{{short description|American politician}} {{Infobox officeholder | name = John A. Martin | image = John A. Martin (Colorado Congressman).jpg | resting_place = Mountain View Cemetery, Pueblo, Colorado | state1 = Colorado | district1 = 2nd | term_start1 = March 4, 1909 | term_end1 = March 4, 1913 | predecessor1 = Warren A. Haggott | successor1 = Harry H. Seldomridge | state2 = Colorado | district2 = 3rd | term_start2 = March 4, 1933 | term_end2 = December 23, 1939 | predecessor2 = Guy U. Hardy | successor2 = William E. Burney | birth_name = John Andrew Martin | birth_date = April 10, 1868 | birth_place = Cincinnati, Ohio | death_date = December 23, 1939 (aged 71) | death_place = Washington, D.C. | party = Democrat | spouse = | children = | parents = | relatives = | education = }} '''John Andrew Martin''' (April 10, 1868 – December 23, 1939) was an American journalist, attorney, soldier, and politician, who represented Colorado in the U.S. House of Representatives for two terms from 1909 to 1913, then three more terms from 1933 to 1939.<ref name="Congress">{{CongBio|M000186}}{{Bioguide}}</ref>
He recruited troops and commanded the 115th Supply Train, Fortieth Division during World War I.
==Early life and education== He was born in Cincinnati, Ohio,<ref name="Congress" /> a son of Hugh and Ann (Bohan) Martin.<ref name="GPO" /> He acquired a public school education in the towns of Mexico and Fulton, Missouri, until he was twelve years old and began working in a tobacco factory.<ref name="GPO Memorial" /> He moved with his parents to Kansas in 1884<ref name="Congress" /> and worked on a farm in Turon.<ref name="GPO" />
==Career== He came to Colorado in 1887. He was employed on railroad construction work and as a locomotive fireman from 1887 to 1894;<ref name="Congress" /> He worked on the construction of the Colorado Midland Railroad and then as a locomotive engineer on the Santa Fe.<ref name="GPO" /> He became publisher of the ''La Junta Times'' and was member of the city council of La Junta in 1895 and 1896.<ref name="Congress" /> He studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1896.<ref name="Congress" /> In 1897, he began practicing law in Pueblo.<ref name="Congress" />
=== First stint in Congress === He was a member of the State house of representatives in 1901 and 1902. He was the city attorney in 1905 and 1906. He was elected as a Democrat to the 61st and 62nd Congresses (March 4, 1909 – March 3, 1913). He declined to be a candidate for reelection in 1912 and resumed the practice of law.<ref name="Congress" /> In 1914, he challenged incumbent U.S. Senator Charles S. Thomas for the Democratic nomination, but dropped out of the race before the primary election. He was again the city attorney in 1916 and 1917.<ref name="Congress" />
=== World War I === At the outbreak of the First World War, he was attempted to enlist, but was denied due to his age and he was the head of a family.<ref name="GPO" /> Undeterred, he recruited a volunteer battalion of National Guardsmen in Pueblo and was commissioned a major over the group of men that he recruited.<ref name="Congress" /> He commanded the 115th Supply Train, Fortieth Division.<ref name="GPO Memorial" /> After the war, he was a member of the San Isabel Chapter Number 2 of the Disabled American Veterans of the World War. He was also post commander of the Pueblo Post Number 2 of the American Legion.<ref name="GPO Memorial" />
=== Return to Congress === He resumed the practice of law in Pueblo, Colorado.<ref name="Congress" /> Twenty years after his first service in the House of Representatives,<ref name="GPO Memorial" /> he was elected to the 73rd Congress and to the three succeeding Congresses and served from March 4, 1933, until his death.<ref name="Congress" /> During that time, he worked on the Railroad Retirement Act of 1935 and the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act. Among his other efforts, he framed holding company legislation while on the House Interstate and Foreign Commerce Committee.<ref name="GPO Memorial" />
{{blockquote|text=Step by step, this self-made, self-educated man, rising from humble beginnings, attained honor upon honor until he reached the distinction of become a Member of the House of Representatives.|author=Representative Edward T. Taylor, Memorial for John Andrew Martin, House of Representatives<ref name="GPO Memorial" />}}
==Personal life== On September 6, 1892<ref name="GPO Memorial">{{Cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/memorialservices00wash_22 |title=Memorial services held in the House of Representatives of the United States, together with remarks presented in eulogy of John Andrew Martin, late a representative from Colorado. Seventy-sixth Congress, third session |last1=Washington |first1=U. S. Govt Print Off |last2=United States. Congress (76th |first2=3rd session : 1940-1941) House |date=1941 |publisher=Washington, DC : United States Government Printing Office|pages=[https://archive.org/details/memorialservices00wash_22/page/29 29]–36}}</ref> or 1902, he married Rose May Chitwood at Wellington, Kansas. They had a daughter, Stella.<ref name="GPO">{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uevAN16exJkC&pg=PA4039 |title=Congressional Record: Proceedings and Debates of the ... Congress |last=Congress |first=United States |date=1940 |publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office |pages=4039–4040 |language=en}}</ref> He wrote a novel based on the lives of his wife's parents who were pioneer settlers in Kansas. Published in 1908, it depicted the "dawn life of the prairie West and its people."<ref name="GPO Memorial" />
== Death and burial == He contacted a case of ptomaine poisoning and died in Washington, D.C., on December 23, 1939.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/43584371/obituary_for_andrew_martin_aged_71/ |title=Obituary for John Andrew Martin (Aged 71) |date=December 24, 1939 |work=The Spokesman-Review |access-date=February 3, 2020 |pages=5}}</ref> He was buried in Mountain View Cemetery, Pueblo, Colorado.<ref name="Congress" />
== Electoral history == {{Election box begin no change | title= 1932 United States House of Representatives elections<ref>{{Cite web |title=1932 Election Results |url=http://clerk.house.gov/member_info/electionInfo/1932election.pdf}}</ref> }} {{Election box winning candidate with party link no change | party = Democratic Party (US) | candidate = John Andrew Martin | votes = 59,882 | percentage = 51% }} {{Election box candidate with party link no change | party = Republican Party (US) | candidate = Guy U. Hardy (Incumbent) | votes = 57,793 | percentage = 49% }} {{Election box total no change | votes = 117,675 | percentage = 100% }} {{Election box gain with party link without swing | winner = Democratic Party (US) | loser = Republican Party (US) }} {{Election box end}} {{Election box begin no change | title= 1934 United States House of Representatives elections<ref>{{Cite web |title=1934 Election Results |url=http://clerk.house.gov/member_info/electionInfo/1934election.pdf}}</ref> }} {{Election box winning candidate with party link no change | party = Democratic Party (US) | candidate = John Andrew Martin (Incumbent) | votes = 73,281 | percentage = 64% }} {{Election box candidate with party link no change | party = Republican Party (US) | candidate = W.O. Peterson | votes = 39,753 | percentage = 35% }} {{Election box candidate with party link no change | party = Socialist Party of America | candidate = Joseph T. Landis | votes = 1,199 | percentage = 1% }} {{Election box total no change | votes = 114,233 | percentage = 100% }} {{Election box hold with party link without swing | winner = Democratic Party (US) }} {{Election box end}} {{Election box begin no change | title= 1936 United States House of Representatives elections<ref>{{Cite web |title=1936 Election Results |url=http://clerk.house.gov/member_info/electionInfo/1936election.pdf}}</ref> }} {{Election box winning candidate with party link no change | party = Democratic Party (US) | candidate = John Andrew Martin (Incumbent) | votes = 74,013 | percentage = 60% }} {{Election box candidate with party link no change | party = Republican Party (US) | candidate = J. Arthur Phelps | votes = 48,871 | percentage = 40% }} {{Election box total no change | votes = 122,884 | percentage = 100% }} {{Election box hold with party link without swing | winner = Democratic Party (US) }} {{Election box end}} {{Election box begin no change | title= 1938 United States House of Representatives elections<ref>{{Cite web |title=1938 Election Results |url=http://clerk.house.gov/member_info/electionInfo/1938election.pdf}}</ref> }} {{Election box winning candidate with party link no change | party = Democratic Party (US) | candidate = John Andrew Martin (Incumbent) | votes = 72,736 | percentage = 57% }} {{Election box candidate with party link no change | party = Republican Party (US) | candidate = Henry Leonard | votes = 54,007 | percentage = 43% }} {{Election box total no change | votes = 126,743 | percentage = 100% }} {{Election box hold with party link without swing | winner = Democratic Party (US) }} {{Election box end}}
==See also== * List of members of the United States Congress who died in office (1900–1949)
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== *{{Find a Grave|7365247}} *[http://politicalgraveyard.com/bio/martin5.html#574.99.97 John Andrew Martin (1868-1939)] at politicalgraveyard.com
{{s-start}} {{s-par|us-hs}} {{US House succession box | state= Colorado | district=2 | before=Warren A. Haggott | after=Harry H. Seldomridge | years=1909 – 1913}} {{US House succession box | state= Colorado | district=3 | before=Guy U. Hardy | after=William E. Burney | years=1933 – 1939}} {{s-end}} {{ColoradoUSRepresentatives}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Martin, John Andrew}} Category:1939 deaths Category:1868 births Category:Democratic Party United States representatives from Colorado Category:Democratic Party members of the Colorado House of Representatives Category:20th-century United States representatives Category:20th-century members of the Colorado General Assembly