MARTIN, George Armand, M. D., St. Martin, then Lafayette 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. 284-285. Edited by Alcée Fortier, Lit.D. Published in 1914, by Century Historical Association. Martin, George Armand, M. D., mayor of the city of Lafayette, parish of Lafayette, La., is a distinguished member of a family that has been identified with the best interests of the parishes of Lafayette and of St. Martin, since the latter part of the 18th century, when Claude Martin, paternal great-great-grandfather of Hon. George Armand Martin, emigrated with a large company of Acadians from Nova Scotia to southwestern Louisiana, and settled on the Bayou Teche. He married Marie Babin, in St. Martin parish, and they were the forbears of a long and honorable line of descendants who have made their mark as farmers and planters, many of whom occupied public positions of trust and prominence. The records of the Martin family show that an ancestor, great-great-great-grandfather of Hon. G. A. Martin, emigrated from France to Acadia, Nova Scotia, in 1632, with 40 families; that because of eminent services rendered the French government, he was given a title of nobility, and large concessions of land, and was thereafter known under the name of Mathieu de St. Martin, and died in Acadia. It was his son, Claude, who came to St. Martin parish with the Acadian exiles. Valery, son of Claude, was the father of Placide, whose son, Omer, was the father of Hon. George Armand Martin, the subject of this sketch, who was the fourth of 9 children, six of whom are living: G. W. Martin, M. D., of Arnaudville, La.; Dr. F. R. Martin, a physician, of Crowley, La.; Mrs. Eva Horace, Mrs. Theolinde Gillard, Dr. J. A. Martin, a dentist, all three residing at Lafayette; and Hon. George Armand Martin, who was born in St. Martin parish, April 23, 1861, the son of Omer, and Elise (Estilette) Martin, both natives of St. Martin parish. He was educated in the private and public schools of his native parish, and at Hiawassee college, Tenn., (1879-1881) graduating with the degree of bachelor of science. In 1885, he entered Tulane university, as a student in the medical department, and graduated in 1887. Immediately after receiving his diploma, Dr. Martin began the practice of his profession at Arnaudville, parish of St. Landry. He was a member of the Louisiana state legislature of 1888, that provided for the abolition of the Louisiana lottery, reduced passenger railroad fares from 5 cents to 3 cents, and enacted the law compelling separate accommodations for negroes on railroad trains. In 1891, Dr. Martin took a course in pharmacy at Tulane, and returning to Arnaudville, practiced medicine, and operated a drug store in partnership with his brother, Dr. G. W. Martin. He removed to Lafayette City in 1893, where he has ever since been engaged in general practice but devoting himself more particularly to obstetrics. Dr. Martin soon acquired a reputation in his profession in Lafayette parish, and won the esteem and confidence of the people through the active interest he took in public affairs. Always a Democrat, he was often elected to prominent public offices--3 times a member of the city council, 3 years on the parish school board, and in 1909, elected mayor of Lafayette City by the largest majority ever received by any candidate for that office. Dr. Martin was a candidate for the legislature in 1908 against Maj. Paul de Clouet, the vote resulting in a tie, in the primaries, but the contest did not go beyond, as Dr. Martin withdrew in favor of the election of Maj. de Clouet. In 1913 the election for mayor terminated in the unanimous popular selection by the people of Hon. George Armand Martin to succeed himself in a public office which he had so ably filled. During his administration (1909-1913) many important public improvements were made in the city of Lafayette, such as the laying of cement sidewalks, and it was while he was a member of the city council that the high school, the industrial school and the municipal power house were constructed, and that the main street of Lafayette was widened. In religion, Dr. Martin is a Catholic, and in fraternal orders he is a member of the Knights of Columbus and of the Elks. July 16, 1892, occurred the marriage of Hon. George Armand Martin ard Miss Eliza Martin, of Lafayette parish, the daughter of Valsin Martin, a cousin of Omer Martin. From that matrimonial alliance 3 children were born, Michael, Dora and Stanley.