Part of the Indiana Biographies Project
Benjamin L. Martin
For sixty years Benjamin Lloyd Martin has been a resident of Wayne county, and has been identified with many of the interests that have contributed to its substantial development and improvement. His probity, fidelity and sterling worth have won him the unqualified confidence of his fellow townsmen, and now, in the evening of life, his pathway is brightened by the veneration and respect which ever follow an upright career.
Mr. Martin was born December 27, 1806, in Coventry, Chester county, Pennsylvania, at the village where iron was first manufactured in the Keystone state. The family is of English and Welsh lineage, and his early ancestors were among the first settlers of Pennsylvania and Delaware. George Martin, one of the uncles of our subject, was a minister of the Society of Friends. John and Ruth (Stephens) Martin, the parents of our subject, spent their early life in the east, and in 1837 took up their abode in Wayne county, Indiana, where they remained until 1851, when they joined their son, Nathan W., who had settled in Linn county, Iowa. There they spent the remainder of their days, the father dying in his ninety-first year, the mother in her ninety-third year. Many times their son Benjamin visited them in their Iowa home, and he was present at the burial of both the father and mother. The former, while in Wayne county, was the owner of a sawmill at Goshen and also had a small farm at the middle fork of Whitewater river.
Reared in the county of his nativity, Benjamin L. Martin there remained until 1839, and when a young man engaged in hauling freight across the mountains to Pittsburg, Wheeling, and even to Columbus, Ohio, using six-horse teams and great, high wagons. He is probably the only surviving wagoner of that period. He was married January 12, 1831, to Sarah Chrisman, and in 1839 came with his family to Wayne county. Through that and the succeeding year he lived in the log cabin a half mile west of Chester. He had come to the west with the intention of engaging in surveying and conveyancing, but there was no favorable opening in that vocation and he was persuaded to accept a school. He had previously taught in Pennsylvania, and now engaged in following that profession in Wayne county until 1849, when through the influence of friends he was appointed, by Thomas Adams, to the position of deputy county auditor, in which capacity he served for five years, when, in 1855, he was elected county auditor. He was the first candidate of the Repubhcan party for that office, which he filled for two terms of four years each. He had previously been a Henry Clay Whig, but aided in the organization of the new Republican party and has since been one of its stalwart advocates.
In the meantime, with a number of others, he had organized the First National Bank of Centerville, of which he was chosen cashier, but in 1863 he received an appointment to public service and resigned the cashiership. He was an old friend of Governor Morton, who selected him to visit the Indiana troops and hospitals and see that they were properly cared for. While thus engaged he one day received a letter directed to "Major B. L. Martin," and containing an appointment to the position of additional paymaster in the federal army. This came entirely without his solicitation. His wife counseling him to accept, he reported to Major Febagar, at St. Louis, and continued in that position until the close of the war. He served for a time in the Mississippi department, later was transferred to the Cumberland department and subsequently ordered to North Carolina, but soon returned to Louisville, where he remained some time. He was then sent to the Northwestern department with headquarters at Indianapolis, where he paid out to those who were being discharged about two million dollars. This position was one of great trust and responsibility and required a heavy bond; but every dollar was faithfully accounted for by Major Martin, and his prompt business methods and honesty won high commendation. He was a most loyal supporter of the Union, had been active in raising troops for the front and had sent three of his sons to the army. When Governor Morton did not receive the support of the Democrats of the state to carry on his work as chief executive, Mr. Martin visited all parts of Wayne county and secured a note for twenty thousand dollars, signed by over one hundred of the best men of the county. This he had cashed at the bank in Richmond and handed the sum to the Governor, who thus saw that he had the support of the people of his own county and was encouraged to carry on the splendid work which he was doing in support of the Union and the men in the field.
Major Martin was mustered out November 30, 1865, and then returned to Wayne county. While in the paymaster's department he had purchased a Wayne county farm for a friend, but on his return to Louisville he found that his friend had gone down the river and was lost in a steamboat disaster. He therefore retained possession of the land and it has since been in possession of the family. It comprised one hundred and fourteen acres, which he deeded to his wife, who afterward sold it to their son, Isaac Newton Martin, but after the latter's death, April 7, 1897, the father again purchased it and it is now in his possession. He has occupied it since 1865. He now has in his farm one hundred and fourteen acres, while the adjoining two hundred and forty acres is owned by his son, who also operates the father's land. For some years after the war Major Martin engaged in slaughtering hogs, and for a time met with quite heavy losses; but in the last year of his connection with that business, 1874, somewhat retrieved his lost possessions, and eventually he paid ofT every dollar of his indebtedness.
Unto Mr. and Mrs. Martin were born seven children: Rebecca Ann S. is the wife of William L. Boyd, of Richmond; Nathan Walker is a farmer of Franklin township, Wayne county; John Wesley, who for many years engaged in merchandising at Raleigh, Indiana, died three years ago, at the age of fifty-eight years; Benjamin Franklin, who followed merchandising in Chester for some years, died in 1886, at the age of forty-eight years; William C, who engaged in merchandising along the line of the Santa Fe Railroad in New Mexico and made considerable money, is now living retired in Richmond; Isaac Newton, who was in the treasury department at Washington for twenty years, died April 7, 1897, at the age of fifty years; Theodore Smith is a farmer of Chester and also operates his father's farm. The mother died July 24, 1889, after a married life of nearly sixty years, and the loss was indeed a sad one to Mr. Martin, for their mutual love and confidence had increased as the years went by, and she had ever been to him a faithful and cherished companion.
For many years Mr. Martin took quite an active part in local and state politics and was often a delegate to the state conventions of the Republican party. In 1869 he was elected to the legislature; in 1874 he was defeated for the same office, but in 1876 was again elected to the lower house. In early life he was a strong anti-Mason, almost bitter in his opposition to the order, but at length he decided to investigate the matter more fully and the result was that he applied for membership and was raised in Webb Lodge, at Richmond, nearly sixty years ago. He at once began taking an active part in the work of the organization, became a member of the chapter, council and commandery, and is probably to-day the oldest member of Richmond Commandery, No. 8, Knights Templar, which was instituted March 20, 1865. He was made an Odd Fellow at Centerville, and belongs to the Richmond Lodge at the present time. In religious faith the Martins were originally Friends, but the parents of our subject became members of the Methodist church, and for seventy years Benjamin L. Martin has been a devoted and faithful member of the same church. He was ordained as a local preacher and has always been ready to speak for the Master. He was active in Sunday-school work in early life, has always been a close Bible student and has great faith in the promises of the Word. For nearly sixty years he has been a reader of the Palladium and for many years of the Advocate,—leading religious papers. He has married many couples, and at all times has been active in promoting the work of the church and all that pertains to the advancement of the kingdom of Christ upon earth. His career has been an active, useful and honorable one, and the world is better for his having lived.
Source:
Biographical and Genealogical History of Wayne, Fayette, Union and Franklin Counties, Indiana, Volume 1, The Lewis Publishing Company, Chicago, 1899
Benjamin Lloyd Martin, son of John and Ruth (Stephens) Martin, was born in 1806 in Chester County, Pa., where he grew to manhood and attended the common schools, completing his education at the commercial college in Philadelphia. In 1831 he was married to Sarah, daughter of Jacob and Mary (Moyer) Christman, of Chester County, Pa. They have seven children — Nathan W., of Wayne County; John W., of Raleigh, Ind.; Benjamin F., of Chester, Wayne County; William C., of Topeka, Kan.; Isaac N., in the Treasury Department at Washington, D. C.; Theodore S., their youngest child, residing in Wayne County, and Rebecca A. S., wife of William L. Boyd, of Richmond, Ind. In October, 1839, Mr. Martin moved with his family to Wayne County, Ind., and was engaged in teaching school till 1848. In December, 1842, he became Deputy Auditor of the county, filling that position till 1855, when he was elected Auditor, which office he held two terms of four years. In the meantime he with a number of others organized the First National Bank of Centreville, of which he was chosen Cashier. About this time, 1863, he was appointed additional Paymaster in the Federal army, and at one resigned his position in the bank to attend his duties at St. Louis, Mo., remaining there till the fall of 1864, when he was transferred from the Mississippi to the Cumberland department, headquarters Louisville, Ky. In the spring of 1865 he was ordered to North Carolina; reached Washington, D. C., and was soon sent back to Louisville, where he remained some time. He was then sent to the Northwestern department, headquarters at Indianapolis, Ind., where he was on duty till the close of the war. He was mustered out in November, 1865. His position in the army was one of trust and responsibility as he had the disbursing of millions of dollars. During the war Mr. Martin purchased a farm of 360 acres, where he now resides. In 1869 he was elected to represent Wayne County in the State Legislature, where he ably represented the county two years. In 1870 he was elected to the same position, serving two years. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity, lodge, chapter, commandery of Richmond, Ind., and in politics is a Republican. He and his wife belong to the Methodist Episcopal church. In 1840 he was licensed a local preacher. Mr. Martin's parents were of English and Welsh ancestry. There were reared in Pennsylvania, and were the parents of seven children. They belonged to the Methodist Episcopal church, and died in Iowa, both living to be over ninety years of age. Mrs. Martin's parents were of German ancestry and died in Chester County, Pa., her father aged sixty years and her mother aged seventy-three years.
History of Wayne County, Indiana. Chicago: Inter-State Publishing Co. 1884. Volume 2.