Martha Ellington^[1]

1737 - 1780  (43 years)

• Name	Martha Ellington  [2]
  Birth	1737	, Amelia, Virginia, USA   [2, 3, 4]
  Gender	Female
  Death	6 May 1780	, Pittsylvania, Virginia, USA   [4]
  Burial	, Nottoway, Virginia, USA
  Person ID	I1386	Master
  Last Modified	20 Jun 2020

  
  

  Father	David Ellington,   b. 1713, , Prince George, Virginia, USA d. 11 May 1774, Nottoway, Amelia, Virginia, USA (Age 61 years)
  Mother	Martha Ann Tucker,   b. 29 Aug 1719, Bristol Parish, Prince William, Virginia, USA d. 9 May 1782, Abbeville, Abbeville, South Carolina, USA (Age 62 years)
  Marriage	1736	, Amelia, Virginia, USA
  Family ID	F363	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family	Joseph Motley,   b. 1720, , Nottoway, Virginia, USA d. 15 Dec 1806, Danville, Independent Cities, Virginia, USA (Age 86 years)
  Marriage	1750
  Children	+ 1. Martha Patsy Motley,   b. 1753, , Amelia, Virginia, USA d. 1806, , Pittsylvania, Virginia, USA (Age 53 years) + 2. Daniel Motley,   b. 6 Jul 1755, , Amelia, Virginia, USA d. 20 Oct 1815, , Pittsylvania, Virginia, USA (Age 60 years) + 3. Samuel Motley,   b. 23 Nov 1758, , Amelia, Virginia, USA d. 1834, , Pittsylvania, Virginia, USA (Age 75 years)   4. John Motley,   b. 23 Nov 1761, , Amelia, Virginia, USA d. 20 Mar 1826, , Pittsylvania, Virginia, USA (Age 64 years) + 5. David James Motley,   b. 23 Nov 1761, , Amelia, Virginia, USA d. 20 Mar 1826, , Pittsylvania, Virginia, USA (Age 64 years) + 6. Obedience Motley,   b. 1768, , Amelia, Virginia, USA d. 1863, Mocksville, Davie, North Carolina, USA (Age 95 years)   7. Prudence Motley,   b. 1770, , Amelia, Virginia, USA d. 18 Oct 1838, Mocksville, Davie, North Carolina, USA (Age 68 years) + 8. Sarah "Sallie" Mottley,   b. 1772, , Pittsylvania, Virginia, USA d. 12 Jun 1832, , Wilson, Tennessee, USA (Age 60 years) + 9. Elizabeth Motley,   b. 1773, , Amelia, Virginia, USA d. 15 Dec 1806, , Pittsylvania, Virginia, USA (Age 33 years) + 10. Amy Motley,   b. 1778, , Amelia, Virginia, USA d. 12 Jun 1853, , DeKalb, Alabama, USA (Age 75 years) + 11. Delilah Motley,   b. 7 Dec 1779, , Amelia, Virginia, USA d. 20 Mar 1837, , Pittsylvania, Virginia, USA (Age 57 years)
  Family ID	F73	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
  Last Modified	27 Jun 2017

  
  

• Event Map		Birth - 1737 - , Amelia, Virginia, USA Death - 6 May 1780 - , Pittsylvania, Virginia, USA Burial - - , Nottoway, Virginia, USA  = Link to Google Earth
  Pin Legend	: Address       : Location       : City/Town       : County/Shire       : State/Province       : Country       : Not Set

  
  

• Notes

  Martha Ellington Motley Gave up her life for her country Martha was the wife of Captain Joseph Motley of Amelia and Pittsylvania Counties, Virginia, and was murdered during the Revolution. She refused to divulge to a Tory raiding party the hiding place of supplies which Captain Motley had for the Continental Army, or the whereabouts of her husband. Martha was alone in the "Old Place" except for servants and the little children at home. She was recuperating in bed from the recent birth of her eleventh child, Elizabeth. She was served by Rachel, a very extraordinary servant who is purported to have been an African Princess. This servant was kidnapped from the rice fields of her homeland by slave traders. The record also states that she spoke a different language from the other servants and wore beautiful flowers tattooed on her breasts. This servant later raised the children who were left orphaned when Martha was murdered. Present that fateful day were four little girls, daughters of Martha and Joseph. Obedience was eight, Prudence was six, Sally was four and Delilah was two. They were under foot when the party of men on horseback arrived at the front gate to be greeted by Rachel. The spokesman of the group asked to see Captain Motley. When told he was not at home, they demanded to talk to Mrs Motley. Although informed by Rachel that Mrs Motley was ill in bed and could not be disturbed, on the insistence of one of the men, the servant allowed them into the house. Later Rachel disclosed that she recognized one of the men as a neighbor of the Motleys. The party of men hurried past Rachel and the little girls and barged up the stairs to Martha's room. In the excitement of a child's fancy, Obedience ran to see what this was all about, and was present when the neighbor and 'friend' demanded to know where her father and brothers were and where the provisions were kept. She heard her mother refuse to give them any information and saw them take the arm of her mother and (despite Martha's struggles and cries) pierce her arm with a knife and leave her faint and unconscious. Of the little girls there that day, the baby-in-arms, Elizabeth, lived to adulthood and married Floyd Tanner. Delilah married Benjamin Terry; Sally married Francis Anderson; Prudence married Joshua Stone. They all lived in Pittsylvania County. Obedience married John Morehead of Rockingham County, North Carolina in 1790. Source: "Reflections of Generations," by Loren Adams, and "The Roster of Texas DAR Ancestors, 1976." Martha Ellington is shown as the wife of Joseph Motley - re.: Page 230 - An Index to the Spouses of the DAR Patriots, copyright 1986 by the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution. Martha was born in Amelia Co, Va abt 1736 and died (killed) in Pittsylvania Co, Va in 1776. Joseph Motley was born abt 1720, Gloucester Co, Va. and died Dec 15 1806 Pittsylvania Co, Va. David Ellington b. 1713 in Prince George Co., Va.; d. Mar. 1783, Amelia Co., Va.; m. Martha Ann Tucker abt. 1736; she was b. 1718, Chesterfield Co., Va. They were the parents of above Martha Ellington. Martha Ellington's younger sister, Obedience, m. Stephen Evans, Jr. (III), on Nov. 23, 1764, Amelia Co., Va. Stephen and Obedience are shown in Hancock Co., Ga., year 1794. David Ellington and Martha Ann Tucker had a son, David Ellington, Jr., b. Sept. 7, 1741, Amelia Co., Va.; d. Jan. 20, 1820, Wilkes Co., Ga.; m. Jane Harrison, b. abt. 1745; d. 1828; marriage date was Jan. 7, 1790, Prince Edward Co., Va.

  
  

• Sources

  [S761] Yates Publishing, Ancestry Family Trees, (Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com. Original data: Family Tree files submitted by Ancestry members.), Ancestry Family Tree. http://trees.ancestry.com/pt/AMTCitationRedir.aspx?tid=90667476&pid=7 [S379] Ancestry.com, U.S., Sons of the American Revolution Membership Applications, 1889-1970, (Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011.), Volume: 305. [S32] Yates Publishing, U.S. and International Marriage Records, 1560-1900, (Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2004.), Source number: 71.000; Source type: Electronic Database; Number of Pages: 1; Submitter Code: RBA. (Reliability: 2). Name: Martha Ellington Birth Date: 1720 Birth Place: VA http://trees.ancestry.com/rd?f=sse&db=worldmarr_ga&h=379901&ti=0&indiv=try http://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?db=worldmarr_ga&h=379901&ti=0&indiv=try [S751] Ancestry.com, U.S., Find a Grave® Index, 1600s-Current, (Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.).