As we prepare for the holidays, I hope you have lots of family with which to visit, celebrate, and reconnect. I always find November and December to be a particularly reflective time for me and I do a ton of writing during these two months. I find myself looking over oral histories and transcribing them, volunteering to index names for my local genealogical society, and just wanting to conduct in-depth genealogical research.
I thought November would be a great time to share some of my own family history research. Portions of the content below (employment information and residences in Champaign, IL) were originally published by the Champaign County Genealogical Society in November 2015 for their quarterly journal.
Perry Newton Martin (1875-1956) and Mary Olive Keltner (1875-1965)
Perry Newton Martin is my second-great-grandfather and is my father’s direct male line ancestor. Perry Newton Martin was born in Crawfordsville, Montgomery County, Indiana on 13 November 1875. His parents were Valerian I. “Valley” Martin (1851-1931) of Crawfordsville and Mary Jane Corn (1850-1928) of Henry County, Kentucky. Perry’s parents were married 14 September 1871 in Crawfordsville. Perry’s father, Valley Martin was employed as an engineer by the Crawfordsville Casket Company for over twenty years and was a lifelong resident of Crawfordsville, Indiana. Mary kept house and cared for Perry and his three younger brothers: William, Walter, and Clarence.
Perry Martin married Mary Olive Keltner (1875-1965), daughter of Jacob Keltner and Margurete “Maggie” Cain, on 8 April 1895 in Montgomery County, Indiana. Their three eldest children, Arthur (b. 1896), Harry Ellsworth (b. 1898) and Lee Otis (b. 1900) were born in Montgomery County, Indiana. Perry was listed as a machinist on the 1900 census when he was living with his family in Union, Montgomery, Indiana and Mary was listed as keeping house. The company of employment is not listed with Perry’s occupation, though according to his retirement records Perry began working for Illinois Central Railroad in 1899.
Perry’s obituary states that he had been a resident of Champaign, Illinois since 1902. By 1904, Perry is listed in the Champaign-Urbana city directory at 308 S State Street, working as a fireman for Illinois Central Railroad, so Perry and his family may have traveled to Illinois for work opportunities. This is the first record of Perry and his family living in Illinois and it is certain that the family moved from Indiana to Illinois between 1902 and 1904.
By 1906, Perry had begun his lifelong career as an Illinois Central Railroad Company locomotive engineer. Perry worked for IC as an engineer for 46 years, retiring in 1945. The Martins welcomed their fourth child--and only daughter--Thelma Madeline on 20 April 1906. Their fifth and last child, Ernest Walter, was born in 1912. While Perry worked for the railroad, Mary Olive kept house and raised their six children. She later worked as a telephone operator for Illinois Bell Telephone Company.
The family rented homes throughout the city of Champaign until 1920 when they purchased their first residence at 1111 Champaign Avenue in Champaign; both Mary Olive Martin and Perry Newton Martin are listed as the grantees. From 1902 - 1920, the family lived in at least six different rental properties in Champaign.
In the 1920s, Perry vouched for all four of his sons as a reference for work at IC. Arthur worked briefly as a clerk from 1916-1917, Walter worked as a fireman from 1920-1922, and Harry and Lee began as brakemen in 1922. After resigning his post with IC, Harry went on to become a truck driver and eventually returned to Illinois Central in that capacity. Harry’s son Donald worked for IC for nearly forty years as a laborer, brakeman, and yard clerk.
Perry retired from IC in 1945 and lived for nine more years. During that time he and his wife traveled to visit family members and opened their home from time to time as a temporary home for children and grandchildren. Mary Keltner Martin lived for nearly nine years as a widow after Perry’s death. Mary made her home with her daughter, Thelma Martin Hughes and her daughter’s husband John B. Hughes at 916 West Tremont Street in Champaign during her final years. For her 89th birthday Mary’s granddaughter invited all of her friends and family to an open house celebration and dozens of people attended. A write-up of that party was featured in the Champaign News-Gazette. That was her last birthday.
