Edward L. Martin
Encyclopedia
Edward Livingston Martin (March 29, 1837 - January 22, 1897) was an American lawyer and politician from Seaford, in Sussex County, Delaware. He was a member of the Democratic Party, who served as U. S. Representative from Delaware.
, Bolmar's Academy in West Chester, Pennsylvania and Delaware College in Newark, Delaware. He graduated from the University of Virginia
at Charlottesville in 1859.
from 1863 to 1865. He was a delegate to the Democratic National Conventions in 1864, 1872, 1876, 1880, and 1884. He studied law at the University of Virginia in 1866, was admitted to the Delaware Bar the same year and practiced in Dover until 1867. He then returned to Seaford and engaged in agricultural and horticultural pursuits, and served as director of the Delaware Board of Agriculture, president of the Peninsula Horticultural Society, and lecturer of the Delaware State Grange.
He was a commissioner to settle the disputed boundary line between the states of Delaware and New Jersey between 1873 to 1875. He was elected as a Democrat to the 46th and 47th Congress, serving from March 4, 1879 to March 4, 1883. He was not a candidate for renomination in 1882 and resumed horticultural and agricultural pursuits. He was twice an unsuccessful candidate for election to the U.S. Senate. Martin spent the years prior to his death in 1897 founding the Kansas City Suburban Belt Railway with Arthur Stilwell
in Kansas City, Missouri
. Martin and Stilwell founded the railway in 1887 and began its operations in 1890.
{|class=wikitable style="width: 94%" style="text-align: center;" align="center"
|-bgcolor=#cccccc
!colspan=7 style="background: #ccccff;" |Public Offices
|-
! Office
! Type
! Location
! Began office
! Ended office
! notes
|-
|U.S. Representative
|Legislature
|Washington
|March 4, 1879
|March 3, 1881
|
|-
|U.S. Representative
|Legislature
|Washington
|March 4, 1881
|March 3, 1883
|
{|class=wikitable style="width: 94%" style="text-align: center;" align="center"
|-bgcolor=#cccccc
!colspan=7 style="background: #ccccff;" |United States Congressional service
|-
! Dates
! Congress
! Chamber
! Majority
! President
! Committees
! Class/District
|-
|1879–1881
|46th
|U.S. House
|Democratic
|Rutherford B. Hayes
|
|at-large
|-
|1881–1883
|47th
|U.S. House
|Republican
|James A. Garfield
Chester A. Arthur
|
|at-large
{|class=wikitable style="width: 94%" style="text-align: center;" align="center"
|-bgcolor=#cccccc
!colspan=12 style="background: #ccccff;" |Election results
|-
| Year
| Office
|
| Subject
| Party
| Votes
| %
|
| Opponent
| Party
| Votes
| %
|-
|1878
|U.S. Representative
|
| |Edward L. Martin
| |Democratic
| |10,576
| |78%
|
| |John G. Jackson
| |Greenback
| |2,966
| |22%
|-
|1880
|U.S. Representative
|
| |Edward L. Martin
| |Democratic
| |14,966
| |51%
|
| |John W. Houston
| |Republican
| |14,336
| |49%
Early life and family
Martin was born in Seaford, Delaware and attended private schools, Newark AcademyNewark Academy
Newark Academy is a coeducational private day school located in Livingston, New Jersey. With both lower and upper schools, this institution comprises grades six through twelve...
, Bolmar's Academy in West Chester, Pennsylvania and Delaware College in Newark, Delaware. He graduated from the University of Virginia
University of Virginia
The University of Virginia is a public research university located in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States, founded by Thomas Jefferson...
at Charlottesville in 1859.
Professional and political career
Martin served as clerk of the Delaware SenateDelaware Senate
The Delaware Senate is the upper house of the Delaware General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. State of Delaware. It is composed of 21 Senators, each of whom is elected to a four-year term, except when reapportionment occurs, at which time Senators may be elected to a two-year term....
from 1863 to 1865. He was a delegate to the Democratic National Conventions in 1864, 1872, 1876, 1880, and 1884. He studied law at the University of Virginia in 1866, was admitted to the Delaware Bar the same year and practiced in Dover until 1867. He then returned to Seaford and engaged in agricultural and horticultural pursuits, and served as director of the Delaware Board of Agriculture, president of the Peninsula Horticultural Society, and lecturer of the Delaware State Grange.
He was a commissioner to settle the disputed boundary line between the states of Delaware and New Jersey between 1873 to 1875. He was elected as a Democrat to the 46th and 47th Congress, serving from March 4, 1879 to March 4, 1883. He was not a candidate for renomination in 1882 and resumed horticultural and agricultural pursuits. He was twice an unsuccessful candidate for election to the U.S. Senate. Martin spent the years prior to his death in 1897 founding the Kansas City Suburban Belt Railway with Arthur Stilwell
Arthur Stilwell
Arthur Edward Stilwell was the founder of Kansas City Southern Railway. He served as the railroad's president from 1897 to 1900. He was also the founder of Port Arthur, Texas.-Early life:...
in Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and is the anchor city of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, the second largest metropolitan area in Missouri. It encompasses in parts of Jackson, Clay, Cass, and Platte counties...
. Martin and Stilwell founded the railway in 1887 and began its operations in 1890.
Death and legacy
Martin died at Seaford and is buried there in the St. Luke's Episcopal Churchyard.Almanac
Elections are held the first Tuesday after November 1st. U.S. Representatives took office March 4th and have a two year term.{|class=wikitable style="width: 94%" style="text-align: center;" align="center"
|-bgcolor=#cccccc
!colspan=7 style="background: #ccccff;" |Public Offices
|-
! Office
! Type
! Location
! Began office
! Ended office
! notes
|-
|U.S. Representative
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
|Legislature
Legislature
A legislature is a kind of deliberative assembly with the power to pass, amend, and repeal laws. The law created by a legislature is called legislation or statutory law. In addition to enacting laws, legislatures usually have exclusive authority to raise or lower taxes and adopt the budget and...
|Washington
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
|March 4, 1879
|March 3, 1881
|
|-
|U.S. Representative
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
|Legislature
Legislature
A legislature is a kind of deliberative assembly with the power to pass, amend, and repeal laws. The law created by a legislature is called legislation or statutory law. In addition to enacting laws, legislatures usually have exclusive authority to raise or lower taxes and adopt the budget and...
|Washington
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
|March 4, 1881
|March 3, 1883
|
{|class=wikitable style="width: 94%" style="text-align: center;" align="center"
|-bgcolor=#cccccc
!colspan=7 style="background: #ccccff;" |United States Congressional service
|-
! Dates
! Congress
! Chamber
! Majority
! President
! Committees
! Class/District
|-
|1879–1881
|46th
46th United States Congress
The Forty-sixth United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1879 to March 4, 1881, during the last two years of...
|U.S. House
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
|Democratic
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
|Rutherford B. Hayes
Rutherford B. Hayes
Rutherford Birchard Hayes was the 19th President of the United States . As president, he oversaw the end of Reconstruction and the United States' entry into the Second Industrial Revolution...
|
|at-large
Delaware's At-large congressional district
Delaware's At-large congressional district is a congressional district that includes the entire U.S. state of Delaware.It is currently represented by Democrat John C. Carney, Jr., the former Lieutenant Governor of Delaware.-Voting:-History:...
|-
|1881–1883
|47th
47th United States Congress
The Forty-seventh United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1881 to March 4, 1883, during the administration...
|U.S. House
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
|Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
|James A. Garfield
Chester A. Arthur
Chester A. Arthur
Chester Alan Arthur was the 21st President of the United States . Becoming President after the assassination of President James A. Garfield, Arthur struggled to overcome suspicions of his beginnings as a politician from the New York City Republican machine, succeeding at that task by embracing...
|
|at-large
Delaware's At-large congressional district
Delaware's At-large congressional district is a congressional district that includes the entire U.S. state of Delaware.It is currently represented by Democrat John C. Carney, Jr., the former Lieutenant Governor of Delaware.-Voting:-History:...
{|class=wikitable style="width: 94%" style="text-align: center;" align="center"
|-bgcolor=#cccccc
!colspan=12 style="background: #ccccff;" |Election results
|-
| Year
| Office
|
| Subject
| Party
| Votes
| %
|
| Opponent
| Party
| Votes
| %
|-
|1878
United States House elections, 1878
The U.S. House election, 1878 was an election for the United States House of Representatives in 1878 which occurred in the middle of President Rutherford B...
|U.S. Representative
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
|
| |Edward L. Martin
| |Democratic
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
| |10,576
| |78%
|
| |John G. Jackson
| |Greenback
| |2,966
| |22%
|-
|1880
United States House election, 1880
The U.S. House election, 1880 was an election for the United States House of Representatives in 1880 which coincided with the election of President James A. Garfield....
|U.S. Representative
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
|
| |Edward L. Martin
| |Democratic
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
| |14,966
| |51%
|
| |John W. Houston
| |Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
| |14,336
| |49%
External links
- Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
- Delaware's Members of Congress
- Find a Grave
- The Political Graveyard
Places with more information
- Delaware Historical SocietyDelaware Historical SocietyThe Delaware Historical Society began in 1864 as an effort to preserve documents from the Civil War. Since then, it has expanded into a state-wide historical institution with several venues and a major museum in Wilmington and the historic Read House & Gardens in New Castle.The society...
; website; 505 North Market Street, Wilmington, Delaware 19801; (302) 655-7161 - University of DelawareUniversity of DelawareThe university is organized into seven colleges:* College of Agriculture and Natural Resources* College of Arts and Sciences* Alfred Lerner College of Business and Economics* College of Earth, Ocean and Environment* College of Education and Human Development...
; Library website; 181 South College Avenue, Newark, Delaware 19717; (302) 831-2965