The city of Martinsville, VA. was named for General Joseph Martin.
Posted at FindaGrave is:
"Joseph Martin (1740-1808) was a Brigadier General in the VirginiaMili tia during the American Revolutionary War, in which Martins'frontier d iplomacy with the Cherokee Indian Nation is credited withaverting Indi an attacks on the Scotch-Irish settlers who won thebattles of Kings' M ountain and Cowpens, hastening the ContinentalArmy victory.
Martin was born in Albemarle County, Virginia, and later lived on hisp lantation "Scuffle Hill" near the Smith River in Henry County,Virginia , not far from the 10,000-acre Leatherwood plantation of hisfriend, Go vernor Patrick Henry, who appointed him Virginias' Agent tothe Cheroke e Nation in 1777.
Martin served in the legislatures of several Southern states, and wasa l onghunter, pioneer, Indian trader and real estate speculator whoattemp ted one of the earliest settlements of what became the state ofTenness ee...
After helping adjudicate the western boundary line between NorthCaroli na, Kentucky and Virginia as far as the Cumberland Mountains,General M artin retired to his Belle Mont plantation at Leatherwood,which he pur chased in 1796 from Benjamin Harrison V of BerkeleyPlantation.....
Gen. Joseph Martin was a colorful, self-willed man with a fine senseof h onor. He joined the Virginia militia when he was sixteen yearsold; was a l ong hunter; gambler; Indian fighter; Colonial andRevolutionary War off icer; and a great diplomat.
He was the Brigadier General for both the Washington District of NorthC arolina and the Virginia Militia.
He spent a short time in Georgia on duty for North Carolina and wasele cted to the Georgia legislature.
He was also a Representative for Sullivian County in North Carolinaleg islature during the turbulent State of Franklin years and wasundoubted ly the most influential person of his time to defeat theState of Frank lin from becoming a permanent State.
In 1789 he sold his lands in Powell Valley (Ewing, Va.), and at LongIs land (Kingsport, Tenn.) returning to his plantation located onLeatherw ood Creek, near present day Martinsville, Va. (Henry County).Having sp ent thirteen years living in the Cherokee Wilderness landsas the peace maker, Indian Agent and Revoluntary War General, thewilderness lost th eir most colorful resident, a man of remarkableabilities and great cou rage. In the summer of 1808 Gen. Martin madehis last journey. The six ty-eight year old soldier made the long trekto the old frontier, passi ng through Long Island (Kingsport, Tenn.),to the Indian towns, armed w ith a safe-conduct pass from theSecretary of War. In the autumn of 180 8, worn out and feeble, hereturned to Virginia. He "took to his bed, n ever to rise again, andquietly died on December 18th after a life rich i n every detail." Hewas sorely missed, not only by the white settlers b ut by the Indians,all whom he had so faithfully served. "
U.S., Sons of the American Revolution Membership Applications,1889-197 0
Name: Joseph Martin II
SAR Membership: 72421
Birth Date: 18 Sep 1740
Birth Place: Albemarle, Virginia
Death Date: 18 Dec 1808
Death Place: Henry, Virginia
Father:
Mother: Susannah Childs
Spouse: Sara Lucas
Children: William Martin
U.S., Sons of the American Revolution Membership Applications,1889-197 0
Name: Brig Gen Joseph Martin
SAR Membership: 99659
Birth Date: 1740
Birth Place: Albemarle County, Virginia
Death Date: 1 Dec 1808
Death Place: Henry, Virginia
Spouse: Sarah Lucas
Children: Brice Martin
U.S., Sons of the American Revolution Membership Applications,1889-197 0
Name: General Joseph Martin
SAR Membership: 76785
Birth Date: 18 Sep 1740
Birth Place: Albemarle, Virginia
Death Date: 18 Dec 1808
Death Place: Henry, Virginia
Spouse: Susanna Graves
Children: Joseph Martin
FindaGrave says:
"General Joseph Martin died at his Leatherwood plantation in 1808, andw as buried in the family cemetery there. Buried alongside him at thegra veyard at Belmont are three other Joseph Martins: Colonel JosephMartin , son of the general, and his son Joseph and grandson Joseph,who lived a t Greenwood plantation."
Inscription:
Died on the 18 of December 1808 Brigadier General Joseph Martin in the6 9 year of his age.
