Author: Kevin Waldroup
Service: Private in the Culpeper County, Virginia militia under Captain George Johnson, 1781 and patriotic service of furnishing supplies in while living in Berkeley County, Virginia.

Married:
Sarah Redding, 01 Sep 1761 at 

Bio:
Many people say that Peter Martin was the son of John Joseph Martin of Germany. John Joseph Martin came to Virginia to work the mines. It is believed Peter Martin arrived in the U.S. about 1761 and 1st settled in Germantown, Virginia. As with many Germans, Peter was a devout Lutheran and his bible provides much information, but not his birth place. He was described by his grandson as short, heavy set, dressed in blue coat and striped pants, clothes brought from the Fatherland. He married Sarah Redding in 1761 in Germantown, Virginia.

He was called both a "Patriot and Soldier." A "Patriot" by furnishing supplies for public use while living in Berkeley County, Virginia and a "Soldier" by serving in the Culpeper County, Virginia Militia under Captain George Johnson. While some family lore also indicated that Peter may have served as a Prussian interpreter for General Washington at Valley Forge, all later evidence suggest this is probably not the case.

They later moved west settling in Shelby Co., Ky. near their neighbors from Virginia, another family named "Martin". According to County files Peter owned 100 acres of land on Tick Creek in Shelby County in 1796. One family account states that after Peter Martin's move to Kentucky he found the Indians to be troublesome. They were apt to steal a settler’s horse, so a bell was fastened on the neck of one horse, to help locate the horses. Peter's sleep was no doubt haunted by visions of Indians riding off on his fine mare. So he went out in his sleep, guided by the sound of a bell, caught his mare and led her to a remote place. He tied her in a thicket and muttered: "I think she is hidden where she can't be easily found." It took several days of searching to find the mare. It was then that they realized, Peter had been walking and working in his sleep.

Peter died at the home of one of his sons, Peter, Jr. and he and Sarah are probably buried on the family farm in Shelby County, Ky.

Later most of the Martins settled in Washington County, Indiana, along with many Clark ancestors.