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Henry Roach “H. Roach” Martin

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Henry Roach “H. Roach” Martin

Birth	:	8 Oct 1855 Ellisville, Fulton County, Illinois, USA
Death	:	29 Sep 1937 Emporia, Lyon County, Kansas, USA
Burial	:	Cottonwood Cemetery, Winters, Yolo County, USA
Coordinate	:	38.6500015, -121.9677963
Description	:	The Emporia Weekly Gazette, 18 Mar 1926, Thursday EARLY DAYS IN CHICAGO MOUND. Probably the most exciting event that ever occurred in the Chicago Mound neighborhood was the near-hanging party, at which two brothers named Mayberry--with apologies to the Emporia family with that name narrowly escaped the rope which old John Fowler held in readiness for their necks. For months, a great deal of stealing had been going on, and many cattle were missing. The Mayberrys, who lived in the brush on the west side of Coal creek south of the road had been suspected, and finally there... Read More	The Emporia Weekly Gazette, 18 Mar 1926, Thursday EARLY DAYS IN CHICAGO MOUND. Probably the most exciting event that ever occurred in the Chicago Mound neighborhood was the near-hanging party, at which two brothers named Mayberry--with apologies to the Emporia family with that name narrowly escaped the rope which old John Fowler held in readiness for their necks. For months, a great deal of stealing had been going on, and many cattle were missing. The Mayberrys, who lived in the brush on the west side of Coal creek south of the road had been suspected, and finally there was positive proof that they had slaughtered cattle, and peddled the beef among the farmers, even selling meat to men from whom the cattle had been stolen. The men were caught, and brought before the crowd--a big one for that day, in the fifties, which had assembled on the banks of the creek. Most of the men were strong for a hanging, but some cooler heads prevailed and a committee, consisting of Henry Payne and two other men, was appointed to decide on the punishment of the thieves. They reported that they were not in favor of hanging, but gave the men 24 hours in which to get out of this section of the country, never to return. The Mayberrys spent little time in preparation, but went, and never returned. Cattle stealing was only one of the varieties of theft practiced by the Mayberrys, and their going put an end to thieving in that neighborhood. Henry Payne later bought the place on which the Mayberrys had lived. This story is related by H. R. Martin, 1124 State, who grew up at Chicago Mound, and whose brother-in-law, William Payne, was one of the hanging party, and who told the story to Mr. Martin. H. R. Martin, better known as Roach Martin, who didn't arrive in Lyon county until 1865, a boy under 10, thinks perhaps the most exciting day he ever experienced was the time he went with his father wolf-hunting up to the head of Coal creek, and on the way home they tracked to its den and killed a wildcat--spite of the fact that "The only wildcat ever seen in Lyon county" was killed west of Olpe not long ago. The one greyhound the Martins had with them tracked a wolf to its den and then, as was the habit of this particular greyhound when working singly, refused to tackle it by herself. The Martins started home, and at the Elemendaro crossing on Coal creek, saw the tracks of a wildcat on the ice and followed them, not knowing what they were. The greyhound wasn't afraid to tackle the cat when she came up with it, and when the Martins reached them, the cat was on its back striking at the dog with all four feet, both of them fighting like mad. Mr. Martin, who carried a pruning knife, reached over into the struggling mass of dog and wildcat and cut a hamstring on the cat, making her helpless. They got the kittens, one half-grown, the other smaller, and treed another full-grown cat, which escaped as they had no gun to shoot it. Mr. Martin dressed the wildcat skins, and Mrs. Martin made of them a pair of gloves for Mr. Martin and caps for the boys, which they wore a long time. Roach Martin came to Kansas from Fulton county, Ill., with his mother and other members of the family, his father, T. C. Martin, having come ahead of the family to find a location. He had bargained for the Ward farm on Forest Hill on Badger creek, but Mr. Ward changed his mind and the Martins didn't get the place. When the family arrived, they had no place to live, so stayed with the Preston Paisley family a couple of weeks, until Mr. Martin had time to look around, then he bought the farm on Coal creek. The Martins were Cumberland Presbyterians and so were the Paisleys, and though they never had met until they came to Kansas, the two families became life-long friends. Mr. Martin bought the farm at Chicago Mound from Colonel Mitchell, whom Roach Martin recalls as a big jolly man, who weighed 300 pounds. On the place was a two-roomed shack of clapboards, in which the Martins lived for a couple of years, about 40 acres of plowed land and a little fencing. And there was some family--Mr. and Mrs. Martin and their six children, and the grandfather, 81 years old, who walked with crutches. The Martins' eldest daughter was married, and she and her husband, Samuel Main, settled a mile to the north. Part of the time an uncle and his family lived with the Martins in their two ro(o)ms. The Martin family came to Atchison on their way to Kansas on the train, expecting to be met there by Mr. Martin with a team, or by somebody he would send, as the railroad stopped at Atchison. The team pulling a heavy wagon through deep, sticky mud, was four days late in arriving at Atchison, and there Mrs. Martin and her children and the grandfather stayed at a hotel, very much "up in the air" as to why one had come to meet them. There were few big trees on Coal creek at that time, but a great deal of brush, and the Martins had little or no timber for fuel and building and fencing. Daniel Main, who lived near them, bought a quarter section of part timber land on the Neosho near the Junction, and the two families divided the timber, which provided amply for their needs. The first school Roach Martin attended was a subscription school taught by his aunt, Miss Eliza Martin, on the J. A. Campbell farm, a mile north of the Martin farm. In 1867 there was a move to organize a school district, and the first meeting was held at the Martin home. T. C. Martin donated an acre of land for the school, and as he was a carpenter, he was given the contract for the building, and he also was one of the members of the first school board. A. D. Chambers was county superintendent at that time, and Miss Eliza Martin taught the first school in the new schoolhouse. "While the crowd was gathering for the school meeting," says Roach Martin, "my mother was cutting my hair. We heard a great clatter and Mother called out, "Who's on top of the house?' But is was no one on top of the house rattling the loose clapboards, but a slight earthquake which shook the buildings and gave us all a queer feeling. I'll always remember the day the school district was organized as the day of the earthquake. However, it did no harm." As in most schoolhouses of that time, preaching services were held with more or less regularity--Cumberland Presbyterian and Baptist ministers came for a few years, and the Methodists later built the Chicago Mound church a mile east of the schoolhouse. Charles Robinson, of Hartford, was one of the Methodist preachers Mr. Martin recalls. The Martins united with the Methodist church, and for several years Roach Martin was superintendent of the Sunday school, and helped to build the church. When the Martins began to think about a new home, T. C. Martin went out on the prairie and from a rocky ledge he quarried stone for the cellar walls and the foundation for the new house, and hauled them home. He dug the cellar excavation, rigged up a lime kiln and burned rock for the lime that helped to make mortar for use in laying up the stone, and plaster for the house walls. He felled trees on the timber tract, and hauled them to the Humphrey mill to be made into lumber. The floors of the house were of oak, the weatherboarding and doors and casings all of walnut, the shingles, hand-rived with a drawing knife, also of walnut. The windows were the one part of the house Mr. Martin could not manage, so he sent to Lawrence for them. He seasoned the oak floors over a kiln, drying out the boards until they were hard, almost, as rock. They were so thoroughly dry that it required all the strength of two men to tongue-and-groove them, in preparing them for the floors. But they never have worn out. This farm is owned by the Poyzers now, and George Speakman lives in the house. Mr. Martin hewed out timbers for his barn, got the framework all ready to mortise together, then invited the neighbors for a "raising." They put the parts of the framework together and raised it one section at a time, and it all fitted perfectly. The barn-raising was a great frolic--the women of the neighborhood came, too, and a big dinner was served at noon. All of the improvements on this place were made by the hand labor of T. C. Martin, and all were lasting and substantial. A man named Jack Davis owned the forty on which was located the Chicago Mound cemetery, adjoining which later the church was built. Settlers who had established the cemetery at an early date wanted the Davises to deed it to the cemetery association, but this they refused to do. Henry T. Payne, who was interested in the cemetery, bought the land from Davis, deeded the cemetery plot to the association, reserving lots for his own family, thus securing the cemetery from further danger of desecration or abandonment. L. A. French now owns this fractional forty, and an eighty adjoining. "My father was the first baggageman in Emporia, although he didn't mean to be," says Roach Martin. Then he went on to relate that one day when he came to town in the lumber wagon with his father they say a work train on the new M. K. and T. railroad, and attached to it was an emigrant car. Mr. Martin drove around so that his son might see the train, and as the passengers alighted they saw the man with the team. They asked him to haul them and their baggage to town--the Katy station was way out in the country." The people piled themselves and their luggage into the wagon, and made so big a load that the Martin boy had to walk. His father drove to town through a hard rain and deep much, and when he reached the old stone livery barn on Fifth avenue turned in there to get out of the rain. H. R. Martin was married to Miss Julia Baysinger, of Hartford, in 1880. They have two sons, O. E. Martin, Emporia, and G. E. Martin, Santa Fe, N. Mex. They have five grandchildren. The Martins lived on the home farm until 1904, then on a farm on Rocky Ford until 1911, when they moved to Emporia, and since have lived here. Three of Mr. Martin's sisters are living--Mrs. C. W. Van Orden and Mrs. W. F. Payne, Emporia, and Mrs. Wesley Greason, Pasadena, Calif. Mrs. Martin, a daughter of the late Mr. and Mrs. W. A. Baysinger, was born in Illinois but came with her parents when a little girl to Kansas in 1866.--L. M. F. (Laura M. French)

frequently asked questions (FAQ):

Where is Henry Roach “H. Roach” Martin's memorial?
Henry Roach “H. Roach” Martin's memorial is located at: Cottonwood Cemetery, Winters, Yolo County, USA.
When did Henry Roach “H. Roach” Martin death?
Henry Roach “H. Roach” Martin death on 29 Sep 1937 in Emporia, Lyon County, Kansas, USA
Where are the coordinates of the Henry Roach “H. Roach” Martin's memorial?
Latitude: 38.6500015
Longitude: -121.9677963

Family Members:

Parent

Thomas Claggett Martin

(1822 - 1887)

Mary Margaret “Polly” Sullivan Martin

(1826 - 1901)

Spouse

Julia Frances Baysinger Martin

(1860 - 1941)

Siblings

Martha Ann Martin Payne

(1846 - 1928)

Sarah L. “Sadie” Martin

(1852 - 1879)

Mary Elizabeth Martin Van Orden

(1854 - 1936)

Milton T. Martin

(1862 - 1922)

Children

Mary Martin

(1893 - 1893)

Roy V. Martin

(1898 - 1912)

Flowers:

Nearby Cemetories:

1. Cottonwood Cemetery
Winters, Yolo County, USA
Coordinate: 38.6500015, -121.9677963

2. Corbin Cemetery
Esparto, Yolo County, USA
Coordinate: 38.6240710, -122.0105040

3. Gordon Family Cemetery
Esparto, Yolo County, USA
Coordinate: 38.6966060, -121.9151540

4. Capay Cemetery
Esparto, Yolo County, USA
Coordinate: 38.6944008, -122.0447006

5. Monument Hill Memorial Park
Woodland, Yolo County, USA
Coordinate: 38.6781020, -121.8566400

6. Winters Cemetery
Winters, Yolo County, USA
Coordinate: 38.5256004, -121.9777985

7. Woodland Cemetery
Woodland, Yolo County, USA
Coordinate: 38.6711006, -121.7846985

8. Saint Joseph Cemetery
Woodland, Yolo County, USA
Coordinate: 38.6694400, -121.7842120

9. Cacheville Cemetery
Yolo, Yolo County, USA
Coordinate: 38.7378300, -121.8090200

10. Marys Cemetery
Yolo, Yolo County, USA
Coordinate: 38.7635994, -121.8032990

11. Episcopal Church of Saint Martin Columbarium
Davis, Yolo County, USA
Coordinate: 38.5488870, -121.7611850

12. Davis Cemetery
Davis, Yolo County, USA
Coordinate: 38.5550003, -121.7260971

13. Monticello Cemetery
Spanish Flat, Napa County, USA
Coordinate: 38.5368996, -122.2264023

14. Knights Landing Cemetery
Knights Landing, Yolo County, USA
Coordinate: 38.7904530, -121.7284190

15. Wragg Canyon Cemetery
Napa County, USA
Coordinate: 38.4680220, -122.1562050

16. Dixon Cemetery
Dixon, Solano County, USA
Coordinate: 38.4354553, -121.8227005

17. Logan Cemetery
Guinda, Yolo County, USA
Coordinate: 38.8401670, -122.1613410

18. Sacramento Valley National Cemetery
Dixon, Solano County, USA
Coordinate: 38.4167800, -121.8754000

19. Guinda Cemetery
Guinda, Yolo County, USA
Coordinate: 38.8189290, -122.2103300

20. Tremont Cemetery
Dixon, Solano County, USA
Coordinate: 38.4940987, -121.7043991

21. Vacaville-Elmira Cemetery
Vacaville, Solano County, USA
Coordinate: 38.3517570, -121.9634933

22. Johns Cemetery
Colusa County, USA
Coordinate: 38.9571991, -121.9689026

23. Pioneer Cemetery at Pena Adobe
Vacaville, Solano County, USA
Coordinate: 38.3389200, -122.0127200

24. Wooden Valley Cemetery
Napa, Napa County, USA
Coordinate: 38.3791500, -122.1823200