Samuel W. Martien
| Samuel Winter Martien | |
|---|---|
| Louisiana State Representative from Tensas Parish | |
|
In office 1906–1920 |
|
| Preceded by | Robert H. Snyder |
| Succeeded by | Louis T. Hunter |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
November 12, 1854 Massachusetts, USA |
| Died | May 31, 1946 (aged 91) Roanoke, Virginia |
| Resting place | Natchez City Cemetery in Natchez, Mississippi |
| Nationality | American |
| Political party | Democratic Party |
| Spouse(s) | Ella Jane Hopkins Martien (married 1885-1920, her death) |
| Children |
Ten children |
| Residence |
Waterproof, Tensas Parish Louisiana, USA |
| Occupation | Cotton planter |
| Religion | Episcopalian |
Ten children
Samuel Winter Martien (November 12, 1854 - May 31, 1946) was a wealthy cotton planter who served as a Democrat from 1906 to 1920 in the Louisiana House of Representatives from his adopted Tensas Parish in northeastern Louisiana.
At the time, each Louisiana parish regardless of population had at least one representative. That advantage was lost completely to rural parishes in 1972, when both legislative chambers came into full compliance with the United States Supreme Court decision Reynolds v. Sims, which requires that each state legislative district be nearly equal in population. In recent census reports, Tensas Parish, which is majority African American, has been the smallest parish in the state in population, and the numbers continue to decline.
Robert H. Snyder of St. Joseph, who had been the lieutenant governor from 1896 to 1900, died in 1906 while serving as House Speaker. Martien (pronounced MAR TEEN) first won a special election to choose a successor to Snyder and then secured full terms in 1908, 1912, and 1916.
Martien was born in Massachusetts to Jacob Martien (1824-1904) and the former Mary J. Bigham McMachlin (1829-1909). Jacob and Mary moved from near Boston to Louisiana after the American Civil War. Early in 1885, Samuel Martien married Ella Jane Hopkins in Acadia Parish in South Louisiana. At some point thereafter, all the Martiens relocated to the cotton-rich country about Waterproof in southern Tensas Parish near the boundary with Concordia Parish. Samuel and Ella had two children who died early in life, infant daughter Ella (1888-1889) and son Harold B. Martien (1897-1900). Martien had four surviving daughters, Mrs. Edgar Funkhouser of Roanoke, Virginia, Mrs. Paul Caldwell of Dinuba, California, and Mrs. Wilma C. Gibson and Mary Louise Martien, both of Waterproof. There were four sons too, William J. Martien (1886-1938), Norman Hopkins Martien, Sr. (1893-1958), Carey Martien of Crowley, Louisiana, and Winter Martien (1905-1994).
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