His father, John Wenger Martin, also known variously as "Pike John" Martin, and "Gentleman John" Martin, had inherited the western section of his father's (Abraham) farm lands in East Earl township, along with the old family homestead. B.B. Martin's sister, Sue Martin, inherited the farm upon the death of their father, and the property became known in the late 1800s and early 1900s as the Winters Farm. Meanwhile, the eastern section of the old Abraham Martin farm passed to John Wenger Martin's brother, Abraham Wenger Martin. However, Abraham eventually sold his farm and moved with his family to New York. This farm became the Bear farm and then in 1968, the Hoover farm.

Meanwhile, JB married Anna Landis Lehman (Dec. 25, 1833-July 29, 1917), a daughter of John Lehman (April 12, 1809-Sept. 10, 1851) and Elizabeth Ann Landis (Oct. 29, 1811-March 18, 1888). They had, according to some reports, four children but only three have been identified. Until, 1889 they lived at 9 North Prince Street, next to the department store. JB then had the young architect C. Emlen Urban design an ornate Queen Anne style town home at 423 West Chestnut in 1889. The house featured shingled cross gables, a central octagonal dormer, a Queen Anne window sash with stained glass, and a front porch supported by square columns resting on brick piers. The Martins lived there until 1913, when they sold to William A. Wolf and his wife, Francis Fairlamb Harkness Wolf. JB Martin, his daughter Lizzie and his son Horace then moved "around the corner" into 242 North Charlotte Street. This structure was a duplex, with the other half of the building being 244 North Charlotte. This double house was built about 1874 by JB's brother, BB Martin and was one of a number of houses built in the area. The house features a distinctive mansard roof, a bracketed cornice, and double doors with transoms. This was one of a series of buildings in Lancaster that was built in the "Second Empire" French style, which was quite popular at the time (Even though by then, Napoleon III was no longer in power in France). Emma B. Lehman, JB's sister-in-law, came to live out her later years in this house along with with JB and Lizzie and their house servant, Anna Hoover. The house became the Wolf Institute of Music and later the Wolf Museum of Music and Art. The house is scheduled to be sold in 2023 and its future is uncertain. meanwhile the contents of the house are currently scheduled to be sold at auction.