San
Joaquin County
Biographies
IRVING MARTIN
As the owner of the Stockton Daily
Evening Record, Irving Martin wields an influence for good in the county and
state; and he is also serving the state as a member of the State Railroad
Commission, which position brings him into contact with every section of
California. He was born at Bath, South
Carolina, March 19, 1865, in which city his parents happened to be sojourning
when the Civil War broke out and were unable to get back to New York state, where they had a home in the Catskills. His father was Richard Martin, a New Yorker,
and he had married Mary Peelor, the marriage being
against the will of the parents of both participants on account of religious
differences. The young folks went to South Carolina, where two children were
born to them, a girl, Anna Josephine, and two years later the son, Irving. The mother died when her boy was a babe and
the father, grieving over the loss of his wife, took to his bed without apparent
cause and died six weeks later.
Irving Martin drifted to California
and attended the public school in Stockton in 1876, then at various times he
had an opportunity to go to a country school in Yuba County until he was
seventeen, at which time he entered a printing office to learn the trade, and
the balance of his education was obtained from that source. He began at the very bottom rung of the
ladder, as “devil” and gradually worked his own way to the top, through the
various mechanical departments to reporter, and finally bought a half-interest
in what was known as the Commercial Record of Stockton, W. D. Denig being his partner for two years, at the same time
continuing as a reporter. In 1895 Mr.
Martin was engaged in the publication of a weekly paper, the nucleus of the present
Record plant. From a weekly newspaper it
became on April 7, 1895, the Stockton Daily Evening Record. His associate at that time was E. H. Frontecilla, the name of the firm being Martin & Fontecilla; later Mr. Martin acquired his partner’s
interest; then incorporated the paper, disposing of a small amount of stock,
which he later bought back. He is now
the principal owner of the Record Corporation.
For many years Mr. Martin has been
active in Republican politics, was affiliated with the Lincoln-Roosevelt
League, organized in 1910, and served as the first secretary of the
organization. For the past two years he
has been nominally a Republican, but very independent in his views. In 1894 he was appointed secretary of the
Police and Fire Commission of Stockton, holding the position four years. In 1912 he was appointed by Governor Hiram
Johnson a member of the board of trustees of the Fresno State Normal School and
held that for six years; in 1915 Governor Johnson appointed him a member of the
California State Water Commission and he held that office until December 31,
1918, and on January 1, 1919, Governor W. D. Stephens appointed him a member of
the State Railroad Commission. In each
and every position of trust and responsibility, Mr. Martin has demonstrated his
broad-mindedness and progressive ideas and has served the State to the best of
his ability in each position he has filled.
The marriage of Irving Martin on
March 9, 1892, at Stockton, united him with Miss Clara Elizabeth Goldsworthy, a
daughter of William and Keziah Goldsworthy, both born
in England, but residents for several years in Santa Clara County, where Mr.
Goldsworthy was engaged in mining at the New Almaden
quicksilver mines; later he removed to Stockton and engaged in the grocery business. They have had one son, Irving Martin, Jr.,
who married Elsa Saddington and they have a child
aged four and one-half years and reside in Stockton. Fraternally Mr. Martin is a member of the
Knights of Pythias, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, Loyal Order of Moose, and
is a 32nd degree Scottish Rite Mason, and a member of the Chapter of
the York Rite. He has passed through all
the chairs of the Knights of Pythias and Odd Fellows lodges. He is a member of the Yosemite and the
Advertising clubs of Stockton; and the Commonwealth, Masonic, Engineers,
Advertising and Union League clubs in San Francisco. He is a large holder in guaranty stock of the
Security Building and Loan Association, of which he is a director and vice-president. It will be seen that while Mr. Martin has
been closely identified with the building up of his newspaper he has always
found time to devote to the interests of the people of the state of California
by serving in any capacity for the public good.
Transcribed by Gerald Iaquinta.
Source: Tinkham, George
H., History of San Joaquin County, California , Page
563. Los Angeles, Calif.: Historic
Record Co., 1923.
© 2011 Gerald Iaquinta.
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