Click here for the John Martin Family home page. 3rd Generation - Margaret Martin 

Margaret J. (Martin) Watkins, the fifth child of John Martin, Jr., and Mary Ann (Wheeler) Martin, was born 11 September 1845 at Camargo, Illinois (which was then part of Coles County but was included in Douglas County in 1859).  On 15 June 1867, she married Isaac Hamilton Watkins in Douglas County.  He had been born 7 April 1845 in Athens, Ohio, the son of Joseph H. and Mary Jane Watkins.

Prior to their marriage, Isaac had served the Union during the Civil War.  He had enrolled in the 135th Illinois Infantry 10 May 1864 at Tuscola, IL; mustered out 6 Jun. 1864 at Mattoon, IL; reenrolled in the 149th Illinois Infantry, Company F, 24 January 1865 at Danville, IL; and mustered out 27 January 1866 at Dalton, GA.

Together, Margaret and Isaac had five children, all born in Douglas County, Illinois:

  • John Wesley Watkins, 1868–1928 (married Cleora L. Bigelow).
  • Joseph Lawrence Watkins, 1870–1945 (married Emma Lorena McConnel).
  • James Guy Watkins, 1873–1933 (married Nellie Garland Bay).
  • Ida Gertrude Watkins, 1876–1942 (married Robert E. Glenn).
  • Addie M. Watkins, 1877–1931 (married _____ Mayes).

After Addie was born, Margaret and Isaac moved to Doniphan County, KS, where they and their children were recorded in the 1880 census.  Some years later, they evidently moved to Kingfisher County, Oklahoma (most likely during the Oklahoma Land Rush of 1889).  Sadly, Margaret died there on 13 June 1897, and is buried at Oak Vale Cemetery under the name Maggie J. Watkins.

By the time of the 1900 census, Margaret’s children had all moved to Idaho, and Isaac was back in Kansas (Atchison County), where the census showed him married (for 1 year) to a woman named Virginia.  I have not been able to determine Virginia’s maiden name, the exact date and place of their marriage, or what ultimately became of her.  However, on 13 May 1902, Isaac married again, in Kansas City, Kansas, to Mrs. Lydia Ann (Niblock) Rodgers.

By 1910, Isaac and his third wife Lydia had relocated to Lakin, in Kearny County, Kansas, where she passed away in 1915.  Isaac then went to spend his remaining years at the Kansas Soldiers' Home at Ft. Dodge in neighboring Ford County.  There he died on 11 April 1919.  Isaac and Lydia are both buried at Lakin Cemetery in Kearny County.

If you can suggest any corrections to the information above or provide any further details about the lives of Margaret, Isaac, and their descendants, please contact me at the address shown in the image below:

P L Martin C O at G mail dot com

Thanks,      
     —Pete Martin

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