Charles Martin (Illinois politician)

Charles Martin (May 20, 1856 – October 28, 1917) was a U.S. Representative from Illinois.

Charles Martin
Frontispiece of 1919's Charles Martin, Late a Representative from Illinois
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Illinois's 4th district
In office
March 4, 1917 – October 28, 1917
Preceded byJames T. McDermott
Succeeded byJohn W. Rainey
Personal details
Born(1856-05-20)May 20, 1856
Ogdensburg, New York
DiedOctober 28, 1917(1917-10-28) (aged 61)
Chicago, Illinois
Political partyDemocratic

Born near Ogdensburg, St. Lawrence County, New York, Martin moved with his parents to Chicago, Illinois, in 1860. He attended the public schools, and engaged in business as a sewer contractor and later as a coal dealer. Martin served as alderman in the city council from 1894 to 1903, 1905 to 1907, 1910 to 1913, and was again elected in 1915.

Martin was elected as a Democrat to the Sixty-fifth Congress and served from March 4, 1917, until his death in Chicago, Illinois, October 28, 1917. He was interred in Mount Olivet Cemetery.

Martin Family Plot

Controversy Over Birth Certificate Legality

New York authorities found that his birth certificate may have been lost in an incident three years prior to his death. Investigations into the loss of the birth certificate were able to locate the missing birth certificate underneath a filing cabinet in the old New York records building. Group members of the opposing political party questioned Martin's lack of birth certificate publicly, causing Martin to lose an amount of respect in the public's eye. GOP candidates in Illinois never acknowledged the missing birth certificate until after Martin's death. Eventually, they seceded on the argument and acknowledged the legitimacy of the document. Recent studies into the incident have been inconclusive.[1]

See also
  • List of United States Congress members who died in office (1900–49)

References
  1. Rosenthal, Howard. "Rep. Charles Martin". govtrack. United States Congress. Retrieved 15 September 2018.

 This article incorporates public domain material from the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress website http://bioguide.congress.gov.

U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by
James T. McDermott		 Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Illinois's 4th congressional district
March 4, 1917 - October 28, 1917		 Succeeded by
John W. Rainey
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