Parts of this are missing and I think it's out of order
Mary Key Martin
Mary Key was born in Wisconsin Dec. 16, 1841 to Marshal Scott Key and Sarah (Sally) Scholl Key. She married Jacob Martin in 1865 at the age of 24. Mary had 2 children; Orlo in 1865 and Alta in 1866. Mary was the seventh child in a family of eight children and one of the two children born in Wisconsin. Two were born in Kentucky, and four in Griggsville, Pike County, Illinois. (In the vicinity of Hannibal, Mo.) Mary Key Martin is the only member of our family tree that can be traced to royalty including Charles the V of France (1337_1380) and King Edward the IV of England (1442_1483), which ironically she never knew. Her grandfather, Price Key fought in the Revolutionary War, endured the siege at Valley Forge, and saw the surrender at Yorktown. Her brother, Abraham, was a member of the Union Army during the Civil War. Mary was born into a Kentucky family that was pro_slavery. As a result, she had an intense dislike for President Abraham Lincoln.
Seven years after her marriage to Jacob Martin, in 1872, they were taken to court in a bitterly fought lawsuit with Jacob's brothers and sisters over the ownership of the home farm. After a two year battle, Jacob was awarded undisputed ownership. This caused hard feelings with Jacob's siblings, and most of them had nothing to do with Jacob's family after that time. Mary was very proud of her children, and from the early pictures taken of them they were well dressed.
It is interesting to note that both of Mary's parents died at her home, father Marshall Key on Jan. 19, 1879 and mother Sally School Key on June 19, 1882 (Jacob Martin died in 1886.) It is to be assumed that she helped with the care of her parents in their old age.
Only four years after the death of her mother, Mary who was now only 45 years old, was faced with the death of her husband, leaving her with a 21 year old son, a 20 year old daughter, and the title to the hard_won Martin farm (to remain hers only as long as she remained Jacob's widow.) Although one would think this to be a terrible burden for a middle aged woman, Mary accomplished the task amazingly well. She was a strong willed, hard working woman that managed hired men with a strong hand working side by side with them in cleaning out the horse barn and other farm work. In the evening after the chores were finished, the men were expected to churn the sour cream into butter. In 1890 her son, Orlo married the banker's daughter, Bird Woodhouse and left the farm to start a hardware store in Bloomington. Mary was left to operate the farm with only the help of hired men. After two years in the hardward store, Orlo returned (moving in with his mother) to the farm with his new wife, Bird, and son, Jacob Peter.
Grandmother Martin lived with Orlo and his family for about 23 years. At times, this must have been a difficult arrangement for both Mary and Bird. Roy and Milt would tease their Grandmother, and as a result they found themselves not in good stead with Grandmother Mary.
In her later years, she became mentally confused and was not accountable for her actions. One example of her confusion is her inadvertently putting gasoline in the lamps rather than Kerosene. Being an ambitious person, she just wanted to help. When they could no longer care for her at home, she was taken to the County Home in Lancaster.
When Orlo died on April 2, 1916 she was brought home for the funeral, although it was thought that she did not know what was happening. The following quote was taken from Orlo's obituary: "The unfortunate woman, after years of labor, which should have earned her happy old age, became mentally incapacitated and in addition to the arduous labor on the farm, Orlo and his wife cheerfully and uncomplainingly undertook the care of the mother as long as they were able to do so." Eventhough it was assumed that she would not be able to understand, she may have comprehended far more that others realized, because she passed only two weeks later on April 17, 1916.
The Martins that succeeded Grandmother Mary are indebted to her for her hard work and skills in managing the farm during the very difficult times after the death of her husband, Jacob. She undertook a task that few women of her day would have attempted.$P