather. For this reason, his parents names and place of birth were listed incorrectly in his obituary."

"We were able to send for a copy of Jim's Social Security application and on it, in his own handwriting, he stated that he was born in Shirleysburg, Pa., his father was James A. Martin and his mother was Henrietta Hughes. We were able to find her marriage application to a Matthias Quarry. She was Matthias's third wife,
but the marriage application did not show that she had been previously married. We located her grave
site in Entriken Cemetery, Huntingdon Co., Pa. There were several children to this marriage,
including two sons, Paul and Albert Quarry."

"An 1860 Census search in Morris Twp., Huntingdon Co., Pa. found a Samuel Hughes. b. abt. 1821, d. possibly between 1860/1870, married Mary A., b. Feb. 1831, d. aft. 1910. Children listed in 1860 census were:
John A., b. 1853, Henrietta M., b. May 1, 1857, Margaret Ann (Annie) b. Apr. 18, 1860.
At this point we knew that Henrietta and Annie were sisters and this was our Great Grandmother, Henrietta Hughes. We have further information on Henrietta and Annie. Samuel's wife Mary A. (maiden name unknown) later married a John Deeter/Decker, (spelling varies in Census records) and had a son Clayton, who may have died young. According to Pension records on Ephraim, we believe Annie (Hughes) was previously married to a Blair Penlow/Penrow for a few years, before her marriage to Ephraim. Ephraim was previously married and had about 8 children to his first wife. They all seemed to be living in the Huntingdon area during the 1860 through 1880's. "

"What happened to our Grandfather Jims ancestors? Did James Alexander Martin drown during the 1889 flood or just leave the area? Was he living in the Huntingdon area at that time? Where did Samuel Hughes live before the 1860 Census when he lived in Morris Twp., Huntingdon, Pa. This has been our Brick Wall."
If you have comments or suggestions that may be helpful for Lois, please contact her directly at:
lallison@bedford.net
 
Do you have an Ancestor Story or Brickwall that you would like to submit for posting on this page, please contact - clabaugh@richnet.net
 

Copyright © 1999, 2000 Tom Clabaugh