Finding aid for the Alexander Martin Family Papers

Biography of the Alexander Martin Family

The Alexander Martin Family has lived in Cleveland, Ohio, since 1891 when Alexander Martin, Sr., first came to attend Western Reserve University. Alexander H. Martin, Sr., was born in Ironton, Ohio, on December 8, 1872, and died in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1962. He was one of the first graduates from Western Reserve University of African American ancestry to earn an advanced degree (law, in 1897). Martin pursued a long and successful career as an attorney and was active in city politics. He helped to organize the Attucks Republican Club, the Cleveland Association of Colored Men, and the Cedar Avenue YMCA. His wife, Mary Brown Martin, was born May 31, 1877, and died November 19, 1939. She was the first African American to assume a seat on the Cleveland Public School Board (1929). Their son, Alexander H. Martin, Jr., was a distinguished attorney and the first African American to run for Mayor of Cleveland (1955). Their two daughters were successful in their own right; Lydia as a librarian for Western Reserve University, and Sarah, who was noted for her scholarship and her commitment to education.

Alexander Hamilton Martin, Sr. (1872-1962) was born in Ironton, Ohio, to Jacob Martin and Lydia Calloway Martin. He graduated from Adelbert College in 1895 and received his law degree from Western Reserve University in 1897. When he established his law practice in the Prospect-Fourth Building, Martin was the first African American to practice law in Cleveland, Ohio. He was also the first African American to run for judge in Cleveland. Martin was a member of the Harlem Law Club and served as its president, and he served as a member of the City Hospital board of trustees in the 1930s-1940s. He served as a member of the draft board in Cleveland during World War I, and he was a special assistant to the United States Attorney General from 1920-1921. Martin practiced law in Cleveland for over 65 years.

Alexander Martin married Mary Brown (1877-1939) in 1905, and the couple joined Mt. Zion Congregational Church. The couple retained their membership at Mt. Zion well into the 1930s. However, the Martin family was among the first African American members of the Baha'i faith, joining the movement in Cleveland in 1913. Alexander and Mary Martin maintained a home for over 40 years at 2392 East 40th Street in Cleveland where they actively promoted the Baha'i faith. The couple had four children: Alexander, Jr.; Stuart; Lydia; and Sarah. Alexander Martin, Sr. died at an Oberlin, Ohio, rest home in 1962. A member of the Baha'i Assembly for over 50 years, Alexander Martin funeral was performed according to Baha'i Assembly rites, and he was buried at Highland Park Cemetery.

Mary Brown Martin (1877-1939) was the daughter of former slaves Winfield Scott Brown (died 1916) and Jane Curtis Brown. Her brothers Samuel, Arthur, William, and James were physicians and her brothers Edward and Winfield, Jr. were attorneys. She was born in Raleigh, North Carolina, and moved with her family to Cleveland, Ohio, in 1886. She graduated from Central High School and received her teaching degree from Western Reserve University in 1903. Mary Martin worked briefly as a teacher in Birmingham, Alabama, and returned to Cleveland when she married Alexander Martin in 1905. Mary Martin was the first African American to serve as a member of the Cleveland Board of Education, winning her first election in 1929. She served on the Cleveland school board until her death in 1939. Mary B. Martin Elementary School in Cleveland is named in her honor.

The four children of Alexander and Mary Martin were prominent members of Cleveland's African American community, and several served in leadership capacities in the Baha'i faith in the United States. Stuart Martin (1915-1984) graduated from Central High School in Cleveland and recieved his Bachelor of Arts degree from Ohio State University in 1936 and his Master of Arts degree from Ohio State University in 1937. He was appointed Vice-Consul of the United States to Madagascar during World War II and then moved to the Virgin Islands to implement the Social Security program there. He left the Social Security Administration in 1957, and he and his wife opened a shop on Main Street on St. Thomas. Martin became an English teacher on St. Thomas in 1963 and retired in 1980. He died on St. Thomas in 1984 and was buried there in Western Cemetery II.

Alexander Martin, Jr. (1912-1981) received his undergraduate degree from Adelbert College in 1933, and then studied economics at Ohio State University. He received his law degree from New York University in 1939 and served as a first lieutenant in the United States Army during World War II. Martin was a civil rights activist and politician who was critical of fellow politicians who did nothing to improve the status of African Americans. In 1955 he was the first African American to run for mayor in Cleveland, and he supported fellow Democrat Carl Stokes in his successful run for mayor in 1967. Martin was an attorney with offices in the Williamson Building in Cleveland, and he served as an assistant state attorney general for Ohio. He was a member of Euclid Avenue Congregational Church and served on its board of trustees. He died in Warrensvile Heights at the age of 69.

Lydia Martin (1907-1983) received her undergraduate degree in languages in 1930 from Ohio State University and her master's degree in education from Western Reserve University in 1931. In 1942, she obtained her library degree from Catholic University in Washington, D. C. She served as the dean of women at Arkansas State College and Delaware State College, and was a librarian in the cataloging department at Western Reserve University for seventeen years before retiring in 1968. She moved to Washington, D. C. after her retirement, where she was a member of the National Race Unity Commission of the National Baha'i Assembly. She died at the age of 75 in Arlington, Virginia.

Sarah Martin Pereira (1909-1995) received her undergraduate degree in French from Ohio State University in 1931, her master's degree in romance languages from Western Reserve University in 1935, and her doctorate degree in romance languages from Ohio State University in 1942. She was a teacher and administrator for 58 years at ten colleges, including Johnson C. Smith University. She retired in 1980 from the University of the District of Columbia and moved to Charlotte, North Carolina, where she was a nationally recognized leader in the Baha'i faith. She served as a member of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of the United States from 1960-1973 and a member of the Continental Board of Counselors from 1973-1985.

click here to view the Encyclopedia of Cleveland History entry for Alexander Martin, Sr.

click here to view the Encyclopedia of Cleveland History entry for Mary Brown Martin

Scope and Content

The Alexander Martin Family Papers, 1927-1990 and undated, consist of awards, biographies, certificates, correspondence, diplomas, a funeral book, histories, newspaper clippings, pamphlets, programs, and publications. A significant portion of the collection consists of photocopies.

This collection will be useful to researchers studying the history of the African American community in Cleveland, Ohio, in the twentieth century, particularly the activities of the Martin family in the fields of law, education, and the Baha'i faith. Those studying the history of Mt. Zion Congregational Church will find this collection useful. The collection contains biographical and historical writings on the history of the Baha'i faith in Cleveland, Ohio; North Carolina; and Arkansas. The collection also documents the Baha'i activities of the Martin family, particularly the leadership roles in the faith assumed by Lydia Martin and Sarah Martin Pereira. Those studying the political and legal careers of Alexander Martin, Jr.; the educational career of Sarah Martin Pereira; the library career of Lydia Martin; and the government and educational careers of Stuart Martin will find this collection particularly useful. The collection also documents the history of Mary B. Martin Elementary School in Cleveland.

Statement of Arrangement

Restrictions on Access

None.

The researcher should also consult MS 4047 Mary B. Martin Scrapbook; and PG 483 Alexander Martin Family Photographs.

Indexing Terms

The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.

Subjects:

Preferred Citation

[Container ___, Folder ___ ] MS 5210 Alexander Martin Family Papers, Western Reserve Historical Society, Cleveland, Ohio

Acquisition Information

Gift of Sarah Martin Pereira in 1995.

Processing Information

Processed by Margaret Burzynski-Bays in 2014.

Detailed Description of The Collection