Just about everyone in this area has heard of Earle Brown, who once was sheriff of Hennepin County. He was famous from the ‘20s on, not only for his civic work but for having one of the most unique farms ever known! Few people knew his background and the impact his ancestors had on his life.
It all goes back to another famous pioneer, John Martin, who was born in Peacham, Vermont, August 18, 1820. He was an enterprising lumberman and businessman known as Captain Martin, earning that title on inland navigation, as a chief officer of steamboats. His parents, Eliphalet and Martha (Hoit) Martin were settlers on a farm in Peacham. John, one of 10 children, helped work the farm with his brothers early on, but at age 19, felt the longing for a more independent life. This led him to pursuing many lines of business, each successful. Whether on the paternal farm in Vermont, or on one of the many rivers of this country or among Minnesota pines, this former farm boy rose by sheer strength of character to be the head of one of the great lumber companies of this country and of the second largest milling business in the world.
The young Martin first took employment on a steamboat navigating the Connecticut River and advanced to captain. Then he was captain on two other steamboats navigating the Neuse River in North Carolina, hauling tar and resin, then returning up river with other merchandise.
There wasn’t much money in boating those days, but he saved every penny and invested wisely. Ten years went by and he returned to his native home in Peacham, was married, then joined those involved in the gold rush of California. In 1849 he took a claim on a placer on the American River, digging and panning until he found a goodly supply of nuggets, then returned to Vermont. But now, his old home seemed to lack the excitement of his youth in contrast to the stir and hubbub of the mining camps.
So, he decided to go exploring. He went first to Illinois, then Iowa and when he got to the Mississippi River was fascinated with seeing multitudes of logs floating down the river. He was determined to go upstream to see where they came from. This led him to St. Anthony, where his entrepreneurial mind envisioned the lumber business.
He went back to Vermont, sold his farm and earthly goods and moved, wife and all, to St. Anthony in 1855. They readily entered into the spirit of the community, with the first event being on January 23, 1855; a banquet at the St. Charles Hotel to celebrate the completion of the suspension bridge across the Mississippi. This was the first bridge built across the river.
The same year a steamboat company was formed by the citizens of St. Anthony, to make trips to lower Mississippi River points. Having had river boat experience, John Martin was chosen captain, the boat was called “Falls City.”
With connections he had in the lumber trade, he would purchase timbered land, build and operate sawmills and open lumber yards. The business name was “John Martin Lumber Company” with yards at St. Paul and saw mill at Mission Creek.
Some would call two trades enough. But not Martin. He also engaged in flour milling and was a proprietor of Northwestern flour mills and president of Northwest Consolidated Milling Co. at Minneapolis, operating five large mills with a capacity of 10,000 barrels of flour per day!
He also was a director of the First National Bank of Minneapolis, director and vice-president of the Mpls. & St. Louis R.R., director and vice president of the Minneapolis, Sault Ste. Marie & Atlantic railway and of the Minneapolis & Pacific railway. These railroads helped expedite the shipping of his flour to the east coast.
He had achieved so many successes, but he worked hard for each and every one. You can imagine the fortune he must have amassed! Going back now to Peacham, Vermont, and the woman he took as his wife back in 1849. Her name was Miss Jane B. Gilfillan, and she settled happily in St. Anthony with her husband. She shared Martin’s life and prosperity and they had one child, a daughter, Jean.
After living in St. Anthony, the Martins in 1880 bought a large tract of land in Brooklyn Center. In 1886 Mrs. Martin passed away. But their one and only daughter, Jean Martin Brown, then grown up and married, had two sons, then was widowed. The two sons were Cyrus and Earle, with Cyrus dying as a young child. That left Earle, who spent most of his days with his grandfather on the farm. When Captain Martin died in 1905, Earle Brown inherited the bulk of the Martin estate, reportedly amounting to $5-6 million.
By direct line of ascension to his grandfather’s estate, Earle Brown became a multimillionaire. The man behind the man, then, was Captain John Martin!
Note: Excerpts taken from Minnesota and It’s People by J.A.A. Burnquist, 1924.