Individual Details

The following transcription is from a letter from Robert S. Martin announcing the pregnancy of his daughter Elizabeth with Jotham Martin. Jotham was born on October 8, 1818, so Elizabeth was about 6 months pregnant at the time the letter was written. Robert S. Martin clearly names Samuel Teagarding as the father of Jotham. In researching Samuel, I corresponded with some Teagarden descendants and purchased a book "Descendants of Abraham Tegarden". In this book, I find only one Samuel Tegarden of the right age to be the father of Jotham. This Samuel Teagarden was born 17 August 1791 in Greene Co., Pennsylvania. We know that Robert Martin and daughter Elizabeth were in Greene Co., until 1819 when they removed to Marshall Co., West Virginia. The Teagarden book makes no mention of Jotham Martin, but oddly enough, the book credits young Samuel Teagarden with another illegitimate son, born in 1814, four years prior to Jotham. Samuel married in 1820. From the Tegarden book, I find that Samuel's father was William Tegarden (1746 - 1813), with Samuel being child 10 of 11. This would make William Tegarden 19 years older than Robert Martin, so it makes sense that Robert would refer to William as an old man and in the past tense since he was dead at the time of the letter. Also, this verifies that Samuel had brothers and sisters as mentioned in the letter. Thus, even though the descendants of Jotham Martin have never used the Teagarden name, we are nonetheless, Teagardens by blood.


A copy of the original letter is found on Page 12, of "Descendants of Simon and Elizabeth Martin Dakan" by Dorothy Dakan Sedosky. I now have the original letter in my possession, with many thanks to Dorothy.
Joe Tucker 6/2008

July the 4 1818

With sorrow I sit down to relate the downfall of my elder daughter Elizabeth's fornication, seduced by Samuel Tegarding, a young man late a resident in our neighborhood. The said Tegarding I never set any store by ("set any store by" is a colloquial term for trusted) as he is a lazy foul young man, but as I was intimately acquainted with his father, who was a clever kind old man, and some of his brothers and sisters are likewise of good reputation, I could not say so much against his comeing about my house, but would much rather it had been otherwise. But so it is my daughter is seduced by the said Tegarding and he has absconded from our parts,and I hope I may never set my eyes on him again as I would rather take care of my daughter and her child as long as I live than she should ever be troubled with such a lazy lounging indolent scoundrel as he is. This to warn all young women from keeping company with him as he is a deceitful lying ornery fellow as you will find in a thousand (years) and you fathers or heads of familys beware of his seducing ways. Suffer him not to come about your house to bring shame on your family and trouble and sorrow on you. Here follows a description of the said Tegarding: he is about six feet high, fair complexion, sandy hair, not very elegantly dressed, spits through his teeth, has amazing long feet. I hope all editors of newspapers throughout the United States who are friendly to good order and virtue will give the above one insertion at least. It will very much oblige your troubled friend and the world.
Well wishes
Robert S Martin

To Thomas Layton Editor of the Waynesburg Messinger


marriage to Joshua Dakan was after the birth of Jotham

Birth	19 May 1789
Moved-shared	1819	(Robert Shipley Martin) Marshall Co., West Virginia from Greene Co., Pennsylvania
Marriage	1820	Simon Dakan
Death	22 Aug 1852

Spouse	Simon Dakan ( - 1850)
Child	Rebecca Dakan (1821 - 1891)
Child	Joshua Dakan (1824 - 1911)
Child	Hester Dakan (1824 - 1918)
Child	John Martin Dakan (1826 - 1909)

Spouse	Samuel Teagarden (1791 - 1854)
Child	Jotham Martin (1818 - 1907)

Father	Robert Shipley Martin (1765 - 1855)
Mother	Rebeca Michener (1769 - 1847)
Sibling	Sarah Martin (1791 - 1871)
Sibling	William Martin (1795 - )
Sibling	Lois Martin (1798 - 1873)
Sibling	Shipley V. Martin (1800 - 1870)
Sibling	Jefferson T. Martin (1802 - 1877)
Sibling	John Battin Martin (1805 - 1885)
Sibling	Hester Martin (1808 - 1824)
Sibling	Lydia Martin (1813 - 1895)