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Richard Martin married Nancy Massingill on March 20, 1804 in Tennessee. By 1810 the family, along with their several children, including son William Zebulon Martin, had once again uprooted, and they left Stewart County, Tennessee. Historically the Martin family elders had migrated from Maryland to Virginia and eventually pushed westward across Tennessee, finally to the banks of the Mississippi River. By 1850 William Zebulon settled there, in remote westward Lauderdale County, Tennessee to log timber and operate saw mills, the long-running traditional family occupation. That same year Zebulon married 19 year-old Lucinda Shoemake, daughter of William and Martha Shoemake. Within the year Lucinda gave birth to a son, Eli Zebulon Martin in 1851, followed by another son named John T., and a daughter she named Martha Elizabeth for her mother. Determined that his children not be loggers and woodsmen, he schooled his children in business, math and music. By 1860, Zebulon had died, and Lucinda remarried to W. A. Mahan, and relocated across the river to Mississippi County, Arkansas. Eli, who for a while used his step-father's surname, eventually became a salesman in the merchantile business. Later he became a haberdasher and dry good merchant, and operated several stores throughout the western Tennessee area. Through long-time family connections, he met the lovely Ellen Louise Williams, a granddaughter of the prominent Absalom Williams, and daughter of David Williams, of the Williams Lumber Mills in Lauderdale County, Tennessee. A lavish May Day wedding was soon held in 1878.
The Williams family, who had migrated from Virginia soon after the American Revolution, were among the earliest pioneers to settle Lauderdale County, and had a long tradition in the wood and lumber business there. Eli's brother, John T. Martin, also married into the Williams family, marrying Ellen's sister Eliza V. Williams. Another Williams daughter, Mary Jane Williams, married William C. Brown, a son of John Brown, another of the first founders of Lauderdale County. The Brown, Martin and Williams families were among the first founders of the Methodist community in the area, donating land, wood, and time to the venture. Also large landowners, Absalom Williams, and sons David and Edwin W. and grandson, Thomas, along with cousin Reason "Reek" Wood, the first Sheriff, began development of the area, constructing a general store, a jail, and a circuit court. The Martins built Alston and Martin General Merchantile, and several dry goods stores. By mid-century there was a post office, and several thriving establishments operated by Reek Wood, Seaton Burks, J. T. Burks, Bill Wood, and assorted Martins and Williams. Absalon's son, David Williams married the lovely Elvyann "Van" Mannery Walker in 1842, and they would eventually have nine children and a great number of grandchildren and great-grandchildren who remained in the area. They settled along Williams Switch Road, in what was originally called Williamstown, and became philanthropists, building several schools, churches, a medical clinic and the Williams Opera House, site of the first Public School Commencement 6/8/1894, in which Miss Daisy Williams was Valdictorian.
Richard H. McGaughey, M. D., was Ripley's town physician and ran the medical clinic beginning in 1844. His brother John R. McGaughey would marry Martha Harriett Williams, another of David Williams's daughters, in 1870. Ellen, the seventh of David and Van Williams nine surviving children was very close to her siblings, especially to brother Robert A., born in 1858, who married the beautiful Emily Pitts in 1876, and went on to become a member of the firm Palmer and Williams, publishers and owners of the Lauderdale County Enterprise Newspaper, but resigned to run for Mayor of Ripley, a post to which he was elected three times. He resigned as Mayor to become a member of the Tennessee Legislature. He was also Clerk and Master of the Chancery Count, and eventually established the Lauderdale County Bank, and was its chief cashier. Later he became Chairman of the Democratic Executive Committee, a state delegate to the district elections, and an alternate delegate to the Chicago National Convention the same year. Then he was appointed as President of the Board of Education. He and Emily had three sons and four daughters who were much adored by their Aunt Ellen and Uncle Eli Martin. Suddenly in 1908, at the age of 51, Ellen's beloved brother Robert died of complications of Bright's Disease, complicated by a bout of typhoid.
Ellen and Eli, who also took up breeding fine Plantation Ponies at their Henning, Tennessee farm in their spare time, had five children. Beulah Zebulon who married John Wesley Blythe of the historically important Blythes of Blytheville, Arkansas, Lillias Gertrude who married Charles Carson Ford and relocated to Chicago, Albertha Williams who married Albert Carroll Cheatham of Blytheville who owned a Tobacco Shop and Billiards Parlour there, Eli Van Louis who graduated from Nelson business College in Memphis, then fought in the Army in the trenches of France of WWI, never married, changed his name, became a writer and moved to Hollywood and died mysteriously there at the age of 44. Stories abounded concerning alleged inflamatory articles that Eli Van Louis had written had led to his demise. Juanita, the youngest child, never married and retired from the FBI after a long career with them in Washington, D. C.
Albertha Martin and Albert Carroll Cheatham moved to Shreveport, Louisiana, where he became an executive with the gas company, President of the Chamber of Commerce, and a prominent member of the Methodist Church. They had three children: Albert, Jr., Gordon Martin, and Verlie Louise Cheatham. Albert, Jr. married Lucy Rosemary Robertson, who was a member of one of the first Women's Basketball League, sponsored by Meadows Draughn College. Albert was employed in refrigeration engineering sales. A former Captain in the U. S. Army during WWII who was a gunnery photographer in the Pacific Theater in Japan, and took arial photographs of Nagasaki and Hiroshima, he was also a Mason, a Commander of his VFW Post, and a Shriener in the Clown Unit. Lucy worked until retirement for the U. S. D. A. and was voted Secretary of the Year in 1970. They had two children, Pamela Jean, and Cheryll Anne. Gordon Martin Cheatham served in the Army in Korea, married a woman named Barbara, and had a daughter named Ann. Gordon sadly died in his thirties of cancer. He had adopted two more children while stationed in Germany. Verlie Louise married career Air Force Captain Richard Francis, they never had children, and she worked for the government until her death at age 63.

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