Richard Martin (Grace Martin> Mary Ormsby> Mary Sabin> Lucy Slate> Freedom Hale> Prudence Niles> Elijah Birge Pratt 1811-1878) was born about 1609, some researchers state November 22, 1609, in St. Marys, Devon, England.  He married Elizabeth Salter about 1630 in St. Marys and together they had at least six children all born in England.  The family came to Rehoboth, Bristol County, Massachusetts, about 1663.

The following came from a Martin family website:

The family of Martin [also spelled as Martin, Martyn, Marten, Marttin, Marteem, Martain and Mortine] of Compton Martin, Somersetshire, England, was of great eminence and long descent. The first of the name of whom records appear was Martin of Tours, a Norman, who made a conquest of the territory of Cemmes or Kemeys, in the county of Pembroke, about 1077. Martin was the surname of the Lords of Cemmes for seven generations when, by the death of William Martin, Lord Cemmes, the line became extinct. The name of Martin, however, was still kept up in Somerset by Robert Martin,  a younger son of Nicholas Fitz-Martin, and doubtless by other younger branches of the family, and it is believed that from one of these younger branches are descended those of the name who came to New England in 1635.

Among the twenty-one families that accompanied Rev. Joseph Hull from Weymouth, England, to Weymouth, Massachusetts were Robert Martin and wife. They were from Badeome, Somersetshire, England, and arrived on the Massachusetts coast May 6, 1635.  Robert Martin had no children, and his estate of one hundred and ninety-three pounds, one shilling and sixpence, was left to heirs in England. 

Richard, brother of Robert Martin, arrived in America with his wife, Elizabeth Salter and some of their children, probably with Rev. John Myles in 1663, and settled in Rehoboth, Massachusetts.  Richard at age 54 came with his wife and three of his adult children, John, Grace(?), Eleanor, and Annis, to Rehoboth to take possession of his brothers property which had been left to him.  Richard, son of Richard Martin and Frances, was born on November 22, 1609, in St. Marys, Devon, England.  Richard married Elizabeth Salter, daughter of Robert Salter and Elizabeth Fawkener, about 1632.  Richard was elected surveyor of highways in that town June 1, 1669, and his name appeared in the list of its proprietors February 7, 1689.  He contributed for the prosecution of "King Philip's war" the sum of one pound. five shillings and four pence. His death occurred March 2, 1694, and his estate was inventoried at twenty-two pounds, eighteen shillings and eight pence.  He probably had given what land he owned to his children since the estate was valued at such a small sum. 

Robert Martin and Elizabeth Salter had the following children:

1.  John Martin was born about 1632 in Ottery St. Mary, Devon, England. He was among the signers of the compact concerning religious observances in Swansea, Massachusetts, February 22, 1669. He was a farmer and weaver, and was appointed constable by the general court, June 5, 1671. He was surveyor of highways in 1673 and again in 1685. He was married April 26, 1671, to Johanna Esten, daughter of Thomas Esten, of North Providence, Rhode Island.  She was born June 1, 1645, in Herefordshire, England.  John fought in the Naragansett expedition in 1676 in King Philips War.  Richard gave money to support the war.  [Rehoboth vital records].  He was mentioned in his fathers will.

2.    Grace Martin was born on September 21, 1640, in St. Marys, Devon, England.  She married John Ormsby, son of Richard Ormsby and Sarah Upham, probably in Reboboth, Bristol County, Massachusetts. [The work by Henry Martin suggested she was probably the daughter of Isaac Martin, of Rehoboth, and if so, she and her husband were cousins.]  Grace was not mentioned in Richard Martins will.

3.  Francis Martin was born about 1645 in England and remained there.  He was mentioned in his fathers will of 1694 as still living in England.

4.  Richard Martin was born about 1647 in England and remained there.  He was mentioned in his fathers will of 1694 as still living in England.

5.  Annis Martin was born on February 1649 in England.  She married Chaffee.  She died on March 30, 1729, in  Barrington, England.  She was mentioned in her fathers will.

6.    Eleanor Martin was mentioned in Richards will.

There was a William Martin in London. England, who assisted the Pilgrims in coming on their voyage to Plymouth Rock.  There is a very persistent tradition in the family that William Martin,  or William Seaborn Martin, was born at sea in the voyage of his parents from Plymouth, England. There was a Robert Martin who lived some years in New Haven, Connecticut, and had two sons baptized there previous to 1655. It is possible that the William Martin who heads this family was born to Robert on the sea as related to many of his descendants. There was also a Samuel Martin, of Wethersfield, Connecticut, who married, in England, Phoebe, daughter of William Bisbee, a London merchant. This couple came over about 1650 and it is not impossible that they might have been the parents of William who was given the name of the lady's father, and if born at sea might have received the second name of Seaborn from that circumstance. It could scarcely have been really a part of his name, because at that time there is no instance on record of a child having a double name. This may have been a nickname applied by his parents and used by others to distinguish him from others of the same name.  Wethersfield furnished many inhabitants to Stratford, Connecticut, and this would easily account for the removal of William to Woodbury.

The following came from the book by Henry Martin.

The first authentic account of him that we have been able to find, i» his appointment by the General Court of New Plymouth Colony, June 1, 1669, as Surveyor of Highways for Rehoboth.

The next notice we have of him is among the "names of the inhabitants and proprietors of the Town of Rehoboth having Rights and Titles to the Measuages, Tenements and Lands contained in a Quit-Claim Deed of William Bradford to the Town of Rehoboth which hath been read and allowed in a full Town meeting, February 7th, 1689.  Richard Martin advanced £1, 5, 4, to sustain in carrying on the war against King Philip.  He must have been well advanced in years when he came to New England, and conseipicntly [sic.] took but little part in public affairs. He died March 2, 1694, but his age is not given in the town records.

The following is a copy of his will and the inventory of his property: -

"Know all men by these presents that I Richard Martin of the town of Rehoboth in the Colony of New Plymouth in New England, being aged and not knowing the day of my death, and through the goodness of God of a good and competent understanding, do make this my last will & testament this .second day June in the year of our Lord one thousand six hundred eighty & six.

I give & bequeath unto my son Richard which is now in old England two houses with a barn and manlt house (being those houses which I formerly willed to him and my son John) together with it three acres of land be it more or less. To ray said son Richard his heirs and assigns.

Item. I give to my son Francis which is now in old England a house orchard & garden which I formerly intended to give unto Annis lying next to Mr Frenches to him his heirs and assigns.

Item. I give unto my son Francis his two sons two thirds of my lands divided and undivided in tbe lands called the North Purchase lands belonging to the town of Rehoboth in New England if

my said Grandchildren come over to New England to improve and make use of them.

Item. I give and bequeath the other third part of the lands divided or undivided unto my grandchild John Martin my son Richards eldest son (namely the lands of the North Purchase lands belonging to Rehoboth if my said grandchild come over to New England to improve it.

Item. It is my will that my grandchild John Ormsby my daughter Elanors eldest son shall posess and enjoy & improve my lands on the north side of the town of Rehoboth divided or undivied until my grand children in Old England come over to make use of them & if they never come over: & the said John Ormsby to have & enjoy them forever.

Item. I give unto my son John Martin that is now with me my house & orchard & and all my other lands & meadows divided or undivided in the town of Rehoboth (excepting the lauds on the North that is disposed to my Grandchildren in England to him his heirs & assigns forever.

Item. It is my will that my household goods shall be divided among my three children that are in New England: (viz) John, Elanor & Annis, my son John to have one half of them & the other half to be divided between Elanor & Annis equally.

Item. It is my will that the rest of my estate (viz) my cattle after my funeral charges are discharged shall be equally divided between my son John & my daughters, Elanor Ormsby and Annis Chaffee.

Item. I make my son John Martin sole executor of this, my last will.

And I intreat my loving friends Deacon Samuel Newman & William Carpenter to be overseers of this my will

the mark of

Richakd X Martin [seal]

Signed sealed & acknowledged in the presence of us

William Carpenter.

Th omas Reap.

Stephen Paine.

Rehoboth May: 7th 1695

Then did the witnesses to the will: of Richard Martin make oath that they see him said Martin sign seal & deliver this instrument to lie his last will & testament & that he was of a disposing mind when he so did.

John Cary Regestr Corum me Jno Saffin Probar : This entered & engrossed May the : 9t b : 1695  By Jro Caby Regestr"

"An Inventory of the Estate of Richard Marten late of Rehoboth deceased, taken & prised by the subscribers hereof. £ s d

Imp : An old great Bible & two old platters an old chest & frying pan & his wearing Apjiarell &

beding at 07 05 00

Item. A Brass Kettle, Bettle Rings & wedges pins ring & staple. 00 14 00

Item. A spit & a hake* a share & bolt at . , . . 00 07 06

Item, A draft chain & handsaw at 00 OS 06

Item. A shott mould a pair of pincers & fork at . , 00 01 08

Item, in old Iron at 00 02 00

Item. A hundred acres of land in the North lands a share of undivided land in the said land at . 20 00 00

£22 18 08

Memorandum, that on the 7th of May 1695, at Rehoboth,

Samuel Newman.

John Peck.

William Carpenter.

Then did John Marten the sonne of Richard Marten late of Rehoboth deceased: mak oath that this is a true & just Inventory of the estate of the said Richard Marten to the best of his knowledge & when he knows more he will reveal it that it may be recorded.

John Carey, Regstr:

Corum me Jno Baffin, Proha?:

Thus Entered May 7th 1695 By John Carey Regist I-JIJ .

The above will and Inventory are recorded in Book 1, page 119, in Taunton Registry Office,"

During the time between the date of the foregoing will and its admition to probate - an interval of nine years - the testator must have disposed of his property to his children and grandchildren, in New England, for the inventory shows no land except that in the North Purchase, which is here willed to his grandchildren in Old England. It appears by this will that he had two sons living in England, in 1686, Richard, jr., and Francis, both of whom had children. John, the eldest son of Richard, jr., who is mentioned in his grandfather's will, may have been the " John Martin of Rehoboth, taylor," who, in 1711, married Sarah Willmarth, as before stated, and whose children settled in Ameborough, probably on the lands given their father in the foregoing will. His son John "now with me," is believed to be the John Martin of Swansea, the ancestor of the family hereinafter traced.  Of the two daughters, Annis Chaffee and Elanor Ormsbey nothing is known beyond what is stated in this will.  In the Town records of Swansea, the following entry appears; "Anne Martin and Joseph Chaffee were married Dec. 8th 1670;" this probably is the above Annis Chaffee.  Elanor was the mother of John Ormsbey, who was made a freeman the first Tuesday in June, 1689, and probably, also, of Thomas and Jacob Ormsbey, who are mentioned in the will of Joannah Martin. John Ormsbey is also mentioned in the will of his great uncles Robert and Abraham Martin.  John Ormsbey gave £% 15, 00 towards carrying on the war against the Indians under King Philip: Joseph Chaffee gave £1, 8, 8, and Nathaniel Chaffee gave .£3,16,6, for the same purpose.  John Ormsbey married, January 5, 1664, Grace Martin.  She was probably the daughter of Isaac Martin, of Rehoboth, and if so, she and her husband were cousins. They had the following issue: Elizabeth, b. Nov. 27, 1674;  Mary, b. April 4, 1677; Jonathan, b. Aug. 26, 1678; Martha, b. May 7, 1680; and Jacob, b. March 16, 1682.

This is all that we have been able to gather in relation to the Ormsbeys and Chaffees.  It is to be hoped that some future genealogist of these families may give us a more extended notice of their ancestors, and thus be the means of throwing more light upon the history of the Martins who were among the early settlers of the Plymouth Colony.

Sources:

Arnold, James Newell.  Vital Record of Rehoboth, 1642-1896:  Marriages, Intentions, Births, Deaths, With Supplement Containing the Record of 1896, Colonial Returns, Lists of the Early Settlers, Purchasers, Freemen, Inhabitants, the Soldiers Serving in Philips War and the Revolution. 2 Vols. Providence, Rhode Island:  Narraganset Historical, 1897.

Bliss, Leonard.  The History of Rehoboth, Bristol County, Massachusetts:  Comprising a History of the Present Towns of Rehoboth, Seekonk, and Pawtucket, from Their Settlement to the Present Time, Together with Sketches of Attleborough, Cumberland, and a Part of Swansey and Barrington, to the Time That They Were Severally Separated from the Original Town.  Boston, Massachusetts:  Otis, Broaders, 1836.

Bowen, Richard LeBaron.  Early Rehoboth:  Documented Historical Studies of Families and Events in This Plymouth Colony Township.  Concord, New Hampshire:  Rumford Press, 1945-50.

Calef, Frank T. Comp.  Rehoboth Cemetery Records.  Unpublished manuscript in Rhode Island Historical Soceity, Providence collection.

Crane, Ellery Bicknell, Editor.  Historic Homes and Institutions and Genealogical and Personal Memoirs of Worcester County, Massachusetts: With a History of Worcester Society of Antiquity, Volume 1.  New York:  The Lewis Publishing Company, 1907. (Available in digital format on the Web)

Dawes, Henry L.  Encyclopedia of Massachusetts.  Reprint, BiblioBazarr, 2009.

Hughes, Thomas Partick and Frank Munsell.  American Ancestry:  Giving the Name and Descent, in the Male Line, of Americans Whose Ancestors Settled in the United States Previous to the Declaration of Independence, A.D. 1776, Volumes 1-2.  Albany, New York:  J. Munsells Sons, 1887-1899.

Martin Family.  Unpublished manuscript and newspaper clipping collection at Springfield Public Library.  Springfield, Massachusetts: n.d.

Martin, Henry Joseph.  Notices:  Genealogical and Historical, of the Martin Family of New England, Who Settled at Weymouth and Hingham in 1635 and Were Among the First Planters of Rehoboth (in 1644) and Swansea (in 1667):  With Some Account of Their Descendants.  Boston:  Lee and Shepard, 1880.  (Available in digital format on the Web.)

Martyn-Martin, Richard Martin of Rehoboth, Massachusetts.  Unpublished manuscript with not author listed at the New York Genealogical and Biographical Society, n.d.

Pope, Charles H. Pioneers of Massachusetts:  A Descriptive List, Drawn from Records of the Colonies, Towns and Churches, and Other Contemporaneous Documents.  Boston, Massachusetts:  C. H. Pope, 1900.  (Reprint:  Baltimore, Maryland:  Genealogical Publishing Company, 1991.)

Rehoboth Town Clerk.  Records of Town Meetings.  Waltham, Massachusetts:  Town of Rehoboth and Graphic Microfilm of New England, 1967.

Stearns, Ezra S., Editor.  Genealogical and Family History of the State of New Hampshire:  A Record of the Achievements of Her People in the Making of a Commonwealth and the Founding of a Nation, Vol. 3.  Chicago:  Lewis Publishing Company, 1908.  (Reprint:  BiblioLife, 2010, available in digital format on the Web)

Tilton, George H.  A History of Rehoboth, Massachusetts:  Its History for 275 years, 1643-1918, in which is Incorporated the Vital Parts of the Original History of the Town, Published in 1836, and Written by Leonard Bliss, Jr.  Boston:  G. H. Tilton, 1918.

Trim, Robert Sheldon.  Rehoboth Gravestone Records, Rehoboth, Massachusetts.  Unpublished Manuscript at Rehoboth Town Clerks Office.