Eben Wever Martin (April 12, 1855 – May 22, 1932) was an American attorney and politician in

South Dakota South Dakota (; Sioux language, Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state, state in the West North Central states, North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Dakota people, Dakota Sioux ...

. A Republican, he served as a member of the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

during the early 20th Century.

Early life and education

Martin was born in

Maquoketa, Iowa Maquoketa () is a city in Jackson County, Iowa, United States. Located on the Maquoketa River, it is the county seat of Jackson County. U.S. Route 61 adjoins the city, which therefore hosts traffic between Dubuque and the Quad Cities. Iowa Hi ...

. He attended the public schools of his hometown, and in 1879 he graduated from

Cornell College Cornell College is a private liberal arts college in Mount Vernon, Iowa. Originally the Iowa Conference Seminary (Methodist), the school was founded in 1853 by George Bryant Bowman. Four years later, in 1857, the name was changed to Cornell Co ...

Mount Vernon, Iowa Mount Vernon is a city in Linn County, Iowa, United States, adjacent to the city of Lisbon. The population was 4,527 at the time of the 2020 census. Mount Vernon is part of the Cedar Rapids Metropolitan Statistical Area. History Mount Verno ...

. He studied at the

University of Michigan Law School The University of Michigan Law School (branded as Michigan Law) is the law school of the University of Michigan, a public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Founded in 1859, the school offers Master of Laws (LLM), Master of Comparati ...

in 1879 and 1880, was admitted to the bar in 1880 and commenced practice in

Deadwood Deadwood may refer to: Places Canada * Deadwood, Alberta * Deadwood, British Columbia * Deadwood River, a tributary of the Dease River in northern British Columbia United States * Deadwood, California (disambiguation), several communit ...

Dakota Territory The Territory of Dakota was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 2, 1861, until November 2, 1889, when the final extent of the reduced territory was split and admitted to the Union as the states of ...

Congress

Martin served in the South Dakota Territory House of Representatives in 1884 and 1885, and was president of Deadwood's board of education from 1886 to 1900. In 1900, Martin was elected as a Republican to Seat B, one of South Dakota's two at-large seats in the

. He was reelected in 1902 and 1904, and served from March 4, 1901, to March 3, 1907. He ran unsuccessfully for the

United States Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...

in 1906. After the death of William H. Parker, Martin won a special election to fill the Seat B vacancy in the U.S. House, and was re-elected to three more terms, serving from November 3, 1908, to March 3, 1915. As a result of the

1910 United States census The 1910 United States census, conducted by the Census Bureau on April 15, 1910, determined the resident population of the United States to be 92,228,496, an increase of 21 percent over the 76,212,168 persons enumerated during the 1900 census ...

, South Dakota was apportioned three House members and created three districts. In Martin's 1912 reelection he ran successfully for South Dakota's 3rd congressional district seat. He was not a candidate for re-election in 1914.

Later career

After leaving Congress, Martin practiced law in

Hot Springs, South Dakota Hot Springs (Lakota: ''mni kȟáta''; "hot water") is a city in and the county seat of Fall River County, South Dakota, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 3,395. In addition, neighboring Oglala Lakota County contracts ...

Death and burial

He died in Hot Springs on May 22, 1932, and was buried in the city's Evergreen Cemetery.

Legacy

Martin is the namesake of the city of

Martin, South Dakota Martin is a city and the county seat of Bennett County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 938 at the 2020 census. History Martin was laid out in 1911. The city was named for Eben Martin, a U.S. Representative from South Dakota. ...

References

External links

* 1855 births 1932 deaths People from Maquoketa, Iowa Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from South Dakota Members of the Dakota Territorial Legislature School board members in South Dakota South Dakota lawyers People from Deadwood, South Dakota People from Fall River County, South Dakota University of Michigan Law School alumni 20th-century members of the United States House of Representatives {{SouthDakota-politician-stub