John Martin, a retired farmer, living in Union Grove, holds title to two hundred and sixty acres of good land in the County and is also financially interested in The Greenhouse and in the Union Grove Milling Company. A native of Cornwall, England, he was born on the 11th of August, 1849, of the marriage of Joseph and Amy (Tucker) Martin, also natives of that country, where the father engaged in farming. In their family were four children, of whom two survive, John and Joseph, the latter farming in Connecticut. The parents were communicants of the Episcopal Church and were actively interested in its work. Both grandfathers of our subject, John Martin and Robert Tucker, passed their entire lives in England.
John Martin of this review received a good education in England and remained there until 1868, when he crossed the Atlantic to the United States. In September he located at Union Grove, Racine County, Wisconsin, and began working as a farm hand for an uncle. Subsequently he rented land for a time and later purchased a tract of land to which he added as he could. He now owns two hundred and sixty acres, all of which is well improved and in a high state of cultivation. He raised the usual crops and also engaged in dairying to a considerable extent, beginning to ship milk to Chicago at the time of the World’s Fair and continuing to do so until he retired from active life, in 1913. He then built a good residence in Union Grove, where he has since lived. He believes in supporting local enterprises and has invested in The Greenhouse, of which he is treasurer, and in the Union Grove Milling Company, of which he is president. Both of these concerns are in a prosperous condition and return good dividends to their stockholders. He is likewise a director of the Yorkville and Mount Pleasant Insurance Company.
Mr. Martin was married on the 29th of March, 1876, to Miss Helen Monroe. a daughter of Donald and Helen (Urquhart) Monroe, natives of Scotland, who settled in Racine County, Wisconsin, upon coming to the United States. The father followed the stonemason’s trade in Scotland, but after locating in this County homesteaded government land. He farmed for many years and passed away on the home place at an advanced age. To him and his wife were born eight children, of whom Mrs. Martin, the youngest daughter, is a native of this County. Mr. and Mrs. Martin have become the parents of five children, namely: James M., who attended the State Agricultural College at Madison and who is now farming in Dover Township; Joseph H., a graduate of Lawrence College at Appleton and now employed in the First National Bank at Racine; Arthur W., who supplemented his high school education by a commercial course and is now employed in a railroad office in Port Arthur, Canada; Donald, who is also a graduate of the high school and of a commercial college and is operating his father’s farm, and Mark H., who graduated from high school and subsequently attended commercial college and who is now a bookkeeper in Kenosha.
Mr. Martin is a prohibitionist in his political belief and has taken quite an active part in public affairs. He has served as a member of the town board of Union Grove and is now president of that body. He and his family belong to the Methodist Episcopal Church and he is filling the position of president of the board of trustees and stewards. For twenty-five years he has been superintendent of the Sunday school and for a similar length of time his wife has been secretary of the Ladies’ Aid Society. He has also given much time to educational matters, as for thirty years he was treasurer of the school district, during which time he did much to promote the advancement of the schools. Fraternally he is connected with the Woodmen. His many admirable qualities have gained him a host of warm friends and he is recognized as one of the leading citizens of Union Grove.