John Martin
Born(1820-08-18)August 18, 1820
Peacham, Vermont, United States
DiedMay 25, 1905(1905-05-25) (aged 84)
Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States
Occupation(s)Steamboat captain, businessperson, lumberman, miller philanthropist
Spouse
Jane Gillfillan
​
(m. 1849)​
ChildrenJean Martin Brown
Signature

John Martin (August 18, 1820 – May 25, 1905) of Peacham, Vermont, was an American steamboat captain and businessman in Minneapolis, Minnesota involved in lumber and flour milling.[1] In 1891, Martin led a merger of six mills to create Northwestern Consolidated Milling Company, at the time the world's second largest flour milling company after Pillsbury-Washburn.

John Martin went with his brothers during the California Gold Rush and mined successfully for one year.[2] In 1855, in the Minnesota Territorial town of St. Anthony, John Martin was standard-bearer and leader on horseback of the ceremonial opening of the Hennepin Avenue Bridge, the first major permanent bridge across the Mississippi River.[3]

He became President of the First National Bank, he owned the largest lumber mill in the area until it burned in 1887,[4] and he was founding officer of Minneapolis and St. Louis Railway and Minneapolis, St. Paul and Sault Ste. Marie Railroad.[5][6] In 1903, with his financial support to Children's Home Society of Minnesota, the Jean Martin Brown Receiving Home was built to provide a place where children could stay until they were adopted.[7]

John Martin was married in 1849 to Jane B. Gilfillan[8][9] sister of Minnesota Representative John Bachop Gilfillan, also from Peacham, Vermont. They had one surviving child, Jean Martin Brown (1850-1901). Her son, and sole direct descendant, was Earle Brown,[10] noted Hennepin County Sheriff (1920), founder of the Minnesota State Patrol (1929), and Republican gubernatorial candidate for Minnesota (1932).[11]

John Martin died at his home in Hennepin County on May 25, 1905.[9] He and his family members are buried at Lakewood Cemetery in Minneapolis.

Notes

  1. ↑ Atwater, Isaac (1893). History of the City of Minneapolis, Minnesota via Internet Archive. Munsell. p. 628. Retrieved April 21, 2007.
  2. ↑ Holcombe, R. I. (1914). Compendium of history and biography of Minneapolis and Hennepin County, Minnesota. Bingham, William H. pp. 260–263.
  3. ↑ Atwater, Isaac (1893). History of Minneapolis v.1. p. 350.
  4. ↑ Hudson, Horace (1908). A Half Century of Minneapolis. Hudson Publishing Company. p. 320. john martin lumber minneapolis fire.
  5. ↑ Hudson, Horace (1908). A Half Century of Minneapolis. p. 310.
  6. ↑ Atwater, Isaac (1893). History of the City Of Minneapolis v.2. Munsell. pp. 629–631. captain john martin minneapolis.
  7. ↑ "Children's Home Society of Minnesota records". University of Minnesota Libraries. Retrieved December 4, 2021.
  8. ↑ "Vermont Vital Records". familysearch.org. Retrieved December 4, 2021.
  9. 1 2 "Captain Martin is Dead". Minneapolis Journal. May 26, 1905. p. 5. Retrieved January 22, 2023 – via Chronicling America.
  10. ↑ "History of Earl Brown Center". Archived from the original on May 17, 2013. Retrieved May 7, 2013.
  11. ↑ Hallberg, Jane, Leone Howe, and Mary J. Gustafson. History of the Earle Brown Farm. Brooklyn Center, Minn.: Brooklyn Historical Society, 1996. Print.


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