Sierra
County
Biographies
RICHARD W. MARTIN
Richard
W. Martin, Loyalton’s capable and efficient constable and city marshal, has
recently been reelected for his third successive term, being regarded as one of
the best officials the town has ever had.
Born at Junction City, Kansas, November 17, 1869, he is a son of John S.
and Mary C. (Stratton) Martin, who were born in
Wisconsin, were respectively of Cornish and Irish descent, and the father was a
Union soldier during the Civil War. Of
their five children, Richard W. is the third in order of birth, and is the only
one living in California. He was reared
in Clay county, Kansas, to the age of ten years, and
on May 1, 1879, left home and came to Summit (now Chilcoot), California. There he grew to young manhood, being reared
in the home of an uncle, R. W. Martin, who was formerly the storekeeper at
Summit. Mr. Martin assisted his uncle in
the store and remained in his employ for several years. In 1887 he went back to his old home, where
he remained a year and a half, when he returned to California and was again
with his uncle for a short time. He then
turned to outdoor work, such as buckaroo and stage driving, and drove a
six-horse passenger stage from Truckee to Sierraville and from Sierraville to
Chilcoot. In the summer he has driven to
Sierra City and has also crossed the Yuba pass in twenty-two feet of snow. He attended the public schools at Summit, and
after his marriage, in 1893, established his home at that place and for a
period of eighteen months was employed on the construction of the Western
Pacific tunnel, which was completed in 1910.
On his return to Loyalton Mr. Martin, who has always loved horses,
engaged in teaming, drove a creamery wagon and hauled freight for a time, but
the automobile eventually displaced dobbin.
Mr. Martin was appointed constable and city marshal of Loyalton to fill
a vacancy, and so satisfactorily did he discharge his official duties that he
was regularly elected to that dual position seven years ago, and has been
reelected every four years, without opposition.
In addition to being constable and city marshal, he also serves as night
watchman for the Clover Valley Lumber Company, protecting its extensive mills,
yards, factories and shops.
In
1893, in Reno, Nevada, Mr. Martin was united in marriage to Miss Mary J.
Kelley, a daughter of Joe D. and Annie Elizabeth (McCormick) Kelley, who were
pioneer settlers in Loyalton. The father
was born in Quebec, Canada, and the mother in Brooklyn, New York. They came to California by way of the isthmus of Panama and settled a half mile west of what is
now Loyalton, on the old Dave Russell place.
There Mr. Kelley built and ran the first blacksmith shop in this
locality. To him and his wife were born
fourteen children, of whom ten grew to maturity. To Mr. and Mrs. Martin have been born five
children, as follows: Philip, the
foreman of the Clover Valley ranch and a veteran of the World War, married Miss
Bernice Mahoney, a very popular teacher, who was a candidate for the office of
superintendent of county schools, but was defeated, though she made a very
creditable showing; Gilmore, who also is a veteran of the late war and assists
his older brother on the latter’s ranch in Clover Valley, married Miss Edna
Hathaway and they have six children, Francis, Lela, Dick, Joe, Elma and Edna;
Eugene, who lives on a ranch in the Sierra Valley, married Miss Kathryn Barker
and they have two children, Dorothy and Mabel; Mabel is a stenographer in the
office of the Clover Valley Lumber Company at Loyalton; and Minnie, died at the
age of thirteen months. Mr. Martin is a
Republican in his political views and has shown a constant and effective
interest in matters pertaining to the welfare of the community. He is an unassuming man, has proven worthy of
the public confidence and has been very successful in compelling evil doers to
respect the law.
Transcribed by
Gerald Iaquinta.
Source: Wooldridge,
J.W.Major History of Sacramento Valley California,
Vol. 3 Pages 222-223. Pioneer Historical Publishing Co.
Chicago 1931.
© 2010 Gerald Iaquinta.
Golden Nugget Library's Sierra County
Biographies