Morgan L. Martin (1805-1887), born in Martinsburg, New York, graduated from Hamilton College (N.Y) in 1824, studied law for the next two years and was admitted to the bar in Detroit. In 1827, he arrived in the frontier town of Green Bay. Along with practicing law in Green Bay, Mr. Martin was involved in numerous business and political activities including land promotion activities, development of the Fox River waterway, and merchandising and trade on the Great Lakes.
The platting of east Milwaukee with Solomon Juneau which was a financial success, stands out among the many land promotion projects. He was founder and President of the Bank of Wisconsin which was chartered in 1835. However, due to unsound banking practices the bank forfeited its charter in 1842. Always interested in the improvement of the Fox and Wisconsin waterways, Morgan L. Martin set up (incorporated) the Fox-Wisconsin Improvement Company in 1853 after the State of Wisconsin stopped supporting the project. When the company went bankrupt in 1866, Morgan L. Martin suffered a heavy financial loss.
Politically, he served as a legislator and was president of the Second Wisconsin Constitutional Convention. The following is a list of the seats held before and after statehood:
- 1831-1835
- Legislative Council, Michigan Territory
- 1838-1844
- Territorial Council, Wisconsin
- 1845-1847
- Representative in Congress, Wisconsin Territory
- 1847-1848
- President, Wisconsin Constitutional Convention
- 1855
- Wisconsin State Assembly
- 1858-1859
- Wisconsin State Senate
- 1861-1865
- Paymaster with the U.S. Army
- 1866-1867
- Indian agent
- 1873
- Wisconsin State Assembly
- 1875--18873
- Brown County Judge
On July 25, 1837, Morgan L. Martin and Elizabeth Smith married and moved into their newly constructed Greek Revival home, “Hazelwood,” soon after.
Traveling by boat from Plattsburgh, New York, Elizabeth Smith (1817-1902) arrived in Green Bay in 1835. The next year she traveled to St. Louis and stayed with her uncle, the famous surgeon William Beaumont. She was the daughter of Col. Melancton Smith (and his wife Ann Greene) and granddaughter of Judge Melancton Smith, a representative to the Continental Congress between 1782-1784. Her half-brother Rear Admiral Melancton Smith (1810-1893), as captain of warship Mississippi during the Civil War, was given credit for capturing the rebel ram, Manassas . In 1869, a controversy arose over this capture.
Martin and Elizabeth's first child, Leonard (Stephen) (1838-1890) graduated from West Point and served in the Army throughout the Civil War. Afterwards he probably operated a store at Keshena under his father's direction, worked on the Kaukauna locks as an engineer, and was a member of a survey party for the Northern Pacific Railroad in Montana. The next two children, Annie Elizabeth (1846-1862) and Melancton Smith (1847-1849), died young.
Daughter Sarah Green (1850-1939) became a member of the Green Bay Woman's Club and the Daughters of the American Revolution. Never married, she lived with her sister Deborah in Hazelwood. When her sister died in 1931, she joined her younger brother's family in Detroit.
Morgan Lewis, Jr. (1852-1935) was involved in various business ventures that appeared to be unsuccessful and later worked in an office in Detroit. The only one of the Martin siblings to marry, he had four children.
The last child, Deborah Beaumont (1854-1931) was a local historian, librarian and author of many publications most notable of which is the two-volume History of Brown County Past and Present.
