David Martin (October 16, 1839 – March 2, 1901) was a chief justice of the

Kansas Supreme Court The Kansas Supreme Court is the highest judicial authority in the U.S. state of Kansas. Composed of seven justices, led by Chief Justice Marla Luckert, the court supervises the legal profession, administers the judicial branch, and serves as t ...

from April 30, 1895, to January 11, 1897.

Life and education

Martin was born October 16, 1839, in

Catawba, Ohio Catawba is a village in Clark County, Ohio, United States. The population was 245 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Springfield, Ohio Metropolitan Statistical Area. History Catawba was laid out in 1838. The town was named for the Catawba ...

, and after his basic education worked as a miller from the age of 17 for 6 years. It was during the last two years working the mill that he also studied law. He was admitted to the bar in Ohio in 1866, and started to practice law in

Mechanicsburg, Ohio Mechanicsburg is a village in Champaign County, Ohio, United States. The population was 1,681 at the 2020 census. History Mechanicsburg was platted in 1814. The village was so named for the fact a large share of its settlers worked as mechan ...

. On June 2, 1867, he moved to

Atchison County, Kansas Atchison County is a county located in the northeastern portion of the U.S. state of Kansas. Its county seat and most populous city is Atchison. As of the 2020 census, the county population was 16,348. The county was named in honor of Dav ...

and opened up a law office. He was married to Melissa, the daughter of William B. Kipp, an early settler of the area, in 1882 and they had no children together. In the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

he served in Kentucky, Tennessee and Virginia as a member of the 129th Ohio Infantry, and was at the surrender of

Cumberland Gap The Cumberland Gap is a Mountain pass, pass in the Eastern United States, eastern United States through the long ridge of the Cumberland Mountains, within the Appalachian Mountains and near the tripoint of Kentucky, Virginia, and Tennessee. At&n ...

. It was said that he had never drunk alcohol, didn't smoke, and never used a profane word.

Career

Not long after starting general practice in Kansas he was elected a justice of the peace. He then served from 1873 to 1876 as the city attorney appointed to the position by Mayor Gillespie. He was then nominated as the Republican candidate and elected to the position of judge of the second judicial district in 1880. So in January, 1881 Martin succeeded Judge Alfred G. Otis to serve as a member of the Atchison County bar. He was the re-elected unopposed four years later for another term, and served in this position until April 1887. He was noted as commanding a "universal respect" from both the bar and the people. He was considered a "plodder" in his role, as well as being kind, careful and conscientious. He was described as being short and fleshy, walking with a waddle and "not fluent of speech". He did not complete his second term and two years before the end resigned to become a partner in the law firm of Waggener, Martin and Orr. He worked for the firm until January 1, 1895 but left due to differences with Waggener over the estate of Aaron S. Everest, stating at the time "Partners cannot dwell in hostile camps". When Chief Justice Albert H. Horton resigned Martin was appointed as the new chief justice by Governor

Edmund Needham Morrill Edmund Needham Morrill (February 12, 1834 – March 14, 1909) was a United States House of Representatives, U.S. Representative from Kansas and the 13th governor of Kansas. Biography Edmund Needham Morrill was born in Westbrook, Maine, to Rufu ...

.Clark Bell, ed., ''The Medico-legal Journal'', Vol. 18 (1900), p. 74-75. Although they had been at disagreement the endorsement of his former partner B. P. Waggener was key to his appointment. Albert H. Horton then took a position in Martin's old law firm making it Waggener, Horton & Orr. Martin was nominated as a Republican for a second term in 1896 after the end of his initial term. He failed re-election that was put down by some to his decision to uphold the 1893 mortgage law as valid, and by others due to decisions that antagonized the railroads. Fellow justice

Stephen Haley Allen Stephen Haley Allen (March 19, 1847 – October 26, 1931) was a justice of the Kansas Supreme Court from January 9, 1893, to January 9, 1899. Early life, education, and career Born in Sinclairville, New York, Sinclairville, Chautauqua County, New ...

later wrote of Martin that "by his impartiality and firm adherence to the law, he incurred the displeasure of the great corporate interests of the state". Martin was tendered again in 1898 for nomination by the Populist leaders, but declined on the grounds of him still being a Republican. After being Chief Justice he went on to lecture on Equity Jurisprudence at the

University of Kansas School of Law The University of Kansas School of Law is the law school of the University of Kansas, a public research university in Lawrence, Kansas. The University of Kansas Law School was founded in 1893, replacing the earlier Department of Law, which had ex ...

. He also continued in private practice over the same period.

Death

He died at his home in

March 2, 1901 of pneumonia with heart disease complications. He had been in a critical condition for a couple of weeks but his death still shocked the family as they believed he was improving. Following his often expressed wish, his body was returned to his native town of

. He was buried with the remains of his father and mother. In honor of him the Supreme Court closed for a day to allow several other members to attend the funeral. He left his wife well provisioned for with property and life insurance.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Martin, David 1839 births 1901 deaths Chief justices of the Kansas Supreme Court People of Kansas in the American Civil War U.S. state supreme court judges admitted to the practice of law by reading law Kansas Republicans 19th-century American judges