Center Township Grade and High School

John W. Martin, merchant and grocer of Mays, was born in Chester County, Pa., February 16, 1837. He was the son of Major Benjamin L. and Sarah (Christmanj Martin, who were also natives of Chester Count}-, Pa. His father served as a Major during the late war. He was the son of John and Ruth Ann (Stevenson) Martin, who also were natives of Pennsylvania. When he was two years old his parents settled in Wavne County, this State, Avhere our subject was reared and where his parents still reside. The father, B. L. Martin, served as Auditor of Wayne County, from 1S53 to 1S61, and during the greater part of that time our subject was his deputy. In the meantime he had provided himself with a collegiate education, having spent six years in Whitewater College of Centerville. In 1861 he resigned the deputy auditorship to accept the position as deputy Secretary of State under Judge William A. Peelle. At the end of two years he entered the service of the Union Army and served in a creditable manner until the close of the war. On retiring from the service, he returned home and he was married in Aurora, this State, to Jennie J. Jones in the fall of 1866. She was born in Aurora, Ind., being the daughter of Jonathan and Sophia Jones. Shortlv after his marriage Air. Martin went to Grenada, Miss., where he was engaged in merchandising two years. He then returned to Wa^-ne County; Ind., and two 3'ears later he engaged in mercantile pursuits in Chester and Bethel, both of Wayne County. In about 1S76 he entered the employ of the Maddux Bros, of Cincinnati as traveling salesman, in which capacity he continued three }-ears. He then came to Rush County and engaged in merchandising in Raleigh, and also farming in the vicinity of that place. He continued in this way six years. By this time his health was serious!}- impaired and he retired from business and spent one 3-ear recruiting it. February i, 1887, he opened a general store in Ma}-s, this county, to which his attention is now directed. He is the father of four children, Stella A., Inez S., Alice Blanche and Jessie, all living. Mrs. Martin is a member of the Church. Mr. Martin is a member of the Masonic fraternitv and a Republican in politics. While a resident of Wayne County he served as Justice of the Peace one term. He is an intelligent man with good business qualifications and a first class citizen. His father is also an ardent Republican and has represented Wajme County, this State, two terms in the State Legislature.

Passage source: History of Rush County, Indiana, from the Earliest Time to the Present : with Biographical Sketches, Notes, Etc., Together with a Short History of the Northwest, the Indiana Territory, and the State of Indiana, published 1888.

Machine-read from a century-old scan, so expect the errors a machine makes: misspelled names, dropped words, stray characters.

Read the whole chapter on Center Township - 12,146 words on its settlement, mills, schools and churches.