Joseph Martin
On 10Jan2015, TNSSAR changed the name of the Joseph Martin Chapter to the Cumberland Gap Chapter. General Martin was a frontier patriot during the revolution. His Martin’s Station was the westernmost settlement in 1769 in current Lee County Virginia. Martin’s polygamous wife was Betsy Ward, a Cherokee princess. With her aid, he held down violence in the Tennessee valley during the battles at Kings Mountain and Cowpens when many of the men were away. Martin opposed the State of Franklin organizers. He also negotiated the Hopewell Treaty which returned territory south of the French Broad River (Sevier and Blount Counties of TN) to the Cherokee Nation. That action caused the 1796 Tennessee Constitution to include provisions for those out of bounds, second class citizens. General Martin became so unpopular around Cumberland Gap that he moved back to Henry County VA.
