Name:
James Rodwell Marshall Martin 
Location served:
Chatham, Merlin  
Years in Practice:
1922 to 1951
Area of Specialization:
Family Medicine  

Biography:

Dr. James Rodwell Marshall Martin was born in Beeton (Simcoe County), Ontario on the 18th of August, 1894.  Dr. Martin was the 3rd of 4 children born to James Martin and the former Catherine Moore.   His father was a shoemaker.  Dr. Martin’s siblings were; Marvyn Erie Martin who was born in 1889, Myrtle Catherine Martin who was born in 1891.  A brother Horatio was born in 1896  but died as an infant.

According to the 1916 census in Saskatchewan Dr. Martin was farming in Webb, (Saskatchewan), prior to attending university.   He was living with his wife the former Grace May (Bickner) Gillett.  Mrs. Martin was born in December of 1888 in Ohio.  She was the 6th of 7 children born to William H. Bickner and the former Henrietta P. Miller.  Her father worked in the ranching business and her siblings were; Edward Phillip Bickner, Frank Henry Bickner, Flora Catherine Bickner, Oscar Bickner, Charles Martin Bickner and Floyd.  Mrs. Martin was previously married to Luther “Lute” E. Gillett on the 27th of March, 1906 in Ainsworth, (Brown County), Nebraska.  They had two children, Etta Marie Gillett and Frank Edward Gillett before they separated.  (Luther Gillett died in 1918).  After their marriage, Dr. and Mrs. Martin had a son, James Floyd Clifford Martin who was born in Saskatchewan on the 18th of April, 1916.  Their daughter Gwendolyn Shirley Martin was born in Petrolia on the 21st of January, 1927, after Dr. Martin graduated from medical school.

Dr. Martin graduated M.D. from the University of Western Ontario in 1922.  According to the 1928 Ontario Medical Register, Dr. Martin joined the College of Physicians and Surgeons on the 30th of June, 1922.

Dr. Martin first practiced medicine in Oil Springs, (Lambton County) Ontario. He moved to Merlin, before settling in Chatham in approximately 1931.  In December of 1931, he signed a death record and listed his office at 10 Third Street in Chatham.  Dr. Martin purchased undeveloped land east of Victoria Ave., and north of Grand Avenue and built a large home there.

Dr. Martin appears in the 1941 Shepherds City of Chatham Business Directory.  His office was still located at 10 Third Street.  Dr. and Mrs. Martin divorced and Mrs. Martin moved to Glendale, California.

Dr. Martin married Wilda “Fay” Huxley on the 15th of June, 1946 in Port Huron, Michigan.  Mrs. Martin was born on the 18th of January, 1907 in Edmonton, Alberta.  She was the 2nd of 3 children born to William Roger Huxley and the former Ellie Denhardt.  Her father was a tinsmith and her siblings were; Percy Denhardt Huxley and Sheila Patricia Huxley.   According to the 1921 census, Fay Huxley was living with her grandparents at 71 Raleigh Street in Chatham.  Dr. and Mrs. Martin had a son named John.

Dr. Martin died at his residence in Chatham on the 11th of January, 1951.   He was buried at Maple Leaf Cemetery in Chatham.

Dr. Martin’s son James Floyd Clifford Martin died in a car crash on Highway 401 near Woodstock on the 19th of May, 1965.  At the time of his death his son was married with 3 sons of his own and he was the owner of the Aberdeen Hotel in Chatham.  James Floyd Clifford Martin was buried at the Maple Leaf Cemetery.

Dr. Martin’s wife Fay married Milford Tssyeland in Wycoff Twp, New Jersey in January of 1962.  Dr. Tsseyland was born in Minnesota in 1913.  He had been married to Lucielle and they had 4 children prior to her death in 1960.  Mrs. Wilda Fay Martin-Tsseyland died in Calgary, Alberta on the 14th of November, 1976.

*Mrs. Grace May (Bickner) Martin’s brother, Floyd Bickner enlisted with the Canadian Armed Services during WWI in Swift Current, Saskatchewan on the 15th of March, 1915.  Her brother Oscar Bickner also enlisted in the Canadian Armed Services during WWI on the same day and at the same place as Floyd.  Floyd Bickner survived but Pvt. Oscar Bickner was killed in action at Vimy Ridge on the 15th of August, 1917.