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CLM Enterprises |
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Martin family 1565-2003 |
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William Martin was born in Yalding in the mid-sixteenth century. A common man, his life was uneventful and unrecorded, except for his marriage – to a woman whose name remains unknown – and the birth of a son in 1590. It is from this humble origin that his descendants have been traced to the present day. As more of the Martin history unfolded so too did that of other families related by marriage. The Harris family from Halling was one with close links; others included the Poynter, Thornton, Gransden, White, and Woolmer families. The history of the Martin’s for more than four hundred years is inextricably linked with the Medway, a river that meanders its way for 70 miles through the heart of Kent from its source in the Ashdown Forest to its mouth in the Thames estuary at Sheerness. Later the river became a major highway with sailing vessels carrying farm produce and industrial goods down to the estuary and on to England’s capital by way of the Thames. In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries brick, lime, paper, and cement works were built along its banks providing much-needed employment for many villagers, including those from the Martin and Harris families. Descendants of William Martin progressively moved downstream on the Medway from Yalding to Snodland, to Halling and finally to Cuxton. They were never more than a mile or so from its banks although most of them gave it little thought. |
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Above: Yalding’s Town bridge
Left: The village of Yalding retains much of its old world charm today |
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A Martin Family Tree has been developed from the time of William Martin of Yalding to the present day and this is shown below. More details of all of his direct descendants can be seen in the linked website (see below). Their history and that of the villages in which they lived is also described in the book Medway to the Yarra. |
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The marriage of William Martin and Georgina Poynter, August 1908.
Photo taken outside the Poynter home in Wood Street, Cuxton. |
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The Martin and associated families history site |
