Lewis W. Martin. A district such as Champaign County, noted for its fine live stock, has special need for the services of a competent and trained veterinarian. In many ways the leader in this profession is Dr. Lewis W. Martin, who has had about twenty-seven years of active practice in and around Fisher. His skill is widely recognized, and he has frequently been called beyond the boundaries of the county to render professional service on some of the large stock farms of central Illinois, and has been consulted in much of the organized work and effort for the safe-guarding of the health of live stock.
Doctor Martin was born in Woodford County, Illinois, on January 20, 1858. He was the oldest child and only son of James T. and Jane (Arrowsmith) Martin. He has two sisters. Minnie, who was educated in the common schools and is a member of the Methodist Church, is the wife of Edward Ballinger, an agriculturist at Beebe, Arkansas. They are the parents of five children. Anna H., who lives at Pontiac, Illinois, is the widow of Jefferson Shrout, who was formerly an engineer, but at the time of his death was engaged in farming. Mrs. Shrout has five children.
James T. Martin was born in Ohio in 1830 and died in November, 1916. In earlier years he was a carpenter and contractor, but finally took up farming. He grew to manhood in his native State, acquired a good education and was well qualified for teaching, which he followed in Illinois, chiefly in Woodford County. At one time he owned about eighty acres of land in Woodford County, but sold that and removed to Livingston County, Illinois, where he acquired a place of 175 acres, which he still owned at the time of his death. He began voting as a Whig and gravitated naturally into the Republican party. At one time he served as township collector. Early in the Civil War he enlisted in Company F of the Seventy-seventh Illinois Infantry and was in active and continuous service for four years, participating in the grand review at Washington at the close of the war, and soon afterward receiving his honorable discharge, making a record of which his descendants will always be proud. Though he was exposed to shot and shell at Gettysburg, Bull Run and many other battles, he was never wounded nor taken prisoner. For years he was an active member of the Grand Army of the Republic and he and his wife were Methodists. His wife, Miss Arrowsmith, was born in old England about 1835, and came when a small girl with her parents to Illinois. In that State she attended the common schools. Though now eighty-two, she is still bright and active, has an excellent memory and is devoted to her home and church.
Doctor Martin attended common schools and through inclination and early experience was led into the business and profession which he has followed with so much success at Fisher for the past twenty-seven years. Doctor Martin has a splendid library devoted to veterinary science, medicine and surgery, and keeps a full supply of the best drugs and all the implements and appliances needed in his work. There is not a farmer or stockman in a radius of twenty miles around Fisher who does not know the capable attainments of Doctor Martin and most of them have employed his services at one time or other. He has a personal acquaintance with all the prominent horsemen and farmers in this part of Illinois and his practice extends into Ford and McLean counties. Like other successful professional men, he has found the automobile a great aid to his work and he drives a fine Chevrolet.
In 1878 Doctor Martin married Miss Susan Jane Cline. They are the parents of three children, one son and two daughters. George E., who was educated in the Fisher schools, is a successful young man in his profession as an electrician at Champaign. He is a Republican and a member of the Modern Woodmen of America. The maiden name of his wife was Carrie Compton, and their three children are named Russell, Cloyd and Loas. Grace E., the older daughter, was educated in the common schools and is now the wife of Charles Farmer, foreman of a general store at Bakersfield, California. Mr. and Mrs. Farmer have a small son. Nora Lucile, the youngest, is the wife of Walter Rinehart, an agriculturist of East Bend Township, near Fisher. These children have all received good home advantages and the practical training afforded by the local schools.
Mrs. Martin was born in Livingston County, Illinois, was educated in the common schools and is an active member of the Christian Church. Doctor Martin is a Republican voter, and is affiliated with the Knights of Pythias at Fisher and was appointed as a delegate to the Grand Lodge of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He has actively supported various churches and is a liberal contributor to the erection of the present beautiful Christian Church at Fisher. Besides their residence at Fisher, Doctor and Mrs. Martin have property in Chicago. They have made the interests of their community their own interests, and are people of the highest standing in this part of Champaign County.