W Martin & M Martien, Philada
William Martin and Mibsam Martien, Philadelpia, PA plane makers
William Martin and Mibsam Martien
Philadelphia, PA
GAWP5 includes entries for plane makers Mibsam (Hibsam) Martien and William Martin noting they were at common addresses in Philadelphia for the years 1799 and 1800. What is not stated is who these two craftsmen were and how they might be related.
Online genealogy sites Ancestry, FamilySearch, Wikitree and GenealogyBank helped provide possible answers.
William and Mibsam were likely sons of William Martin of Philadelphia. They were born in ca 1760/62 and ca 1765 respectively. William Jr. married Elizabeth Middleton in 1787. Mibsam married, Elizabeth the widow, in 1800.
Notes
1. William (Sr.) is likely the father as William Martin the plane maker is referred to as Jr. in 1790 and 1803 deeds. )
2. William (ca 1760/62) is likely the grandson of William and Sarah (Fox) Martien as he had a daughter, Sarah Fox Martien.
3. William and Mibsam are both plane makers and appear in the same street or around the corner in city directories.
4. Mibsam married William's widow Elizabeth (Middleton) Martien in 1800.
GAWP5 has William active in planemaking from 1773 through 1801. The 1773 date is tied to an apprenticeship with Hugh Fegan, as found in a judge's 1772/1773 accounts; "Hugh Fegan with consent of his father Patrick apprentice to William Martin of Phila." No trade is given in this record and for most of the years of the 1790s, there are two or three William Martins present in Philadelphia, according to the city directories. One is a plane maker, one a sadler, one a gent and one a doctor. While Philadelphia birth records might be somewhat "sketchy", evidence was not found for a William who would fit with the 1773 apprenticeship date. The 1801 date from GAWPs is close to his actual death date of 1798.
William's probate inventory from 1799 is very informative as his tools/materials are broken into a "finished work - stock on hand" section and a "working tools" section. The bulk of the planes in the working tools section are described as "Counter planes".
Mibsam could have begun working ca 1786, but his first directory listing was dated 1799. His last directory entry cited was 1807 and his War of 1812 service was dated 1815. His death date is not known.
1785 Philadelphia Directory courtesy of FamilySearch.
William Martin plain maker on Third St.
1799 Philadelphia Directory courtesy of FamilySearch.
William Martin plane maker on No. Third St. and Church Alley.
Hibsam (Mibsam) Martin plane maker on Church Alley near Third St.
1800 Philadelphia Directory courtesy of FamilySearch.
William Martin plane maker on No. Third St. and Church Alley.
Mabsom (Mibsam) Martien and Co., plane maker on No. Third St.
1815 record of War of 1812 Service for Mibsam Martin, plane maker, aged 49. Courtesy of Wikitree.
Estate notice for William Martien, December 7, 1798 as published in the Aurora General Advertiser, courtesy of the GenealogyBank. The admin's are his brother Mibsam and his widow Elizabeth.
William Martin, probate and inventory documents. On the inventory, note the section for William's own tools as well as the section on new stock.
Hibsam Martin 1803 deed with wife Elizabeth noted as William's former widow.
