John D. Martin was born on December 20, 1843, in Kentucky to Sarah A. Martin. His father probably died sometime before 1850. He grew up in Marion, Kentucky, and he remained loyal to the Union during the Civil War.

 

He enlisted in the Union army on August 31, 1862, and he mustered in as private in Company A of the 25^th Indiana Infantry the following day. The regiment took part in the Atlanta campaign and the Carolinas campaign. He eventually earned a promotion to corporal, and he mustered out on June 4, 1865.

 

He married Nicy Crisp on September 28, 1865, and they had at least six children: Anna, born around 1867; William, born around 1869; Alice, born around 1870; Milton, born around 1873; Cora, born around 1875; and John, born around 1884. They lived in Piney, Kentucky, and he earned a living as a farmer and carriage maker. By 1870, he owned $500 of real estate and $300 of personal property. He applied for a federal pension in September 1878 and eventually received one.

 

They moved to Providence, Kentucky, in the 1870s and then to Kitchen, Kentucky, in the late 1800s. He supported the Republican Party, and he received an appointment as a local postmaster. He died of pneumonia in Madisonville, Kentucky, on February 16, 1902.

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