by Ariah Edwards

Ewin Martin was born August 17, 1896 in Tullahoma, Tennessee. He lived with his parents, William and Mary Martin, and his nine siblings. Before he joined the military, he worked as a restaurant waiter for the Country club on the Lafayette River in Norfolk. He lived at 310 Cumberland Street, Norfolk.

At the age of 21, he enlisted in the U.S. Army and was trained at the Hampton Institute in Hampton, Virginia. He was then transferred to Camp Jackson. At this point, he was a private. When asked about his feelings about the military, he said that it was something that he had been longing for since he was a kid. He also talked about how camp experiences have affected him mentally and physically.

After the war he was discharged from the military, on January 1918 as a private and returned to his civil life as a waiter. He moved a few blocks down Cumberland Street to number 516. He may have returned to Tennessee by 1925 and married Lizzie Shaw on October 7 or 8, 1925.

Sources:

“Martin, Erwin.” Virginia War History Commission, World War I History Commission questionnaires, Library of Virginia. Available online: https://lva.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/01LVA_INST/altrmk/alma990006685250205756

“Tennessee Marriages, 1796-1950”, database, FamilySearch(https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:X8T5-XHS : 16 March 2020), Ewin Martin, 1925.

“United States Census, 1900”, database with images, FamilySearch(https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MS8S-BFD : 10 March 2022), Ewin Martin in entry for William Martin, 1900.

“United States Census, 1910,” database with images, FamilySearch(https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MGND-SNN : accessed 12 December 2022), Ewin Martin in household of Will Martin, Tullahoma, Coffee, Tennessee, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) ED 49, sheet 2B, family 36, NARA microfilm publication T624 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1982), roll 1494; FHL microfilm 1,375,507.

“United States, Veterans Administration Master Index, 1917-1940,” database, FamilySearch(https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:W9YC-TQ2M : 23 October 2019), Ewin Martin, ; citing Military Service, NARA microfilm publication 76193916 (St. Louis: National Archives and Records Administration, 1985), various roll numbers.

“United States World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918”, database with images, FamilySearch(https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:K6ZQ-R3R : 23 December 2021), Ewin Martin, 1917-1918.