The Martins x 2

My great-grandparents were "Dad Martin" (Stephen Adelbert Martin) and "Minnie Mama" (Minnie Lulu Martin).  They were both born as Martins, but they were not related.

Note:  I would love to hear from anyone who thinks they might be related to me on the Martin side of my family.  Martin is a common surname, so it is difficult for me to research this family or get in touch with living relatives.  For example, I would love to hear from you if you are related to any one of the following people from my grandfather's family:

- Howard Griffith Martin, b. 1902, d. 1985

- Martin C. (birth surname Swartz) Martin, b. 1897, d. 1964

- William F. Martin, b. abt 1858/59 in Kansas, last known whereabouts Manhattan, KS in 1870

- Frank (middle name Emerson?) Martin, b. 1867 in KS, last known whereabouts Downey, CA, where he was a plumber in 1900, may have married Lizzie (surname Baker?) whose parents were from England.

- Bertha D.? Martin, b. abt. 1874/5 in KS, may have been living in Riverside, CA in 1940, married to a Mr. Cornelius?

- William Fortune Martin, b. 1823, d. 1892, proprietor of Adirondack hotel "Martin's"

- Stephen C. Martin, b. 1828, d. 1895, brother of above, Adirondack guide

- John Hurst Martin, b. 1848 in MO or TX, d. 1941 in CA

- John Franklin Martin, son of above, b. 1876 in CA, d. 1963 in CA, had two daughters - Shirley and Virginia

- Nettie Alma Martin (md. Persing) and her husband Charles 'Clifford' Persing

- Elem Martin or Evan Martin and his wife Marilla Burch (children Evan Martin Jr., John Hurst Martin & William Ellison Martin (md. Susan Haney Stuteville)).

Hello to any of you who are out there... get in touch and let's share notes!  

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My paternal grandfather's family were the Martins, of Burbank, Calif.  It turns out that his mother, Minnie Mama, also had the maiden name Martin, but she was not related to her husband's Martin family.  My great-grandfather Dad Martin's family had come out to So. California after 1880 from Kansas, from a family with origins in the Adirondacks in New York.  Minnie Mama's Martin family were from Texas, and had settled in the dry mountainous area east of Los Angeles Co. around 1873, in order to get involved in silver mining.  Her father, John Hurst Martin, had married in California a girl from a family with a similar background - Miss Martha V. Shirley.  

My grandfather's middle name was Shirley -- I never knew why, and never thought to ask those who might know.  I only learned from the census and other info a couple of years ago that this was his grandmother Martha V. Shirley's maiden name.  More info on the Shirleys and this branch of the Martins later.  At the moment, this page only deals with Dad Martin's family.

Main locations of Martin family no. 1:

• England
• Malone, Franklin Co., New York, and surrounding towns
• Saranac Lake Village, Harrietstown, Franklin Co., New York
• Manhattan, Riley Co., Kansas
• Brownsville, Linn Co., Oregon
• Los Nietos (near Downey), Los Angeles Co., California
• Elma, Grays Harbor Co. (formerly Chehalis Co.), Washington State
• Burbank, Los Angeles Co., California
• Rogue River Valley, Josephine Co., Oregon

In the 1990 U.S. Federal census, Martin ranked number 16 on the list of most common surnames (see website).

Our particular Martin branch is fairly small, and information is difficult to find (especially amongst so many other Martins). The Martin name comes from many different countries, but it appears that our story starts in England.

Update -- This page deals with the family of my great grandfather, Stephen A. Martin ("Dad Martin"), whose family had come from upstate New York.  It turns out that his wife, Minnie ("Minnie Mama") was also a Martin!  The two families were unrelated;  her Martins had come from Texas.  At some point I hope to include information on Minnie Mama's Martins, also.

Part 1 - From England to Charleston and then Malone, upstate New York (1810 - )  

Part 2 - From Malone to Saranac Lake, Adirondack mountain resort town (1849 - ) -- Martin's Hotel  

• Read the story of Martin's Hotel and the Martin Brothers, as told in "A History of the Adirondacks" by Alfred L. Donaldson (1921).   - more has been added in Apr. 2008

Part 3 - From the Adirondacks to a Kansas farm (abt 1857 - ) (coming soon)

Part 4 - Meanwhile, back at Martin's Hotel (1860 - ) (coming soon)

Part 5 - The Kansas farm family breaks up (abt 1876 - ) (coming soon)

Part 6 - Some go to the Northwest -- Brownsville, Linn Co., Oregon and Elma, Chehalis Co. (now Grays Harbor Co.), Washington (abt 1880 - ) (coming soon)

Part 7 - Some go to the Southwest -- The small community of Los Nietos, near Downey, Los Angeles Co., California (abt 1885 - ) (coming soon)

Part 8 - Burbank hog ranch, site of Warner Brothers' Studios (1906 - 1926)

Part 9 - Family in the Adirondacks (abt 1910 - ) (coming soon)

Part 10 - Rival of Louis LaMoore (1928 - ) (coming soon)

Part 11 - In the Rogue River Valley, Oregon - the Great Depression, World War Two, and after (1933 - ) (coming soon)

Favorite Martin links:

Marty Martin's 1948 Oscar Citation for Special Effects, "For the development of a new method of simulating falling snow on motion picture sets." My grandfather's half-brother, Martin C. Martin, who worked for the RKO Pictures Miniatures Department. Born Martin Swartz, his parents were Minnie Martin and a Mr. Swartz. Minnie remarried in 1900, when Marty was about 3 years old, and he eventually took the last name of his new father, Stephen A. Martin.

Marty Martin's 1946 Oscar Citation for Special Effects, "For the design and construction of equipment providing visual bullet effects."

Burbank Historical Society. A photo of the Martins' home in 1925 is found in the photo section: Back of Dr. Burbank's house 1925. In 1925, the owners were Stephen A. and Minnie Martin. My grandfather grew up in this house. Also click "next" to see a barn which may have been part of the Martins' property.

Robert Louis Stevenson in Saranac Lake. A wonderful site which includes descriptions of Saranac Lake, NY, at the time William F. Martin was running his hotel there. Stevenson stayed at Baker's, a rival establishment.

A description of William F. Martin's hotel in Saranac Lake in "Clan Sterling Online" - look on page 24, in the section on Estella E. Manning, who married William F. Martin's son, William A. Martin.

The Philosophers' Camp. Emerson, Agassiz, and Lowell in the Adirondacks, an article by William James Stillman, published in The Century; a popular quarterly, Aug. 1893. The entire article can be read online. Stillman mentions at least twice the name of his trusted guide, Steve Martin (Stephen C. Martin), brother of Martin's Hotel owner William F. Martin, and also brother of my ancestor, Henry Martin Sr.     The most famous member of the group which used this camp was Ralph Waldo Emerson.  According to Donaldson, "It was Steve Martin who, with W. J. Stillman, prepared the first 'Philosophers' Camp' on Follansbee Pond."  Further information on the "Philosophers' Camp" here and here, and a painting by William James Stillman here.

North Bangor Cemetery, Bangor, Franklin Co., NY. See Lee (Clarinda, et al) and Martin (William et al).

Pine Ridge Cemetery, Harrietstown, near Saranac Lake, NY. See Martin (sections of Earl S., Howard H., Walter B., Charles Bayard, Charles E. and Laura P.)

Eulogy of Herbert Helin, husband of Violet O. Martin of Elma, WA

USS Renville 1945-46. Find the section written by Joe Parish (entitled "45-46", written in March 2003). He was on the Renville at the same time as my grandfather, and describes some of their tour of duty.