It is signally consonant that in this work be incorporated at least a
brief resume of the life and labors of Mr. Martin, who has long been one of
the influential citizens of Marion county, and through whose loyal efforts
the city of Salem and surrounding locality have reaped lasting benefits, for
his exceptional administrative capacity has been directed along lines
calculated to be for the general good. A man of forceful individuality and
marked initiative power, he has been well equipped for leadership, while his
probity of character and his genial personality have gained for him uniform
esteem and friendship in the city where he has so long made his home, and of
which he is regarded by all classes as one of its most distinguished
citizens in connection with the business world.
Robert Martin was
born in Estilville, now known as Gate City, Scott county, Virginia, April
11, 1839, the son of John S. Martin, also a native of Virginia, and a man of
recognized ability, being the representative of a fine old Southern family,
noted for its high ideals and unqualified hospitality, his ancestry being
Scotch-Irish. John S. Martin was County Clerk for a period of twenty years
or more, and he held many other county offices, including a judgeship, and
he won universal praise for the able manner in which he discharged his every
duty to the public. He was called from his earthly labors in 1865 while
living at Alma, this county. The mother of the subject was a Stewart before
her marriage, a woman of rare mental equipoise and culture; she passed to
her rest soon after the family came to Illinois in 1846.
Our subject
spent his early boyhood on his parental farm at Alma, having been only five
years old when the family came here. He attended school at Alma and Salem.
He also attended the Southern Illinois Female College at Salem, which
institution ceased to exist soon after the war. He gained a liberal
education which has stood him in such good hand during his long and
eminently active and successful business career. Our subject was one of
those loyal sons of the North, who, when the tocsin of war sounded calling
loyal sons to defend the old flag, offered his services, enlisting in
Company A, One Hundred and Eleventh Illinois Volunteer Infantry, one of the
famous regiments of the state, which was organized at Salem. Mr. Martin was
then twenty-one years old. The company left Salem and went to Columbus,
Kentucky, and from there to Paducah, that state, later to Pulaski,
Tennessee, and from there marched to Chattanooga, where it united with
Sherman's army and remained with the same through its historic march to the
sea, and also its strenuous campaigns, having participated in the battles at
Atlanta and many other notable engagements. After remaining with him until
the close of the war, he took part in the grand review at Washington City,
after a very commendable service of three years. He was mustered out at
Springfield, Illinois, where he came soon after the review in Washington.
After his career in the army, Mr. Martin launched in the grocery
business at Salem, in which he remained for one year, when he sold out and
went into the more lucrative grain and lumber business, in which he has been
engaged for a period of forty-one years during which time an enormous volume
of business has passed through his hands, and he has become widely known as
one of the leading men in these lines in Southern Illinois, being recognized
by the leading dealers throughout this and adjoining states as well as
remote parts of the country as a man of the highest business integrity and
acumen. He is still conducting a large lumber yard, and carries on a very
extensive and thriving business, numbering his customers by the thousands,
not only from Salem and vicinity, but throughout the county and to remote
parts of the country. He owns a beautiful, modern and well-furnished
residence in one of the most desirable portions of Salem.
Our subject
was happily married in 1867 to Alice Scott, a native of Vincennes, Indiana,
a woman of affable personality and rare refinement, the daughter of a highly
respected and influential family. Three children have been born to this
union, one of whom has passed away. They are: Mabel Dora, the wife of W. H.
Farsons, of Salem; C. C. Martin, of Salem, and John Lewis Martin, formerly
of Salem, now deceased.
These children received every possible
attention from their parents, being given good educations and careful home
training.
Mr. Martin assisted in the organization and became one of
the first directors and stockholders in the Salem State Bank. He is also a
director of the Salem Building and Loan Association, and his sound judgment
and able advice is always carefully weighed by the other members of these
organizations in their deliberations, for Mr. Martin has a reputation among
local business men for remarkable foresight into all business propositions.
Having always been interested in educational affairs, he served as a member
and also as president of the School Board of Salem for several years, but he
is not at present connected with the board, but during the time that he was
the schools of Salem were greatly strengthened.
In his fraternal
relations Mr. Martin is a member of the Knights of Pythias and the Woodmen.
He has been a faithful and consistent member of the Methodist church since
he was thirteen years old.
Extracted 10 Jul 2017 by Norma Hass from 1909 Biographical and Reminiscent History of Richland, Clay and Marion Counties, Illinois, pages 126-128.