In October 1841, Martin (who was 9 years old at the time) is mentioned in letter from his Aunt Sarah Bradfield to his Aunt Mary Braden. Martin had fallen off his Uncle Alba's horse and had "dislocated the 2 joints of his elbow and broke a piece of the bone of one of the joints. His arm is extremely swelled and painful. The Dr. is fearful he never will straighten it."
The 1850 census shows Martin, age 18, living in his parents' household in Lafayette, Indiana. Martin was working as a painter. On the 1860 census, he is listed as a resident of a rooming house in Lafayette as "Putnam Jenners, age 24, male, painter, born in Indiana."
On 21 July 1862, Martin enlisted in the military at Indianapolis in Regiment 76, Company G as a musician.
The 1870 census finds Martin back in Lafayette, living in the household of William Schrader, and listed as "Jenners, Martin P.; age 28, male, white, occupation: carriage maker; value of personal property: $800; born: Indiana."
Martin is found in the 1873 Lafayette City Directory as "Mark Jenners, carriage painter, boards 137 Columbia." Another 1873 directory gives his residence as 193 Ferry Street.
On 16 April 1877, Martin P. Jenners married Mary E. Williams at the home of Jane (Sharp) Perrin, at the corner of 11th and Ferry Streets in Lafayette. They were married by I. W. Boothe. It should be noted that Martin's obituary says he never married, but this is clearly the correct Martin Jenners.
The 1880 census (taken 10 June 1880) shows Martin and his wife, Mary, living with Jane Perrin. Jane Perrin was the head of the household. Martin Jenners and his wife Mary were living with Mrs. Perrin. Mrs. Perrin was a 71 year old widow. Martin was 47 and working as a painter. His wife, Mary E, was 37.
It seems that Martin and his wife, Mary, continued to live with Mrs. Perrin until her death in 1895. I have not determined if Jane Perrin was somehow related to Mary or Martin. On the 1880 census, he is listed as her brother-in-law, but I have not yet been able to sort this out well enough yet.
I did find Emma Williams (and Emma is probably Mary E.'s middle name) living next door to Jane Perrin on the 1870 census with the family of Thomas Martin. I suspect this is the woman Martin married, but it still doesn't clarify what relationship she may have had to Jane Sharp Perrin, if any.
On 26 February 1881, Martin's father, David Jenners, died. Martin was 48 years old. On 28 August 1895, Jane (Sharp) Perrin died. Martin and Mary were still living with her at that time. Here is a copy of her obituary from an unknown Lafayette newspaper:
It appears that sometime after the death of Jane Perrin, Martin and Mary separated. As I said, his obituary says he never married. However, a Mary E. Jenners is found in 1909 in Los Angeles, California, where she lists herself as the widow of Martin P. Jenners. And on the 1900 and 1910 censuses, Martin is listed as divorced. I have not yet been able to trace Mary Emma (Williams) Jenners after she appears in California.
By the 1910 census, Martin is shown as a boarder living on S. Eleventh Street in the home of Charles and Eva Canady. He is male, white, 77, divorced, born Indiana, no occupation.
The following article was found in the "Sweetser Scrapbook" in possession of the Tippecanoe County Historical Association and was hand-dated September 1917. It reads: "MARTIN JENNERS IS 85 YEARS OLD. Aged Lafayettean, Born Here in 1832, Can Relate Interesting Details of the City's History. Martin P. Jenners, one of Lafayette's oldest and best known citizens, celebrated his eighty-fifth birthday yesterday. He was born in a little log cabin at the northwest corner of what is now Fourth and Ferry Streets, August 21, 1832, and has spent the greater part of his life in Lafayette. There is no one living in the city at the present time who was here when Mr. Jenners was born. As a boy he played about the old canal and canal boats and has many interesting stories to tell of the romantic conditions that existed in Lafayette at that time. He has seen the city grow from a mere village in a wild, unsettled region to its present state, and is able to give almost every detail in the history of its development. Mr. Jenners is a wide reader, and this with his many experiences and remarkable memory makes him one of the best informed men on almost every subject in the city. He is particularly interested in drama and can give the history and dates of every great play and drama that has ever been on the stage in this country."
I am not sure which newspaper the following came from, but the article was entitled "Early Settler's Last Words Continue to Draw a Crowd:" "Mr. Jenners was an eccentric in many ways and was an agnostic.... at the time of his death [he] was the oldest native of Lafayette. He died of accidental asphyxiation - from an unlighted gas stove - in a room he rented from Mrs. Israel Sparks at 211 N 11th St. The photo shows a bearded white-haired man with intelligent dark eyes.... After retiring Jenners was known as a man who enjoyed a sense of history as well as a joy in the present.... was an ardent lover of ice skating, and despite his advanced years was frequently seen with the younger folks skating at Columbian Park."
Martin apparently had no children.
Martin Putnam Jenners died in Lafayette, Indiana on 22 December 1919. He was 87 years old. The cause of death was accidental asphyxiation. The gas stove in his room was not lighted, and he died from the fumes.
The following story appeared in the Indianapolis Star on 23 December 1919:
"Oldest White Child Born in Lafayette Found Dead -- Lafayette, Ind., Dec. 22, -- Martin P. Jenners, 87 years old, and the first white child born in Lafayette, was found dead in bed in his room, this morning, by Mrs. Israel Sparks, at whose home he had roomed for a number of years. Death resulted from asphyxiation. Mr. Jenners was in the habit of lighting a small gas stove a couple of hours before arising for the day and it is thought he turned on the gas as usual and thinking he had lighted it, went to sleep again. Mr. Jenners was born in what is now the business section of Lafayette, on Aug. 31, 1832. One sister, Mrs. Carl Sweetser of this city, survives. Mr. Jenners was an eccentric in many ways and was an agnostic. He caused quite a sensation a number of years ago when he erected a tomb in Springvale Cemetery, with the following inscription:
"Martin P. Jenners was born Aug. 31, 1832 in a log cabin on the northwest corner of Ferry and Fourth streets. Died ---19---. My only objection to religion is that it is not true. --- Cor. IV, 52; XXVI, 14. No preaching, no praying, no psalm singing on this lot."
(Note: his sister was Clara Jenners Butler Sweetser, widow of William Sweetser.)
Martin was buried in Springvale Cemetery, Lafayette, Indiana.
An obituary appeared in an unknown Lafayette newspaper on 29 December 1919: It read: "Martin Jenners, Local Pioneer, Is Found Dead - Demise of Lafayette's Oldest Native Resident Due to Asphyxiation. - Martin P. Jenners, a native of Lafayette during his life-time of eighty-seven years and the oldest local pioneer, was found dead in bed at his room, 211 North Eleventh street, Monday morning at 9:30 o'clock by Mrs. Israel Sparks. Mr. Jenners had roomed with the Sparks family for the past eight years and when Mrs. Sparks went to his room to make his bed she was horrified to find him dead, although the fumes of escaping gas caused her to believe something was wrong. Mr. Jenners, who during the past two years had become very feeble, had a habit of setting his alarm clock at 5:30 o'clock. He would then get up and light a small gas stove, again retiring until 7 or 8 o'clock, when the room was warm. Members of his household heard the alarm clock at the usual time and hard Mr. Jenners close his window. It is believed Mr. Jenners turned on the gas and thought he had lighted the stove. A couple of burnt matches were found on the floor beside the stove. The gas was turned on when Mrs. Sparks entered the room. She turned off the gas and raised the window. Mr. Jenners body was cold when she examined him. The police were notified and Captain Herman Kelm, who went to the Sparks home, called Dr. Geo. F. Beasley. The physician gave it as his opinion that Mr. Jenners had been dead about two hours when found. Born Here 87 Years Ago. Mr. Jenners was born in Lafayette on August 31, 1832. He was the son of the late Mr. and Mrs. David Jenners and the house where he was born was a log cabin that stood at the northwest corner of Fourth and Ferry streets, the site now occupied by the Wallace block. In his early life Mr. Jenners was employed as a carriage painter and was recognized as one of the best in this section of the country. He retired from work about forty years ago and since then had devoted himself to reading and visiting his friends. Perhaps no man in Lafayette was as well posted on the early history of Lafayette as was Mr. Jenners. He was an interesting conversationalist and took great pleasure in revealing local historical facts. Mr. Jenners was an ardent lover of ice skating, and despite his advanced years was frequently seen with the younger folks skating at Columbian park. Mr. Jenners was an eccentric in many ways and was an agnostic. He caused quite a sensation a number of years ago when his tomb was erected in Springvale cemetery, the inscription upon which reads as follows: 'Martin P. Jenners was born August 21, 1832, in a log cabin on the northwest corner of Ferry and Fourth streets. Died ----- 19---. My only objection to religion is that it is not true. I Cor. XV, 52. I XXVI, 14. No preaching, no praying, no psalm singing on this lot.' Mr. Jenners is survived by one sister, Mrs. Carl Sweetser, who resides at the Old Peoples home, 135 Park avenue. He is also survived by a number of nieces and nephews."
Another article also appeared which read: "Gas From Heater Is Cause of Death of M.P. Jenners - Oldest Native of Lafayette Held Pronounced Views on Religious Questions - Tombstone Inscription. [special to the Indianapolis News] Lafayette, Ind., December 22 - Martin P. Jenners, age eighty-seven, the oldest native of Lafayette and widely known because of his pronounced views of religious questions, was found dead in bed today at his home in this city. He had been asphyxiated. Evidently he had arisen early in the morning, lighted a small gas heater and had returned to bed thinking that the gas burning. In some manner, however, the gas failed to light and the fumes from the stove caused his death. Mr. Jenners was born in Lafayette August 31, 1832. He was the son of pioneer settlers and lived in a log cabin which stood in the center of the present business district. In his early life Mr. Jenners was employed as a carriage painter, but he retired forty years ago. Having been born here only six years after Lafayette was founded he had passed through practically the entire period of its development and was better informed on the early history of the city than any other resident. Fifteen years ago Mr. Jenners cause a tombstone to be erected on his family lot in Springvale cemetery carrying the inscription: 'No preaching, no praying, no psalm singing on this lot. My objection to religion is that it is not true.' On the opposite side of the monument which is constructed of red granite, is the emblem of the Improved Order of Red Men, to which Mr. Jenners belonged. Mr. Jenners was never married. He is survived by one sister, Mrs. Carl Sweetser."
The following newspaper article appeared with a photo of Martin's tombstone: "Early settler's last words continue to draw a crowd by Laurie Jensen, Staff Writer.[:CR:]His tombstone inscription reads in part: "My only objection to religion is that it is not true."
The following article was in a newspaper in 1930: "Martin P. Jenners died three days before Christmas in 1919, alone in the boarding house room he had rented for eight years. He was 87 years old. He left no children. His newspaper obituary asked friends to omit flowers. He was buried beneath a tombstone that he had erected in the cemetery 14 years before he died. Today, 63 years after his death, visitors from across the United States seek out his reddish-brown tombstone - near the sexton's office in Spring Vale Cemetery. Its inscription is his unique legacy. It says that Jenners was born Aug. 21, 1832, in a long cabin on the northwest corner of Ferry and 4th streets. The date of death - Dec. 22, 1919 - is listed. But there's more. Two Biblical references are listed beneath: I Cor.XV,52 and Is.XXVI,14. The first is: "in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump; for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed." The second is not so hopeful: "They are dead, they shall not live; they are deceased, they shall not rise; therefore hast thou visited and destroyed them, and made all their memory to perish." The inscription on the tombstone ends with a warning: "No preaching, no praying, no psalm singing permitted on this lot." Jenners apparently stirred controversy in life, too. Minutes of the cemetery association's annual meeting on Jan. 16, 1906, show a report by association secretary F.R. Levering that Jenners had erected his headstone angering some of the adjacent lot holders. When board members suggested that Jenners be ordered to remove the stone, Levering told them it was not within the association's power. Jenners' newspaper obituary Dec. 23, 1919, read in part: "Mr. Jenners was an eccentric in many ways and was an agnostic. He caused quite a sensation a number of years ago when his tomb was erected in Springvale cemetery...." The article describes a man who, at the time of his death, was the oldest native of Lafayette. He died of accidental asphyxiation - from an unlighted gas stove - in a room he rented from Mrs. Israel Sparks at 211 N. 11th St. The photo shows a bearded, white-haired man with intelligent dark eyes. His occupation was carriage painter and he "was recognized as one of the best in this section of the country." After retiring, Jenners also was known as a man who enjoyed a sense of history as well as a joy in the present. "Perhaps no man in Lafayette was as well posted on the early history of Lafayette as Mr. Jenners. He was an interesting conversationalist and took great pleasure in revealing local historical facts. Mr. Jenners was an ardent lover of ice skating, and despite his advanced years was frequently seen with the younger folks skating at Columbian Park."
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