W Martin & M Martien, Philada

GAWP5 includes entries for plane makers Mibsam (Hibsam) Martien and William Martin noting they were at common addresses in Philadelphia for the years 1799 and 1800. What is not stated is who these two craftsmen were and how they might be related.

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Online genealogy sites Ancestry, FamilySearch, Wikitree and GenealogyBank helped provide answers.

 

William and Mibsam were sons of Medad and Ann Martin of Philadelphia. They were born in 1760 and 1765 respectively. Medad was a carpenter. William married Elizabeth Middleton in 1787. Mibsam married, Elizabeth the widow, in 1800.

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The family entry on Wikitree included these notes which helps summarize the findings: 

"Biography: William was born in 1760. He was the son of Medan Martien and Ann Ludon. He passed away in 1798.

Sources: There is significant evidence that William is a son of Medan Martien (1727) and brother of Mibsam Martien (est. 1765).

1.William (est. 1760) and Mibsam (est. 1765) are both grandsons of Sarah (Fox) Martien as William has a daughter "Sarah Fox Martien"

2. William and Mibsam are both plane makers and appear in the same street or around the corner in city directories.

3. Mibsam marries William's widow Elizabeth (Middleton) Martien in 1800."

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GAWP5 has William active in planemaking from 1773 through 1801. These dates should be adjusted to ca 1781 to 1798 based on his known birth date of 1760 and his estate notice dated November 1798. Mibsam could have begun working ca 1786, but his first directory listing was dated 1799. His last directory entry cited was 1807 and his War of 1812 service was dated 1815. His death date is not known.

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