Abraham Lincoln Martin

Abraham Lincoln Martin was the tenth of the fourteen children of Nathaniel Martin and Hannah Strader. Born 22 June 1861, the source of his name is obvious. The next child born was Mary Lincoln Martin. The tendency of Nathaniel and Hannah to name their children after specific and sometimes well-known individuals was pronounced. Nathaniel and Hannah also loved to use affectionate and even playful nicknames, a tendency which persisted among the clan for the next couple of generations. Abraham’s nickname was Linky (also rendered as Linkie). This obviously came from his middle name, and was part of a nickname set, Linky and Tinty, that he and Mary shared. (It is not quite clear whether “Tinty” is also some sort of derivation from the name Lincoln; the original version may have been Tinky.)

Abraham came into the world in Martintown and spent the whole of his life there. He was among the seven of Nathaniel and Hannah’s offspring to die at a young age. However, unlike the other six, who all died in infancy or toddlerhood, Abraham reached his eighteenth birthday. This was long enough to begin to affect the world around him, and he no doubt played some role in Martintown’s history -- he may, for instance, have been among the laborers who helped construct the church his father is credited with erecting in 1879. However, no records have been found that shine a light on his talents or accomplishments. In terms of public records made during his lifetime, he is mentioned only in the 1870 Federal census, in which he appears as a member of his parents’ household.

Abraham drowned in the Pecatonica River 23 July 1879. This may have been the fate of his brother Charles Martin two decades earlier, though Charles was less than three when he died, making an accidental drowning easier to picture. Like the majority of his siblings, Abraham was buried in the Martin cemetery at the top of the hill above the family home.

This is Abraham’s gravemarker in the Martin cemetery. Photograph taken 2 November 2005 by Dave Smeds. The stone is weathered and is now difficult to read unless one knows in advance what it says. It had come out of the ground at some point and someone had leaned it up against the more substantial marker of his sister Jennie Edith Martin Hodge.

To return to the Martin/Strader Family main page, click here.