The Martin/McGar Family

Early Trinity County Settlers

Tombstone photos and family information donated by Nancy Martin Buzbee, Margarett Martin Renfro and Joe Martin.  

The Martin Family Page is dedicated to Joe Martin, 1937-2004.  


Willie "Joe" Martin

1937-2004

Willie Joe Martin, 67, died Tuesday, November 2, 2004, at a hospital in Vernon, Texas.  Joe was born September 21, 1937, in Arkadelphia, AK.  He was the son of the late Raymond Lee and Elizabeth (Connell) Martin, Sr. and the grandson of the late William Green and Lee Ella (Lauderdale) Martin Jr. of Trinity, Texas.  He married Linda McCann on December 28, 1957 in Vernon, Texas.  Joes served in the U.S. Air Force as a teacher from 1954 to 1956.  He owned and operated a Get Print, Print Shop in Ft. Worth, Texas and then worked for the Ft. Worth Star Telegram in customer service, retiring in 1991.  After his retirement, Joe and Linda moved to Vernon.  He was a member of the Calvary Baptist Church.  He is  preceded in death by his brother, Hart Patman Martin of CT and sister, Wanda M Martin of Wichita Falls, Texas.  Survivors include his wife, Linda martin of Vernon; daughters: Pamela Bolton of Jermyn, Texas, and Tami Miller of Saginaw, Texas: brother, Raymond Lee Martin, Jr. of Mineral Wells, Texas; sister Jannette Watson of Wichita Falls, Texas; and nine grandchildren.  

Click here to view more Martin Family Photos

Martin Family Plot
Martin Family Plot 

Cedar Grove Cemetery Historical Marker

Martin Family Plot in Cedar Grove Cemetery and Cedar Grove Cemetery Historical Marker

Entrance to Cedar Grove Cemetery

William Green Martin, Sr.  February 3, 1803 - September 12, 1880 (77 yrs. 7 mos. 9 days)  Born in South Carolina, married Phebe A. Martin.  Shares obelisk headstone with wife Phebe and daughter Mary Gertrude.  He was a mariner.  The Martin Family was one of the first settlers in Trinity in 1872.  

Phebe A. Martin  September 11, 1818 - February 22, 1875 (55 yrs. 5 mos) Wife of William Green Martin Sr. Born in Alabama and came to Texas by 1870.  Phebe shares an obelisk headstone with her husband William G. Martin and their daughter, Mary Gertrude.  Phebe A. Martin was the first documented burial in Cedar Grove Cemetery and is listed on the historical marker at the front gate.

William Green Martin, Jr.  March 13, 1851 - January 5, 1895 (43 yrs. 9 mos. 23 days)  "How desolate our home without thee"  Born in Mississippi.  Married October 26, 1884 to Lee Ella Lauderdale, son of Wm. G. and Phebe A. Martin.

  Tombstone of Robert H. Martin Robert Henry Martin  September 5, 1841 - December 4, 1914 (73 yrs. 2 mos. 28 days)  " Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God."  Born in Alabama, son of Wm. G. and Phebe A. Martin.

Mary Gertrude Martin  March 24, 1861 - August 12, 1880 (19 yrs, 4 mos., 19 days)  Daughter of Wm. G. and Phebe A. Martin. Born in Mississippi.  Mary shares an obelisk headstone with her parents.

Maud Rachel (Martin) McGar  September 1862 - 1944 (82 yrs)  Born in Mississippi, married November 9, 1879 to Paul McGar, daughter of Wm. G. and Phebe A. Martin Sr.

Paul McGar  December 29, 1850 - June 28, 1894
(43 years 5 mos. 30 days) Husband of Maud R. Martin McGar

Mildred McGar April 1, 1893 - December 25, 1893
(8 mos. 24 days) "Sleep on in the heaven.  Thou sweet angel child.  By sorrow unblamed.  By sin defined."  Infant daughter of Paul and Maud McGar, granddaughter of Wm. G & Phebe Martin Sr.

Martin Family History

William Green Martin Sr. was born in South Carolina, married Phebe A. in Jackson County, Alabama and they migrated from Alabama/Mississippi to Trinity County before the Civil War.  Phebe A Martin, born in Alabama, died in 1875 and was the first documented burial in the historic Cedar Grove Cemetery.  William Green Martin Sr. operated a flat boat from "Wild Cat Ferry" at Palestine and carried cotton and all surplus farm products to Galveston.  William Sr. and Phebe had four children; Mary Gertrude Martin, Robert Henry Martin, Maud Rachel Martin, Jennie (Hattie) Martin and William Green Martin Jr.
Mary Gertrude never married and is buried with her parents, sharing an obelisk headstone at The Cedar Grove Cemetery.  Robert Henry owned a dance hall and saloon and brought vaudeville to Trinity in 1866.  He remained a bachelor and cared for his deceased sister's 3 daughters who came to live with him from Louisiana.  One of the girls died shortly after joining him in Trinity County and the other two girls, Carrie and Adie Cassidy were well taken care of by Aunts: Mrs. Alston and Mrs. McGar. William Green Martin Jr. was born in Trinity County and married Lee Ella Lauderdale October 24, 1884 in Trinity.  He operated a dance hall, hotel and saloon.  Maud Rachel Martin married Paul McGar.  She attended the first one-room school house that was located where the present day Cedar Grove Cemetery is now located.  They had one child, Mildred, who died as an infant on Christmas Day, in 1893. Jennie (Hattie) Martin married William T. Alston in 1886.

For more information and family history about the Martin Family please contact Nancy Martin Buzbee at ncbuzbee@yahoo.com, or Margarett Martin Renfro at refrom@prodigy.net .

A very special "thank you" to all the Martin Family for their contribution to our Trinity County Website.