Born: Monongalia County, Virginia, 1816.
Died: Danville, Illinois, 1878.
Came with his parents to Illinois in 1820, who settled near Georgetown, Vermilion County. There were many Indians then in Illinois. Mr. Martin grew to manhood on his father's farm. He attended a few subscription schools for a little time, but most of his mental training was acquired by his personal efforts. His mother was solicitous and ambitious for her son, and so got for him all the books she could.
The Bible was the chief one in the collection. The books young Martin studied with earnestness and persistence--ofttimes by the light made by the burning of hickory-tree bark or a grease-lamp. Such was his progress and growth, that at the age of seventeen he became a teacher. His early manhood was spent chiefly in the schoolroom. At twenty-five, he was ordained to the ministry and continued therein until his death.
Mr. Martin was a large man in every way. His weight was 250 pounds, well built, of superior mental powers, of fine personality and noble bearing. He was a prince among men. He was a forceful speaker, with fine reasoning ability. His life falling in the formative period of the Restoration movement, he was frequently led into public discussions. In these, he wielded the sharp sword of the Spirit with unusual power. Religious errors fell before his Biblical logic like grain before the sickle.
On one occasion, Mr. Martin, with H. H. Gunn and George Y. Stipp--the father of T. L. Stipp--held a public debate with three Universalists. It was an interesting time. Riding homeward with one of his opponents, he said: "Bro. Martin, see, here is water: what doth hinder me to be baptized?" Mr. Martin responded: "If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest." The man replied: "I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God." Then and there the man was baptized.
About 1856, Mr. Martin held a public discussion at Myersville with an M. E. preacher named Garner. He insisted that Philip and the man of Ethiopia did not go down into the water, but only near to it or only to it, and Philip sprinkled water upon the man. Mr. Martin replied by quoting, in a like way, Matthew 8:32: "The whole herd of swine ran violently down a steep place to or near the sea and perished on dry land."
During this debate, Mr. Martin was accosted on the street by a member of the M. E. Church, named Smith, who inquired: "Suppose a man makes the good confession, as you require, and on the road to the water to be baptized a limb from a tree falls on him and kills him, what would you do with him?" Mr. Martin promptly replied: "I would bury him."
Mr. Martin was a soul-winner as well as a defender of the truth. During his ministry he baptized more than three thousand people and formed a goodly number of churches. For many years he was the only Christian minister residing in Vermilion County. His trials for Christ's sake were many. He often rode long distances to his appointments, through all kinds of weather and roads and across swollen streams that endangered his life. Twice he was elected treasurer of Vermilion County, but declined further civil service because it hampered his work as a preacher. He still lives in the lives of multitudes.