Alberta Martin
Encyclopedia
Alberta Martin was once believed to be the last living widow of a Confederate
soldier. This has been contradicted by Maudie Hopkins
, but Mrs. Martin appears to have been the last widow whose marriage to a Confederate soldier produced offspring.
She was born as Alberta Stewart to sharecroppers in Danleys Crossroads, Alabama, a small sawmill
town south of Montgomery
. Her mother died when she was 11. At 18, she met a cabdriver named Howard Farrow and they had a son, but Howard died in a car accident in 1926.
After moving to Opp, Alabama
, she met widower William Jasper Martin, born in 1845 and a veteran of the 4th Alabama Infantry, a Confederate unit during the Civil War. On December 10, 1927, the then-21-year-old Stewart married the 81-year-old Martin, primarily to get help raising her son and because his $50 per month Confederate pension check guaranteed her a degree of financial security. She gave birth to a second son, Willie Martin, 10 months after her wedding to William Jasper Martin, who was 82 at the time of the child's birth. William Jasper Martin died in 1931.
Two months after her second husband's death, Alberta Martin married Charlie Martin, William Jasper Martin's grandson from a much earlier marriage. Alberta and Charlie Martin were married for more than fifty years until his death in 1983, after which she moved to Elba, Alabama
.
She lived in obscurity for most of her life, but gained media attention starting in the 1990s. In the final years of her life she became a symbol for the Sons of Confederate Veterans
, appearing at some of their rallies. The state of Alabama had long since stopped issuing pension checks to the widows of Confederate veterans, believing them all to be dead, but with assistance from Sons of Confederate Veterans and other supporters Alberta began receiving a Confederate widow's pension
in 1996 and was awarded backpay as well.
Mrs. Martin appeared to relish the attention the media brought her and attended many Civil War themed re-enactments and other events as an honored guest. She lived her final years in a nursing home paid for by various supporters. Following her death at the age of 97 on May 12, 2004, she was given an "1860s style ceremony" with full honors as the widow of a Confederate veteran.
Confederate States of America
The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...
soldier. This has been contradicted by Maudie Hopkins
Maudie Hopkins
Maudie Hopkins was an American woman believed to be the last publicly-known surviving widow of a Civil War veteran....
, but Mrs. Martin appears to have been the last widow whose marriage to a Confederate soldier produced offspring.
She was born as Alberta Stewart to sharecroppers in Danleys Crossroads, Alabama, a small sawmill
Sawmill
A sawmill is a facility where logs are cut into boards.-Sawmill process:A sawmill's basic operation is much like those of hundreds of years ago; a log enters on one end and dimensional lumber exits on the other end....
town south of Montgomery
Montgomery, Alabama
Montgomery is the capital of the U.S. state of Alabama, and is the county seat of Montgomery County. It is located on the Alabama River southeast of the center of the state, in the Gulf Coastal Plain. As of the 2010 census, Montgomery had a population of 205,764 making it the second-largest city...
. Her mother died when she was 11. At 18, she met a cabdriver named Howard Farrow and they had a son, but Howard died in a car accident in 1926.
After moving to Opp, Alabama
Opp, Alabama
Opp is a city in Covington County, Alabama, United States. At the 2000 census the population was 6,607. -Geography:Opp is located at . According to the U.S...
, she met widower William Jasper Martin, born in 1845 and a veteran of the 4th Alabama Infantry, a Confederate unit during the Civil War. On December 10, 1927, the then-21-year-old Stewart married the 81-year-old Martin, primarily to get help raising her son and because his $50 per month Confederate pension check guaranteed her a degree of financial security. She gave birth to a second son, Willie Martin, 10 months after her wedding to William Jasper Martin, who was 82 at the time of the child's birth. William Jasper Martin died in 1931.
Two months after her second husband's death, Alberta Martin married Charlie Martin, William Jasper Martin's grandson from a much earlier marriage. Alberta and Charlie Martin were married for more than fifty years until his death in 1983, after which she moved to Elba, Alabama
Elba, Alabama
Elba is a city in Coffee County, Alabama. At the time of the 2000 U.S. census, its population was 4,185.Elba is the official county seat of Coffee County, though Coffee County has two County Courthouses, with the other one being located in the town of Enterprise...
.
She lived in obscurity for most of her life, but gained media attention starting in the 1990s. In the final years of her life she became a symbol for the Sons of Confederate Veterans
Sons of Confederate Veterans
Sons of Confederate Veterans is an American national heritage organization with members in all fifty states and in almost a dozen countries in Europe, Australia and South America...
, appearing at some of their rallies. The state of Alabama had long since stopped issuing pension checks to the widows of Confederate veterans, believing them all to be dead, but with assistance from Sons of Confederate Veterans and other supporters Alberta began receiving a Confederate widow's pension
Widow's pension
A widow's pension is a payment from the government of a country to a person whose spouse has died.Generally, such payments are made to a widow whose late spouse has satisfied the country's requirements, including contribution, cohabitation, and length of marriage.-United States:In the United...
in 1996 and was awarded backpay as well.
Mrs. Martin appeared to relish the attention the media brought her and attended many Civil War themed re-enactments and other events as an honored guest. She lived her final years in a nursing home paid for by various supporters. Following her death at the age of 97 on May 12, 2004, she was given an "1860s style ceremony" with full honors as the widow of a Confederate veteran.
See also
- Maudie HopkinsMaudie HopkinsMaudie Hopkins was an American woman believed to be the last publicly-known surviving widow of a Civil War veteran....
- last known Confederate war widow (died August 17, 2008) - Gertrude JanewayGertrude JanewayGertrude Janeway was the last known widow of a Union Civil War veteran. She married John Janeway, an officer in the 14th Illinois cavalry, in 1927 when she was 18 and he 81. They lived together in a log cabin in Blaine, Tennessee until John Janeway's death in 1937 . Gertrude continued to live in...