David Martin – Rural Diary Archive

Black and white portrait of David Martin looking away smiling while dressed in formal attire. Image is quite old and has a lot of dark spots all over it.

Coverage Dates: 1858 to 1882

County: Wentworth

Township: Beverley

Lot: part of 19 & 20

Concession: 8

Gender: Male

Year of Birth: 1800

Year of Death: 1891

Ethnicity: Scottish

Religion: United Presbyterian

Occupation: farmer

Relationships:

Wife: Marion (May) Halliday
Daughters: Susan, Jane/Jean McCaig
Son-in-law: Hector McCaig

Archive: Private Donor

Posted on Rural Diary Archive: Yes

Age During Diary: 58-82

Coverage: 24 years

Biography:

David is one of the earliest settlers in the Valens area having migrated there in 1834 with his wife and children from Dumfriesshire. He is reputedly a favourite amongst the early settlers and quite a poet. As a young man he was a shepherd in Scotland. During his diary, he and May live in a one-storey log house and are cultivating 150 acres of a 200-acre farm with their son-in-law. He purchases a hawk and notes that the “Yankee” President Lincoln has been elected. As David ages management of the farm passes to Hector.

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