Daily entries from the 17th century London diary
In 1664 he worked in the Ordnance Office in the Tower of London and he married Betty Lane, one of Pepys’ mistresses. Pepys had a low opinion of the man, although Martin seemed to hold Pepys in some respect.
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Per L&M companion:-
… Martin’s carer was very different from what might be expected of Pepys’ account of him (‘a sorry simple fellow,’ ‘without discourse,’ ‘not worth a farthing’). When he married Betty [Lane] in 1664 he was working in the Ordnance Office in the Tower. He then became a purser (James Lane standing as one of his sureties) in at least five ships before 1672, when he was appointed to the important post of consul at Algiers. His correspondence with Pepys in that capacity, pitched in tones of great respect, shows him a man of some ability. In 1674 he sent Pepys a tame lion, which Pepys found ‘good company.’ In 1677 he found himself in debtors’ prison through having engaged in some unhappy trading ventures, and in 1678 he died.