Frank Vernon Martin, the tenth child of Archelaus Stanley Martin and Harriett (Phipps) Martin, was born 9 March 1870 in Fremont County, Iowa.  Frank’s family was overlooked by the 1870 census, but both the 1880 Federal census and the 1885 Iowa state census show him in his parents’ household, in Sidney Township of Fremont County.

On 31 December 1890, Frank married Hattie Emma Longinaker at her parents’ home in Randolph, Fremont County.  She had been born 22 September 1872 there in Randolph and was the daughter of David and Mariah (Roby) Longinaker.  The 1900 census showed Frank and Hattie settled on Frank’s farm in Sidney Township along with their first four children.  In fact, all five of their children — all sons — were born there, and they were:

• Ernest Curtis Martin, 1892–1979 (married Goldie Margaret Norton).
• Earl Oscar Martin, 1893–1962 (married Valeria Mae Bobbitt).
• Orval George Martin, 1895–1962 (married Nellie Beatrice Frey).
• Leo Rolla Martin, 1897–1964 (married (1) Lena Ruth Stotts and (2) Mrs. Lillian (Dickey) Johnson).
• Ross Raymond Martin, 1903–1967 (married Gladys A. Riggs).

Frank and his family remained in Fremont County until 1909, when they moved to Antelope County, Nebraska.  Census records show Frank and Hattie in Lincoln Township of Antelope County with all of their sons in 1910, and with all of them except Leo in 1920.  Leo by then had married and had his own separate household nearby (also in Lincoln Township).

By 1930, with all of their sons married and out of their home, Frank and Hattie had moved into the village of Oakdale, still in Antelope County.  Orval may have taken over the family farm, as he is the only son still listed in Lincoln Township.  Sometime between 1935 and 1940, Frank and Hattie moved from Oakdale to Elgin, Nebraska (also in Antelope County), for they were living there when Frank passed away, 11 March 1940.  He was buried at Park Center Cemetery (10 miles west of Elgin).

The Oakdale Sentinel of 21 March 1940 ran an obituary for Frank, which read, in part: 

Mr. Martin was born on the Martin homestead north of Sidney, Iowa.  He was married to Hattie E. Longinaker in Fremont county, Iowa, where they resided on a farm for eighteen years.  In 1909 they moved to Antelope County, which has since been their home.  Five sons were born to them.  He is survived by his wife and five sons, Ernest Martin of Castle Rock, Colorado, Earl Martin and Orval Martin of Bartlett, Leo Martin and Ross Martin of Elgin; also sixteen grandchildren.

The 1940 census, compiled a month after Frank’s death, shows Hattie (as Hettie) widowed and living on her own in Elgin.  Hattie lived on in Elgin for two more decades, and then passed away 19 November 1961.  She was buried alongside Frank at Park Center Cemetery, and the Neligh News (23 Nov. 1961, p. 4) ran the following brief obituary:

       Funeral rites were conducted at 2 p.m. Tuesday at the Brooks chapel in Elgin for Mrs. Hattie Martin by the Rev. E. John Kess.
       Interment was in the Park cemetery west of Elgin.
       Mrs. Martin, 89, died Sunday.
       She is survived by five sons, Ernest of Castle Rock, Colo., Earl and Orville of Bartlett, Leo of Neligh and Ross of Elgin, 18 grandchildren, 43 great grandchildren and one sister, Mrs. Belle Sullivan of Elgin.

If you can suggest any corrections to the information above or provide any further details about the lives of Frank, Hattie, and their descendants, please contact me at the address shown in the image below: