Joseph John Martin was a Republican U.S. Congressman

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...

 from North Carolina

North Carolina

North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...

, United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 between 1879 and 1881.

Born in Williamston

Williamston, North Carolina

Williamston is a town in Martin County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 5,843 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Martin County. The closest major city is Greenville, approx. 28 mi to the southwest.-Geography:...

 in Martin County, North Carolina

Martin County, North Carolina

-Politics:Martin County has tended to vote in line with the rest of the country in presidential elections. In 2008, Barack Obama won the county with 52.2% of the vote. This was very similar to his national figure of 52.91%.-Demographics:...

, Martin attended Williamston Academy and then studied law

Law

Law is a system of rules and guidelines which are enforced through social institutions to govern behavior, wherever possible. It shapes politics, economics and society in numerous ways and serves as a social mediator of relations between people. Contract law regulates everything from buying a bus...

. He was admitted to the bar in 1859 and became the prosecuting attorney

Lawyer

A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...

 of Martin County. He was elected solicitor

Solicitor

Solicitors are lawyers who traditionally deal with any legal matter including conducting proceedings in courts. In the United Kingdom, a few Australian states and the Republic of Ireland, the legal profession is split between solicitors and barristers , and a lawyer will usually only hold one title...

 for North Carolina's second judicial district in 1868 and was re-elected to that post in 1874. Martin was a member of the Republican party and a delegate to the 1876 Republican National Convention

Republican National Convention

The Republican National Convention is the presidential nominating convention of the Republican Party of the United States. Convened by the Republican National Committee, the stated purpose of the convocation is to nominate an official candidate in an upcoming U.S...

.

In 1878, Martin was elected to the U.S. House, defeating incumbent Democrat Jesse Johnson Yeates

Jesse Johnson Yeates

Jesse Johnson Yeates was a Democratic U.S. Congressman from North Carolina between 1875 and 1881.Born in Hertford County, North Carolina, near Murfreesboro, Yeates attended private schools and then Emory and Henry College in Virginia. He studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1855, practicing...

. Although Martin served most of his two-year term, Yeates successfully contested the election and unseated Martin on January 29, 1881, two months before the expiration of Martin's term.

After leaving Congress, Martin returned to the practice of law in Tarboro, North Carolina

Tarboro, North Carolina

Tarboro is a city located in Edgecombe County, North Carolina. It is part of the Rocky Mount, North Carolina Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of 2010, the town had a total population of 13,121. It is the county seat of Edgecombe County. Tarboro is located in North Carolina's Inner Banks region...

; he was that town's postmaster

Postmaster

A postmaster is the head of an individual post office. Postmistress is not used anymore in the United States, as the "master" component of the word refers to a person of authority and has no gender quality...

from 1897 until his death in 1900. Martin is buried in Williamston Cemetery in his hometown.