Reuben Martin - War of 1812 Veteran Buried in Farmer Cemetery

In the Farmer Cemetery rests Reuben Martin and his wife, Thankfull.
Reuben, born in Vermont, and Thankful, born in either Massachusetts or Rhode Island, depending on the source, came to Milford and Farmer Townships sometime before 1850.

Reuben had served in the War of 1812 in the Vermont 30th Regiment, Captain Wright's Company, of the U.S. Regular Infantry.  The militia was served with protecting Vermont's citizens.  Any man 16 - 60 was expected to participate.

The 30th Regiment was formed in 1813 and service was supposed to be for one year.  It undoubtedly stretched out for some soldiers.
One newspaper noted that Reuben received $8.00 a month for his pension.  His pension card noted that he qualified for bounty land, an area that would need to be explored.

The exact date of the move to Ohio was not discovered, but the Martins were here by 1850 for the census in Sheffield Twp, Lorain County, Ohio.  Thankful and Reuben were already 53 years old and two children lived with them, Mercia, 19, born Vermont (1831) and Jason, 14, born Ohio (1836), which might pinpoint their move to between those years.  However, the obituary mentioned a different date.

It was the 1870 census, the Martins were found again, now in Milford Township, Defiance County.  The couple were both 73 years old and Reuben was a retired farmer.  One would expect that at least one of their children lived nearby, and so it was.  In 1879, "Mrs. Martin, aged 82 years, died at the residence of her son-in-law, Isaiah Johnson," according to the Defiance County Express of August 8.

Soon after his wife's death, Reuben became sickly and apparently, his elderly mind suffered, too.  By May, 1881, newspapers reported that John Norway was appointed his guardian, calling Reuben an imbecile, probably meaning a form of dementia in this case.  By 1880, Reuben had moved in with family: Albert Farnsworth, 50; Eliza, 46 (Reuben's daughter); Newel, 24; Warren, 20; Effie, 11; Charles, 8: Emma Thompson, 22 (Albert's daughter, Reuben's granddaughter) married; Mertie Thompson, 1 (Reuben's great-granddaughter) and Reuben Martin, father-in-law.

Reuben Martin, one of the oldest citizens near Farmer Township and one of the few War of 1812 veterans, died on July 27, 1882.  His obituary appeared in the Defiance County Express on August 3, 1882.