Deep Roots Family Tree Blog

I know having many children was pretty common back in the day and my maternal grandfather’s family was no exception.

John David and Kathryn Susannah (Trumbauer) had 13 children, 11 surviving. The man in the back row on the left is my 2nd great-grandfather, Charles Romig Martin. He had a reddish tint to his hair and it was always suspected that we had some Irish ancestry, but my/my moms DNA results make that much less likely.

Back row: Charles, John D. Jr., Earl, Elmer.
Middle row: Mabel, Fred, Sadie, Russell, Lettie.
Front row: May, John D. Sr., Kate, Nellie.

My grandpa LeRoy was one of 17 children and only one died in infancy. I had the opportunity to meet all of my great-aunts and uncles at the annual Martin family reunions when I was a kid. Below is a picture of Charles and Ida (middle) and 15 of their 17 children. My grandpa is in the back row, third from the left. Both Charles and Ida passed away before I was born.

I honestly can’t imagine birthing and raising that many children. Kudos to grandma Ida!