NationMaster - Encyclopedia: Wade O. Martin, Jr.

Wade Omer Martin, Jr. (April 18, 1911-- August 6, 1990) was the Democratic secretary of state in Louisiana under five governors, having served from 1944-1976. Though originally part of the Long faction, Martin quarreled with Governor Earl Kemp Long during Long's third term in office, and Long relieved Martin of nearly all of his powers as secretary of state. After he considered a gubernatorial bid on several occasions, Martin finally ran for governor in 1975, when, at 66, he was overshadowed by the popular incumbent, Democrat Edwin Washington Edwards, who easily secured a second term. In retirement, the conservative Martin switched his party affiliation in 1979 to Republican to support David C. Treen for governor and Ronald W. Reagan for president. April 18 is the 108th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (109th in leap years). ... 1911 (MCMXI) was a common year starting on Sunday (click on link for calendar). ... August 6 is the 218th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (219th in leap years), with 147 days remaining. ... This article is about the year. ... The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States; the other being the Republican Party. ... This Article does not cite its references or sources. ... 1944 (MCMXLIV) was a leap year starting on Saturday (the link is to a full 1944 calendar). ... 1976 (MCMLXXVI) was a leap year starting on Thursday. ... Earl Kemp Long (26 August 1895 - 5 September 1960) was an American politician and three-time Governor of Louisiana. ... A governor is an official who heads the government of a colony, state or other sub-national state unit. ... 1975 (MCMLXXV) was a common year starting on Wednesday. ... // In politics The incumbent, in politics, is the current holder of a political office. ... Edwin Washington Edwards (born 7 August 1927) is a United States politician who served as governor of Louisiana for four terms (1972 - 1980, 1984 - 1988, and 1992 - 1996), more terms than any other Louisiana governor. ... GOP redirects here. ... David Conner Treen, Sr. ... Order: 40th President Term of Office: January 20, 1981–January 20, 1989 Preceded by: Jimmy Carter Succeeded by: George H.W. Bush Date of birth: February 6, 1911 Place of birth: Tampico, Illinois Date of death: June 5, 2004 Place of death: Los Angeles, California First Lady: Nancy Reagan...

Early years and education

Martin was born in Arnaudville in St. Landry Parish to Wade O. Martin, Sr., and the former Alice Mills. His grandfathers were Dr. G.W. Martin and Patrick Mills; his grandmothers were Ida Guilbeau Martin and Justine Fanguy Mills. Arnaudville is a town in St. ... St. ...

Martin received his bachelor's degree from what is now the University of Louisiana at Lafayette (then Southwestern Louisiana Institute) in 1932. In 1935, he received his law degree from Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, his father's alma mater. On October 25, 1938, Martin married the former Juliette Bonnette (July 28, 1916 -- August 24, 1999). The University of Louisiana at Lafayette, more commonly known as UL Lafayette, Louisiana-Lafayette,or simply UL, is a coeducational public research university located in Lafayette, Louisiana, in the heart of Acadiana. ... 1932 (MCMXXXII) was a leap year starting on Friday (the link will take you to a full 1932 calendar). ... 1935 (MCMXXXV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ... Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, generally known as Louisiana State University or LSU, is a public, coeducational university located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana and the main campus of the Louisiana State University System. ... Capitol Building Baton Rouge is the capital of Louisiana, a state of the United States of America. ... October 25 is the 298th day of the year (299th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1938 (MCMXXXVIII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar). ... July 28 is the 209th day (210th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 156 days remaining. ... 1916 (MCMXVI) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar). ... August 24 is the 236th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (237th in leap years), with 129 days remaining. ... 1999 (MCMXCIX) was a common year starting on Friday, and was designated the International Year of Old Farts by the Sometimes-United Nations. ...

Martin, Sr., was an intimate of Governor and Senator Huey Pierce Long, Jr. In 1932, Martin, Sr., was elected to the then District 2 seat on the Louisiana Public Service Commission. He served for 24 years until his death in August 1956. After the assassination of Huey Long, Martin, Sr., had tried to run for governor in 1935 but was unable to mount a serious campaign. Huey Pierce Long, Jr. ... 1932 (MCMXXXII) was a leap year starting on Friday (the link will take you to a full 1932 calendar). ... Louisiana Public Service Commission (LPSC) is an independent regulatory agency serving the public of Louisiana by managing its public utilities and motor carriers. ... 1956 (MCMLVI) was a leap year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1935 (MCMXXXV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ...

Martin, Jr., was an assistant attorney general of Louisiana from 1935-1940. He set up a law practice in Baton Rouge from 1940-1944. He ran for secretary of state against incumbent James Gremillion, an appointee of anti-Long Governor Sam Houston Jones. 1935 (MCMXXXV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1940 (MCMXL) was a leap year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1940 calendar). ... 1940 (MCMXL) was a leap year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1940 calendar). ... 1944 (MCMXLIV) was a leap year starting on Saturday (the link is to a full 1944 calendar). ... Sam, Samantha or Samuel Jones can refer to a number of different people. ...

The Louisiana election of 1944

Martin, Sr., and Jr., coaxed Gremillion to withdraw from the race, in which Gremillion had run second to Wade, Jr. Gremillion's exit hence made Wade, Jr., the official Democratic nominee, equivalent at the time to election in overwhelmingly Democratic Louisiana. William J. "Bill" Dodd, a state legislator at the time of the 1944 election, wrote in his memoirs, Peapatch Politics: The Earl Long Era in Louisiana Politics, "That a deal was made seemed evident -- when Gremillion wound up with a big job in Wade Jr.'s office." William Joseph Bill Dodd held a half dozen important positions in Louisiana government in the mid-twentieth century, including the office of lieutenant governor, but he never achieved his ultimate goal, the states powerful Napoleonic-style governorship. ...

The possibility had existed that there would have been no runoffs at all in 1944 if the Long candidate for governor, Lewis Morgan of Covington in St. Tammany Parish, had decided not to pursue a second primary against Jimmie Davis. Louisiana law then allowed runoffs for the lesser constitutional office only if there was also a runoff for governor. Somehow, the Martins convinced Gremillion that he would lose a runoff and that he should bow out and continue to work in the secretary of state's office, but under Wade, Jr. Lewis H. Morgan Lewis Henry Morgan (November 21, 1818 â€“ December 17, 1881) was an American ethnologist, anthropologist and writer. ... The city of Covington is the parish seat of St. ... St. ... Jimmie Davis James Houston Davis, better known as Jimmie Davis, (September 11, 1899 - November 5, 2000) was a noted singer of both sacred and popular songs who served two nonconsecutive terms as a Democratic governor of Louisiana in the mid-twentieth century. ...

Earl Long later learned that his presumed allies, the Martins, along with Register of State Lands Lucille May Grace Dent, and others, had coaxed Morgan, whom Dodd called an "aged and somewhat senile attorney," to remain in the running for governor. At first, Morgan said that he would not challenge Davis in a runoff. The Martins and Miss Grace did not expect Morgan to defeat Davis. What they were attempting, according to Dodd, was the defeat of Earl Long, who was a candidate for lieutenant governor in a looming runoff against J. Emile Verret of Iberia Parish. Earl Long had led in the primary and would have become the Democratic nominee for the second spot had Morgan chosen not to continue the challenge to Davis. And while Davis defeated Morgan in the runoff, the results were closer than many had expected. Lucille May Grace a. ... A Lieutenant Governor is a government official who is the subordinate or deputy of a Governor or Governor-General. ... J. Emile Verret (1886 - February 9, 1965) was the Democratic lieutenant governor of Louisiana from 1944-1948, having served under James Houston Jimmie Davis in the first of Davis two nonconsecutive terms in the states highest constitutional office. ... Iberia Parish is a parish located in the state of Louisiana. ...

Earl Long moves against Martin

After his 1956 inauguration, Long convinced the legislature, the majority of the members being Long allies at the time, to move against Martin, who was himself considered a "Longite" by unofficial affiliation. Martin's office was stripped of four essential duties:

(1) a separate commissioner of insurance (Martin was insurance commissioner AND secretary of state from 1944-1956.) would be established,

(2) a separate position of "custodian of voting machines," later called "elections commissioner," would be established, and the secretary of state would no longer sit on the board that handled the purchase of voting machines,

What duties did Martin retain? There were few, and all of an administrative nature. According to Bill Dodd, "Wade, Jr., howled and screamed and accused Earl of being vindictive. But seasoned politicians and those who knew the facts of the 1944 campaign felt that little Wade got what politicians usually get when they do what Wade had done."

Martin was the author of the legislation providing for the numbering of candidates on election ballots to speed voting and to provide secrecy of the ballot for illiterates. He was a past president of the National Association of Secretaries of State and the National Association of Insurance Commssioners.

Over time, the secretary of state's office gradually regained its previous level of duties. The office was modernized and improved considerably during the long tenure of a Martin successor, W. Fox McKeithen, a Republican who served from 1988 (when he was a Democrat) to his death in 2005. However, there still remains a separate insurance commissioner's office. W. Fox McKeithen (born September 8, 1946 - died July 16, 2005) served five terms as Secretary of State in Louisiana between 1987 and 2005. ...

Martin for governor?

Martin considered a gubernatorial run in 1948, but he then pulled back to seek reelection, when he realized that Earl Long was a strong contender that year.

In 1971, Republican leader David C. Treen tried to convince Martin, who was considered a conservative within the Democratic Party, to switch parties and run as the GOP candidate for governor in 1972. Martin again declined to run for governor and instead won an eighth consecutive term as secretary of state. Treen in fact made the first of his three gubernatorial races that year. The name "Wade O. Martin, Jr.," and "Louisiana secretary of state" had become synonyms in the Bayou State, or at the least there was a strong 32-year connection. 1971 (MCMLXXI) was a common year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1971 calendar). ... 1972 (MCMLXXII) was a leap year starting on Saturday. ...

Martin finally ran for governor in 1975, after which time he had decided to retire as secretary of state. Edwin Edwards faced two Democrats that year, Martin and State Senator Robert G. "Bob" Jones of Lake Charles, son of former Governor Sam Jones. Edwards prevailed with ease: 750,107 votes (62.3 percent). Bob Jones ran second with 292,220 votes (24.3 percent). Martin ran a weak third with 146,363 ballots (12.2 percent). Both Jones and Martin got some unofficial Republican backing in the gubernatorial election, and Jones was considered a possible candidate for 1979. Thereafter, both Jones and Martin became Republicans, but neither sought office again. Lake Charles is a city located in Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana, USA. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 71,757. ...

Martin was 30 and married when the United States entered World War II, but he did not enlist. Dodd, a World War II veteran, said he believed that Martin's failure to serve may have been a reason that he did not attempt to run earlier for governor. Of course, non-military service did not necessarily hurt Earl Long, whom Dodd flatly claimed in his memoir "was a draft dodger" in World War I. Combatants Major Allied powers: United Kingdom Soviet Union United States Republic of China and others Major Axis powers: Nazi Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Harry Truman Chiang Kai-Shek Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tojo Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead... Combatants Allied Powers: British Empire France Italy Russia United States Central Powers: Austria-Hungary Bulgaria Germany Ottoman Empire Commanders Ferdinand Foch Georges Clemenceau Victor Emmanuel III Luigi Cadorna Armando Diaz Nicholas II Aleksei Brusilov Herbert Henry Asquith Douglas Haig John Jellicoe Woodrow Wilson John Pershing Wilhelm II Paul von Hindenburg...

Martin's obituary and legacy

Martin was a Roman Catholic and, like his father, a member of the Knights of Columbus, a Catholic men's organization. He was also active in the Woodmen of the World and was a member of Kappa Sigma fraternity and the Kiwanis Club. He was on the board of the Council for the Development of French in Louisiana, or CODOFIL. He was a fundraiser for the American Heart Association, the American Cancer Society, and United Cerebral Palsy. The Roman Catholic Church, most often spoken of simply as the Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with over one billion members. ... The Knights of Columbus is the worlds largest Catholic family, fraternal, service organization and is named in honor of Christopher Columbus. ... nickname: Kappa Sig Founded December 10, 1869 International Headquarters Charlottesville, VA Official Colors Scarlet, White, and Emerald green Official Flower Lily of the valley Official Jewel Pearl Official Badge Official Crest ÎšÎ£ (Kappa Sigma) is an international fraternity with at least 300 chapters and colonies in North America. ... Kiwanis International is a service organization whose mission is Serving the Children of the World. The organization was founded on January 21, 1915 in Detroit, Michigan and is now based in Indianapolis, Indiana. ... The American Heart Association (AHA) is a non-profit organization in the United States that fosters appropriate cardiac care in an effort to reduce disability and deaths caused by cardiovascular disease and stroke. ... The American Cancer Society (ACS) is a medical organization with a corporate attitude in the United States. ...

In retirement, Martin spent much time on his St. Martin Parish farm, where he raised sugar cane and other crops, including crawfish. He pioneered in the raising of fresh water shrimp in Louisiana. He also wrote books about government, practiced law, and was a consultant to the Louisiana Elections Integrity Commission. This article needs cleanup. ... Superfamilies Alpheoidea Atyoidea Bresilioidea Campylonotoidea Crangonoidea Galatheacaridoidea Nematocarcinoidea Oplophoroidea Palaemonoidea Pandaloidea Pasiphaeoidea Procaridoidea Processoidea Psalidopodoidea Stylodactyloidea True shrimp are small, swimming, decapod crustaceans classified in the infraorder Caridea, found widely around the world in both fresh and salt water. ...

Martin died in his Baton Rouge home. Services were held in St. Martin De Tours Catholic Church in St. Martinville. Burial was in St. Francis Regis Cemetery in Arnaudville. Survivors included four sons, Wade O. Martin, III, of Baton Rouge, David Mills Martin of Jackson, Mississippi, Wallace T. Martin of Ridgecrest, California (Kern County), and Gregory B. Martin of Baton Rouge; two daughters, Mrs. Merle M. Dooley of Covington and Mrs. Marcelle M. Sherrill of Paducah, Kentucky; a brother, two sisters, 15 grandchildren, and four great-grandchildren. Martin was divorced from his wife Juliette. She was living in Ridgecrest at the time of her death. The city of St. ... Nickname: The Best of the New South; The Bold, New City Coordinates: Country United States State Mississippi County Hinds Founded 1822 Mayor Frank Melton Area - City 276. ... Ridgecrest, then Crumville, incorporated as a city in 1963, is located in the Indian Wells Valley in northeastern Kern County, California adjacent to the Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake. ... Kern County is a county located in the southern Central Valley of California. ... The city of Covington is the parish seat of St. ... Paducah is a city in McCracken County, Kentucky at the confluence of the Tennessee River and the Ohio River. ...

The auditorium of the Louisiana State Archives building, a part of the secretary of state's office, is named in Martin's honor. Martin is also remembered for his trademark bow tie. Martin was posthmously inducted into the Louisiana Political Museum and Hall of Fame in Winnfield in 2001. One option to tie a bowtie The bowtie is a mens fashion accessory, popularly worn with other formal attire, such as suits. ... Winnfield is a small city located in Winn Parish, Louisiana. ... 2001: A Space Odyssey. ...

References

Billy Hathorn, "The Republican Party in Louisiana, 1920-1980," Master's thesis (1980), Northwestern State University at Natchitoches

William J. "Bill" Dodd, Peapatch Politics: The Earl Long Era in Louisiana Politics, Baton Rouge: Claitor's Publishing, 1991

"Wade O. Martin, Sr.," A Dictionary of Louisiana Biography (1988), pp. 553-554

Grover Rees, III, Dave Treen of Louisiana, Baton Rouge: Moran Publishing, 1979

http://ssdi.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/ssdi.cgi?lastname=Martin&firstname=Wade&start=41

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