Livingston
County, Kentucky has produced a number of men who have been prominent in public
service, some who served in other states as well as in
Kentucky. Included among this group is Francis Marion Martin, who made his mark after
leaving Kentucky. He was the illegitimate child of a Miss Thompson and James Martin. In February 1837, James Martin officially
acknowledged his son, then known as Francis Marion Thompson, six years
old. Apparently, the child was living with James
Martin at that time.
Francis
Marion's mother is not identified, but is said to have died before the child
was one year of age.
James Martin died 21 January 1840 and is
buried beside his wife, Elizabeth (Coffield) Martin in Slayden Cemetery
#1, Burna, Livingston County.
In his
will,James Martin left all his property to his "son and only heir Francis Marion Martin. Executors of this will were William N. Hodge and James L. Dallam.
Since he was only nine
years old when his father died and his
mother was also deceased, Francis Marion lived with the William N. Hodge family.
Francis
Marion Martin "received only one year of formal schooling and served as a
boat-hand on the Ohio and Mississippi rivers, a store clerk, and a trader
before moving to Texas in 1853."
Because
Francis Marion was not yet 21 years old when he and Mary Catherine Hodge decided
to marry, Blount Hodge was appointed his guardian to give consent for the license to be issued.
Blount
Hodge was also bondsman on the marriage bond and W.N. Hodge, father of the bride, gave consent for
his daughter to marry. On 11 April 1849, Francis Marion Martin and Mary C.
Hodge were married in Livingston County.
The following year Francis Marion, Mary C. and their first born child, Allis, were living with the
W.N. Hodge family in Smithland.
In 1852,
Francis Marion and Mary C. lost their second daughter, Lizzie, at just
four months of age.
Lizzie
Daughter of
Francis M.
& Mary C.
Martin
Born April
2 1852 Died
She is
buried in Smithland Cemetery.
One year later Francis Marion sold the land he
had inherited from his father and moved his family to Texas, settling in
Navarro County, where some of Mary Catherine's Hodge relatives had settled. Francis Marion farmed, raised stock and eventually acquired 1,500 acres of land in Navarro County.
Francis Marion
first ran for state office in Navarro County in 1859 and was elected to the
Senate. Then, when the Civil War started, he served as a captain in Company C, 20th Texas Cavalry, CSA.
He returned to public life in 1878, when he
was once more elected to the Senate. In 1882, while serving his last term as
Senator, he successfully ran as lieutenant governor of Texas. In 1887, he switched his affiliation from the
Democratic party to the Prohibition party and the next year was a candidate for
governor. He was defeated and left the Prohibition party for membership in the
Populist party. He ran for lieutenant governor in 1892 and 189 4, but was
unsuccessful.
Mary C. (Hodge)
Martin died in 1866 and F.M. married Angie Harle 22 October 1877 in Navarro County.
There were seven children by the first marriage and three by the second marriage. The burial place of Mary C. Martin is
unknown. Francis Marion Martin is buried at Oakwood Cemetery in Corsicana,
Navarro County. His second wife, Angie Harle, lived until 1947 and is also
buried in Oakwood Cemetery.
Francis
Marion Martin's was age 73 when he died and he saw many changes during his
lifetime. He was born in Smithland, Kentucky during the heyday of that
town. His parents both died when he was
young and he was reared by non-family friends. As a young married man, he left
Kentucky for Texas, where he preceded to make his mark on that state.
