MARTIN, Wade O., St. Landry, then St. Martin Parish, Louisiana Submitted by Mike Miller ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://usgwarchives.net/la/lafiles.htm ************************************************ Louisiana: Comprising Sketches of Parishes, Towns, Events, Institutions, and Persons, Arranged in Cyclopedic Form (volume 3), pp. 286-288. Edited by Alcée Fortier, Lit.D. Published in 1914, by Century Historical Association. Martin, Wade O., sheriff of St. Martin parish, La., was born at Arnaudville, St. Landry parish, La., March 4, 1885. His father, Dr. Gregory William Martin, was born at Breaux Bridge, St. Martin parish, La., in the year 1856, and was educated at the parish public schools. Later he took an academic course at Louisiana state university, and following his graduation from that institution, entered the medical department of Tulane university, from which, in due time, he graduated with the degree of M. D. After the completion of his medical education he began practice at Arnaudville, and has continued in that locality throughout the activities of his professional life. He has, how ever, not allowed his professional duties to obscure his vision as to his duties as a citizen. He was a member of the state constitutional convention of 1898,and previous to this, in 1896, served as captain of one of the companies of "Regulators," organized for the purpose of purifying the suffrage, preventing unintelligent misuse of the ballot, and wholesale voting of negroes. The doctor also served for a number of years as president of the St. Landry parish medical association. The subject of this sketch was the third of 10 children born to his parents, these, in order of their birth, being as follows: Hermine C., William G., Wade O., Jeanne E., who died in 1909; Edwin J., Frank T., Eveline J., Ida, Georgia and Lennard. The mother of these children, Ida (Guilbeau) Martin, was a native of the locality in which her husband was born. Her father, Honore Guilbeau, was born in Lafayette parish, La., while his father, great-grand father of the subject of this sketch, Adolph Guilbeau, also was born in Lafayette parish. The Guilbeau family was Acadian. The family ancestors came to Southwest Louisiana from Nova Scotia at the time they were exiled, and have been intimately identified with the agricultural interests of that part of the state in which they live, ever since. Honore Guilbeau has only recently retired from a life-long practice as a physician. Ida Thomas, maternal great-grandmother of the subject of this sketch, was the grandmother of Margaret Miller, who was captured by the Indians at the time of the Jamestown massacre and brought to New Orleans, where she was sold to a hotel proprietor. Later she married a Mr. Guidry, of St. Martin. She was the first child born at Jamestown, and later owned most of the land upon which the town of Jamestown was ultimately built. Wealthy relatives in England left the heirs of Margaret Miller seventeen millions of dollars, but the family has been unable to establish positive relationship through records, Wade O. Martin, the subject of this sketch, received his earlier education at the public schools of St. Martin parish. In 1900 he matriculated at Louisiana state university, Baton Rouge, and graduated with the degree of B. S. in the class of 1905. Following this he entered the agricultural department of the university, and upon graduating from this, entered the service of the Federal government as an entomologist, and during the succeeding year was engaged in this work in Louisiana and Texas as special field agent. At the termination of that period he resigned to accept a position with the Louisiana industrial institute, at Lafayette, as professor of agriculture and chemistry and commandant of the military department. After 1 year in this connection, he resigned to accept the management of a large cotton, cane and rice plantation in upper St. Martin parish, where he remained until 1912, in which latter year he was elected sheriff of St. Martin parish for a term of 4 years, being at this time incumbent of that office. In April of 1907 Sheriff Martin was married to Miss Alice Mills, a daughter of Patrick L. Mills, of Lafayette, and 3 children have been born to their union, the children being: Leona Alice, Wade O., Jr., and Virgil Murphy Martin. Sheriff Martin is an active member of the Democratic party, and has been so since he first began voting on election days. He is also a member of the state Democratic central committee, and of the executive committee. He affiliates with the Roman Catholic church, and fraternally, is identified with the Woodmen of the World, Columbian Woodmen, Kappa Sigma fraternity and Knights of Columbus. For more complete details as to ancestry, see reference to Dr. G. A. Martin, elsewhere in this work.