Series:
Documents Available on Microfilm, 1645-1931The microfilmed records are primarily those loaned for copying by the Neville Museum in 1959. On Reels 1-19, these are organized as a run of chronological Correspondence and other unbound papers, followed by 12 volumes consisting of letter books, diaries, and account books. The additional reel produced in 1974 contains a letter book (1865-1882), an 1883 letter and reply on Spanish exploration of Wisconsin, pages from a publication on the Fox River, and 1873-74 letters received by Leonard Morgan on Fox River Improvement. The following paragraphs concern the subject matter of the papers on Reels 1-19.
Papers concerning Morgan L. Martin--his business and legal activities-- Business correspondence concerning Martin begins to appear in the papers at the time that he settled in Green Bay (1827), and for the next few years there are scattered letters and documents relative to legal matters in Detroit and Green Bay, Indian affairs, and land grants made to Martin (1837). A letter book of carbons of Martin letters in 1837 concerns land purchases, plans for banking projects, and early financial transactions; and contains communications to men such as Henry T. Stringham, Solomon Juneau, Lucius Lyon, Gen. G. W. Jones, and John Y. Smith. Although Martin was in the Michigan Legislative Council during this period there are no references to his work there.
Between 1838 and 1844, while Martin was a member of the Wisconsin Territorial Council, there are few letters directly relating to his work in the council, though these are the years in which correspondence with Henry Dodge, Alexander J. Irwin, John P. Sheldon, and Ben C. Eastman began. There are frequent communications from Solomon Juneau relative to land transactions and postal service at Milwaukee, and from H. L. Dousman regarding legal matters in connection with the estate of Pierre Pauquette. Since Martin was an administrator of the estate of Lewis (Louis) Grignon, Indian Agent, there are many documents relating to Grignon and his nephew, P. B. Grignon, during the 1830's and 1840's. The increasing pressure of financial commitments becomes evident in these years and never ceases to Martin's death.
The period of Martin's representation in Washington, 1845-1847, yields many letters concerning Wisconsin problems such as land claims, mineral rights, pensions, appointments, internal improvements, and petitions for post offices. Letters Martin received from his constituents often referred to Wisconsin politics, especially those letters from John Catlin of Madison, J.A. Noonan of Milwaukee, and Albert G. Ellis and John F. Meade of Green Bay.
In 1851 a memorandum first appears concerning Martin's agreement to construct and finish improvements on the Fox River. For the following four years there are many papers relating to this work, including letters from Theodore Conkey, John and Horatio Seymour, and Hiram Barney. Debts against the Fox River Improvement Company and the inability of the company to finish construction on time began to plague Martin in these years. The misunderstandings and failures resulting from this phase of Martin's life are responsible for copies of many petitions and memoranda filed in the papers from 1856 on.
For the period of the Civil War there are only a very few letters and documents concerning Martin's office as paymaster.
As Indian Agent between 1866 and 1869, Martin's papers are concerned with Indian claims, annuities, and treaty agreements. He supplied provisions and services especially for the Menominee, Stockbridge, and Oneida Indians. At this time his son, Leonard, seems to have tried without success to operate a store at Keshena under his father's direction.
After Martin resumed an active legal practice in 1870, more routine receipts for household and legal transactions appear in the papers. Memoranda and claims concerning the Fox River Improvement Company continue to occur throughout the period from 1875 until Martin's death in 1887. During this time he served as Brown County judge as his means of livelihood, continuing always to press his claims against the state.
Letters and documents to and from people of particular note in the history of Wisconsin and the nation-- A large number of these letters are indexed in an appendix to this finding aid. For additional letters from many of the pioneers of this period, including men such as Arndt, Baird, Brevoort, Doty (4 letters), Ellis, Irwin, Juneau (10 letters), Lame, and Williams (judgment against), see the letterbook designated Volume 1, following the unbound papers.
Letters and notes associated with the personal life of the Martin family-- One quality that seems to distinguish the microfilmed portion of the Morgan L. Martin Papers is the large number of letters and notes dealing with purely personal matters in the families of both Mr. and Mrs. Martin. Of the 56 pieces dated before 1820, fully half are related to Mrs. Martin's father, Melancton Smith II and his family and antecedents. In the 1820's there are several letters and class notes Martin wrote while at Hamilton College; and letters exchanged with his family a few years later frequently mention his cousin, James Doty. In 1835, Elizabeth Smith went to St. Louis to visit her sister, Mrs. William Beaumont, and the letters of this period, as well as her diary (Vol. 3,) describe her life with the Beaumonts at Jefferson Barracks.
After their marriage in 1837 many letters are from Elizabeth to Morgan L., although in his replies to her from Madison and Washington he wrote only briefly of his work; writing, instead, of affairs at home and his financial problems. Throughout the next several decades there are many letters from relatives, and communications from Martin's brothers--almost always regarding loans and money needs.
After the two sons, Leonard and Lewis, grew up and left home, letters from their mother were frequent; replies from the sons were concerning their struggles to find and keep jobs and pay debts. In fact, after the Martin disaster in connection with the Fox River Improvement Company in 1856, the never-ending urgency for meeting interest and tax payments, and the satisfaction of mortgages and loans, were a constant plague on the Martin household. The pressure was so burdensome that a note of pathos runs through the family letters in Martin's later years, and in July, 1880, he wrote to Leonard, “It is painful that the grave is to be my only release.”
Although Leonard became a captain in the Quartermaster's Corps and served throughout the Civil War, there are virtually no letters from him, or from Martin, during that period. One small group of letters from Leonard in 1871 and 1872 deserves mention. These describe his work and life as a member of a survey party for the Northern Pacific Railroad in Montana, where he helped survey Cadotte's Pass and Lewis and Clark's Pass.
Because Deborah and Sarah became Brown County historians and Deborah, the librarian at Green Bay, the papers after Martin's death are concerning their work and personal affairs. Both they and their father were staunch supporters of the State Historical Society, and the papers contain many letters from its directors--Draper, Thwaites, Quaife, and Schafer.
Scattered through the correspondence files are invitations and programs giving some indication of the social life in Green Bay through the years.
Papers relating to Admiral Melancton Smith-- Since Admiral Smith was Mrs. Martin's brother, and spent his last years at her home in Green Bay, his papers are a part of this collection. Although they help to round out the family picture, they have no special value except perhaps for one incident in Admiral Smith's career. As captain of the warship Mississippi , during the Civil War, he was given credit for capturing the rebel ram Mannassas . A controversy arose over credit for this capture in 1869, and papers supporting Smith's claim are filed here.
Miscellaneous Materials-- After the chronological correspondence are miscellaneous notes and memoranda of claims and petitions by Martin, rough drafts of both his and Deborah's historical sketches, and historical information gathered by Deborah. Also filed here is information on the Martin family, including genealogical data on related families: Melancton Smith, Richbell, Mott, Taring (Herring), Brinkerhoff, Roosevelt, Jones, Green (Greene), Hewlett, and Bleecker. There are a few notes on the Juneau, La Roil, and Vieaux families.
Some items in the materials loaned by the Neville Museum for copying were returned without being microfilmed. These include a letter book (labeled “Vol. 3” but designated Vol. 2 in the Archives' sequence) which contained carbons of letters written by M. L. Martin, Jr. when manager for prospecting a manganese mine in Virginia, 1899. In this volume on pages 99-113 was a penciled inventory of contents of the Martin home at Green Bay; because it was illegible, it was not microfilmed. A diary kept by Mrs. Martin, 1862-1864 (designated Vol. 6), consisting entirely of notes on the death of Annie; a class notebook kept Leonard Martin at West Point (Vol. 8); a volume of notes on law, probably Martin's, circa 1826 (Vol. 9); and three boxes of miscellaneous bills, receipts, poems, essays, valentines, Christmas cards, and envelopes also were not microfilmed. Maps also loaned with the other materials are not on the microfilm, though a few were copied and cataloged with the Historical Society's map collection. Other material not filmed is noted in the reel list below.
