Wavetops: William and Oscar Martin
Two brothers, both railroad men, led different lives
In case you don’t recall from last year’s “Family Reunions” series, William F. Martin was the paternal grandfather of my wife’s maternal grandmother - he was one of Her Sixteen:
That post did a quick overview of William and Hattie’s only son, Howard W. Martin, a successful Omaha businessman and early radio personality.
William Findley Martin was born on 29 March 1874, in Iowa — most likely in Atlantic in Cass County. His parents were Charles R Martin (1847–1916) and Elizabeth L Caughey (1844–1926), and he had one older brother, Oscar Josiah Martin (1870-1934). When William was about 11 years old, the family moved to Council Bluffs, Iowa, which is just across the state line from Omaha, Nebraska.
William married Harriet Jenevereth "Hattie" Shepard (1874–1923) on 22 January 1896 in Council Bluffs.
William was a weighmaster and yard clerk for the railroad. He remained in Council Bluffs, likely working until he died in 1943. His brother, Oscar, was also a railroad clerk, but his career took him from Iowa to Colorado, Minnesota, and later to Wisconsin.
Oscar married his first wife, Jessie L. Walters (1874-1904), on 4 September 1895 in Council Bluffs. Their son, Wayne Walters Martin (1896-1916), was born on 16 Nov 1896 in Iowa, and by 1900, Oscar had moved his young family to Denver, Colorado. Sadly, Jessie died there in 1904 and was buried in Fairmount Cemetery.
Oscar’s second marriage was to Elizabeth Sieley (1883-1974), on 22 July 1905 in Omaha. By 1910, Oscar was working as a railway clerk in Glenwood, Minnesota, and he and Elizabeth had another son and daughter there: Charles William Martin (1909-1966) and Helen Elizabeth Martin (b. 1913).
Oscar decided to move the family again around 1915. When his father, Charles Robert Martin, died in January 1916, the obituary named his surviving sons as “W.F. Martin…and O.J. Martin of Superior, Wis.” Oscar and William’s widowed mother moved to Superior to live with Oscar’s family, and she appeared on the census there in 1920. Tragedy struck Oscar’s family again in 1916 when 19-year-old Wayne drowned in Lake Minnewaska in August 1916.1 It isn’t clear whether Wayne had moved to Superior with his family or stayed behind in Glenwood, but he is buried in Glenwood City Cemetery in Minnesota.
William and Hattie raised Howard in their Council Bluffs home at 117 East Broadway and saw their son get married in 1919. A short four years later, Hattie died at Mercy Hospital from typhoid fever on 17 January 1923. William remained a widower after that and never remarried. According to census records, he took lodging in the home of his aunt Martha at 1002 E. Pierce, where he lived in 1930 and 1940.
Oscar and Elizabeth had one more child, Dorothy Lorraine Martin (1924-2014), who was born in Superior. In 1926, Oscar’s mother died at his home in Superior and was buried in Council Bluffs. Dorothy was ten years old when Oscar died, and soon after that, Elizabeth moved to Council Bluffs, too. Oscar, however, was buried in Glenwood, Minnesota.2 Elizabeth lived a long life, marrying at least twice more, and died as “Elizabeth Martin Ponder” in Omaha on 1 October 1974 at the age of 92.
As for William, he lived quietly on his own until he died from gastroenteritis on 20 September 1943 in Council Bluffs. He was buried in Walnut Hill Cemetery with his wife, Hattie.
Next time: Finding Charles R. Martin
Next up, I need to examine the evidence I have to see if I can break through the next generation and find more of the Martin family further back in time. Several online trees claim to have Charles Robert Martin’s parentage and birth information, but with no available evidence to support the claims. What evidence can I find?
We shall see.
Newspapers.com, Willmar Tribune, Willmar, Minnesota, Wed, Aug 23, 1916, Page 3, “Young Man Drowned in Lake Minnewaska.”
There is probably a story behind his leaving Council Bluffs and never returning. If any of his surviving descendants knows what it is, let me know!