Kansas Historical Society

MARTIN, John, a Senator from Kansas; born near Hartsville, Wilson County, Tenn., November 12, 1833; attended the common schools; clerked in stores and in the post office; moved to Tecumseh, Shawnee County, Kans., in 1855; elected assistant clerk of the first house of representatives in the Territory in 1855; county clerk and register of deeds 1855-1857; studied law; admitted to the bar in 1856 and commenced practice in Tecumseh; justice of the peace 1857; county attorney of Shawnee County 1858-1860; postmaster of Tecumseh 1858-1859; deputy United States attorney 1859-1861; reporter of the State supreme court 1860; moved to Topeka and practiced law in 1861; member, State house of representatives 1871-1875; unsuccessful Democratic candidate for Governor in 1876 and for the United States Senate in 1877; district judge 1883-1885; unsuccessful candidate for election to the Fiftieth Congress; unsuccessful candidate for Governor in 1888; elected as a Democrat to the United States Senate on January 25, 1893, to fill the remainder of the term left vacant by the death of Preston B. Plumb; served from March 4, 1893, to March 3, 1895; chairman, Committee on Railroads (Fifty-third Congress); clerk of the Supreme Court of Kansas 1897-1899; died in Topeka, Kans., September 3, 1913; interment in Topeka Cemetery.