Martin, Samuel H. (IL State Representative)

Born: 1821-04-18 Shelby County, Kentucky

Died: 1899-XX-XX White County, Illinois

Flourished: Grayville, Illinois

Samuel H. Martin was a constable, postmaster, army officer, and state legislator. Martin moved to Grayville, Illinois, with his uncle in 1830 and left home to become a laborer in 1838. He won election as town constable in 1843. A Democrat, he campaigned for James K. Polk in 1844 and was rewarded with an appointment as postmaster of Grayville in June 1845. He remained postmaster until August 1847, serving simultaneously as a justice of the peace. During the Mexican War, Martin received a commission as second lieutenant and served in Winfield Scott's army for the duration of the conflict. He returned to Grayville in 1848 and opened a grocery. From March to May 1849, Martin served another stint as postmaster. In 1850, he was operating his grocery story and owned real property valued at $600. In 1850, voters elected him to the Illinois House of Representatives, where he stayed until 1856 when he won a senate seat, which he held for four years. In 1860, Martin was living and farming in Edwards County and owned real property valued at $5,000 and a personal estate of $1,000. In 1864, he sold his farm due to a manpower shortage caused by the Civil War and again won election as justice of the peace in 1865.

History of White County, Illinois (Chicago: Inter-State, 1883), 354-56; Gravestone, Maple Ridge Cemetery, Carmi, IL; Record of Appointment of Postmasters, 1832-1971, NARA Microfilm Publication, M841, 145 rolls, Records of the Post Office Department, RG 28, 1845-1855, 18:200, National Archives Building, Washington, DC; Register of all Officers and Agents, Civil, Military, and Naval, in the Service of the United States, on the Thirtieth September, 1847 (Washington, DC: J. & G. S. Gideon, 1847), 412*; Register of all Officers and Agents, Civil, Military, and Naval, in the Service of the United States, on the Thirtieth September, 1849 (Washington, DC: Gideon, 1849), *475; U.S. Census Office, Seventh Census of the United States (1850), Grayville, White County, IL, 306; U.S. Census Office, Eighth Census of the United States (1860), Edwards County, IL, 8.