Francis Marion Martin

Francis Marion Martin (born April 1, 1830 in Livingston County , Kentucky , †  June 11, 1903 in Navarro County , Texas ) was an American politician . Between 1883 and 1885 he was lieutenant governor of the state of Texas.

Career

Francis Martin was orphaned after the early death of his parents in 1838. He was raised by a man named WN Hodge, whose daughter he later married. Martin received elementary school education for only one year. He earned his living as a mate on ships on the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers , as a shop clerk and as a trader. Since 1853 he lived in Texas. In the local Navarro County he worked as a farmer and rancher. In doing so, he acquired larger lands that comprised approximately 1,500 acres .

Politically, Martin joined the Democratic Party . In 1859 he was elected to the Texas Senate. He was a supporter of Sam Houston , who was then elected governor as an independent. In 1861 Martin spoke out against the separation of his state from the Union. Nevertheless, he took part in the civil war as a captain in the Confederation Army until 1862 . By 1875 he withdrew from politics. In that year he took part as a delegate to a constitutional convention of his state. Between 1878 and 1882 he sat again in the State Senate.

In 1882, Martin was elected Lieutenant Governor of Texas alongside John Ireland . He held this office between 1883 and 1885. He was Deputy Governor and Chairman of the State Senate. In 1886 he unsuccessfully sought his party's nomination for gubernatorial elections. He was a supporter of Prohibition and was therefore nominated by the Prohibition Party in 1888 as its candidate for governor. However, he was defeated by the Democrat Lawrence Sullivan Ross . In 1892 and 1894, Martin was an unsuccessful Populist Party candidate for vice-governor. He then retired from politics for health reasons. He died on June 11, 1903.

Web links

• Francis Marion Martin in the database of Find a Grave (English)
• The Political Graveyard
• Francis Marion Martin in the Handbook of Texas