Content Description
Biographical / Historical
Contributing Institution:
Hargrove Music Library
Title: Paul and S. Wesley Martin musical compositions
Identifier/Call Number: ARCHIVES MARTIN 1
Physical Description:
7 Containers
Date (inclusive): 1857-1945
Language of Material:
English
.
Content Description
Seven flat boxes (12" x 15") containing autograph music manuscripts, in pencil or ink, as well as published sheet music, musical
drafts and sketches of Samuel Wesley Martin (1839–1926) and his son Paul Martin (1867–1950).
Biographical / Historical
Samuel Wesley Martin, born January 20, 1839 in Plainfield, Illinois, was for many years a teacher of school music, singing,
harmony, counterpoint and musical composition, as well as choral conducting. Author of nearly 100 solo sheet music songs and
vocal quartets, he was also editor of several collections of songs for use in singing schools, choirs, social circles, musical
conventions and glee clubs: The Festival Chimes, 1863; The Cluster, 1873; The Welcome Hour, 1877. After a successful period
on the faculty of Wheaton College in the 1880s, he continued with school music and conducted musical conventions, mostly in
Illinois and the adjoining states, before moving to California. S. Wesley Martin died November 7, 1926 in Yountville, CA.
Sources: A Hundred Years of Music in America. An Account of Musical Effort in America During the Past Century ... Together
with Historical and Biographical Sketches of Important Personalities, W.S.B. Mathews, ed., (Chicago: G.L. Howe, 1889), p.
210; https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/185413356 and Ancestry.com. California, Death Index, 1905-1939 [database on-line].
Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2013.
Paul Martin was born in Franklin, Indiana on September 24, 1867 and initially trained in music with his father, S. Wesley
Martin. After injuring his hand while studying piano in Chicago, he prepared as a schoolteacher (Wheaton College, Class of
1886) and later followed his father to California in 1895. He served as principal at various elementary and middle schools
in Oakland before he retired in 1938, devoting his time to musical composition. Paul Martin died November 15, 1950 in Oakland,
CA. Sources: Oakland Tribune, May 2, 1946; Wheaton College, "Wheaton History A to Z" http://a2z.my.wheaton.edu/alumni/paul-martin
, accessed August 28, 2019.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Composers -- United States