Knott Martin - Sarah Arnold Family Group

What We Know About This Family

Noteworthy

The article that appears below mentions the noteworthy trait about this family.

An Overview of Their Lives

Knott Martin and his sister Sarah, who married Joseph Pedrick, are both our direct ancestors. Knott's first wife, Sarah Arnold, is a mystery to their many descendants. She has been linked by some to the Benedict Arnold family of Rhode Island (yes, family of the traitor), but I can find no evidence of that. (Sarah, the daughter of Benedict and Sarah Mumford Arnold married a man named Updike, then died not long after). A Family Search record has her as the daughter of Peter and Elizabeth Green Arnold and aunt of Benedict Arnold, but I can't find that confirmation either. The source of the Family Search information appears to be user submitted, and I could not determine the source. I requested research of the New England Genealogical Society to determine the ancestry of our Sarah Arnold, but they were unable to find wills for either Knott Martin or his wife Sarah Martin, which might have given us some clues. Knott was the first of many Knott Martins in Marblehead, and his son Arnold (carrying his mother's surname) is the first of many Arnold Martins.

Apart from the article about the family published in 1820, not much is known about Knott and Sarah. The article gives him the appellation "Dr," but that may be an error (his grandfather, Richard Knott, was a surgeon). Based on Marblehead culture at the time and the careers of the children we can learn about, it's more likely that he was a mariner of some kind. After Sarah Arnold Martin died, Knott married Ann Jackson, the widow of Benjamin Girdler. At the time of their marriage, Ann had two teenage daughters, Ann and Alice, who both married in 1767. Ann and Knott's two children together, Betsey and Benjamin were born in 1765 and 1767 respectively and grew up with the children of their aunts and uncles, many of whom were born about that time. Knott was grandfather to at least 75 children.

Nathan Bowen of Marblehead wrote a journal in which valuable information about his family and about Marblehead in general has been found and published. Dr. Knott Martin's son Captain Knott Martin married Elizabeth Bowen, the daughter of Nathan. Nathan Bowen's Journal for April. 22 1796 says " Old Mr. Knott Martin Died this forenoon aged 88 very sickly."

About the Children

• Captain Thomas Martin and his wife Martha Nicholson were our direct ancestors and had two sons who also were our direct ancestors: Captain Thomas Martin, who married Elizabeth Adams, and Captain Arnold Martin, who married Mary Oliver.


• Captain Knott Martin, Jr. was identified as a coaster. Knott Jr. married Elizabeth Bowen, the mother of all his children. Her father was Nathan Bowen, whose journal has provided much information about the residents of Marblehead during his time. Shortly after his wife's death, Knott Jr. married Mercy Brooks Martin, the widow of his brother, John. Mercy survived him, and several of Knott's children petitioned the probate court for their brother Nathan to close administration after he delayed seven years. At the time of his death, Knott had partial interests in sloops Sally (3/4) and Hannah (1/2). His grandson Ambrose Bowen Martin (son of Knott Jr.) was the lighthouse keeper on Baker's Island for 25 years, and Jane Martin, the daughter of Ambrose was later appointed to the same position.


• Sarah Martin's second husband was Lt. Robert Harris, a Revolutionary War patriot who was the son of our direct ancestors Robert and Rebekah Bassett Harris.


• Captain Arnold Martin married Sarah Griste Mugford, the widow of a Marblehead legend, and Revolutionary War hero. Arnold and Sarah's son Knott, grand mariner, married Martha Martin, the daughter of our ancestors Arnold and Mary Oliver Martin.


• Captain John Martin's grandson, Knott V. Pedrick, son of his son Knott and Hannah Goss, along with others, was mentioned in an 1869 article about Marblehead. He was the town butcher and later the Postmaster. A copy of the article about Marblehead appears in the documents section.


• Mary Martin is the one I could find the least bit about. The only record is of an intention for marriage between her and John Goodman. The Salem article states all the children of Knott and Sarah mentioned by name were living in Marblehead except one (Eleanor) and were married with large families. From that, we know her approximate date of birth and that she was married, had children, and lived in Marblehead.


• Bartholomew Jackson Martin and his wife Mary Bassett had several children. One of their sons was burned to death at age 3, and son Benjamin died at 6.
  

Proof of Relationship

The first proof of relationship came from the article about the family's longevity. The rest is put together from various records on an individual-by-individual basis. A word of caution: be careful in associating spouses to the correct Martins, especially the numerous Arnolds, Knotts, Thomases, and Sarahs. This family had unusual luck (for the time) in raising large numbers of children while losing very few, and the convention of naming children after family members yielded many descendants of Knott and Sarah bearing the same names.

What Else We Need to Learn

The goal of this project is to trace every line of ancestry to the arrival of its first immigrant to America. The basic information of each couple is considered complete when we know the dates of birth, marriage, and death for both spouses. their parents' names (or whether they were the immigrant), and the child or children in our ancestry line.

The lack of birth and probate documents made research of this family difficult. I believe that what I've collected is accurate, but more information may surface. The information on daughter Mary in particular would complete her record.