Contra Costa County Biography

EDWARD T. MARTIN

Transcribed by Sally Kaleta, December, 2006.

This file is part of the California Genealogy & History Archives
http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~cagha/index.htm

 
                 A man  of great energy, intensity of purpose, and strong 
convictions, Edward T. Martin has taken an active interest in the county, 
although a resident of Contra Costa County for  only a few years. He was born in 
Oakland, California, September 17, 1889, a son of  James and Mary (Guckian) 
Martin. Both parents are natives of Ireland, and came to this country with their 
parents when young. The parents of Mr. Martin were married in San Francisco. His 
father is one of Oakland's respected citizens, and is engaged in the plumbing 
business. In the parents' family there were four children - James Jr., Leo, 
Joseph and the subject of this review, Edward T. Martin, who acquired his 
education in the public schools of Oakland, afterward attending St. Mary's 
College, graduating with the degree Bachelor of Arts. Mr. Martin did his duty at 
home, assisting his father by taking an active part in the business, and 
performing his work with efficiency. Later he took up the study of medicine and 
followed the drug business for some time, and in 1911 he became associated with 
the R. N. Burgess Company as bookkeeper in the San Francisco office. In 1913 he 
took the management of the Homestead Nursery for R. N. Burgess, with excellent 
results. Through his energetic and capable management this nursery has become 
one of the finest in California. Mr. Martin has acquired a wide reputation for 
skill in this line of work, having devoted a great deal of time to the study of 
foreign and domestic plants. Mr. Martin occupies a comfortable home on what was 
formerly the Rice ranch. The nursery occupies about six hundred acres, and here 
friends and the public receive a hospitable welcome. Mr. Martin was united in 
marriage to Miss Mercedes G. Mendezabal, a native of Alameda County, April 22, 
1914. To this union one child, Eleanor M., was born on July 24, 1915. In 
politics Mr. Martin is a Republican. While he has never aspired to office, he 
has always taken a keen interest in all matters for the betterment of the 
county. He is a member of the Knights of Columbus, Oakland Council, and holds 
the rank of lieutenant in the League of the Cross Cadets. The family are members 
of the Catholic Church.
 
Source: "The History of Contra Costa County, California," Elms Publ. Co., 1917, 
pp. 606-607.