1949 - 1950: Profiles of Prominent Citizens

EMORY L. AND WEALTHIA ANN MARTIN


E.L. and his wife Wealthia Ann Thomas Martin, were living in the thriving little village of Moniac when it was chartered by the court as a town. He immediately became an energetic supporter of the community and was elected to serve on its first city council, even though his work with industrial equipment, took him to several different places.

Several years afterward, at the turn of the century, his family moved to Folkston. His enthusiasm for Folkston was evident when he was the eighth person out of a total of 367 people to sign the petition asking the courts to move the county seat from Traders Hill to Folkston. He also served several terms as district Justice of the Peace as well as on the Folkston city council.

In 1915 he borrowed $400.00 to finance construction costs and inventory for a dwelling and small grocery store on the east side of the railroad, advertising in the county paper that the Martin Store was open for business "at the south crossing". The Martins never dreamed that the dusty road in front of their new home would one day be named for them. It has been called "Martin Street" for many years,

Three of the Martinís five children, Naomi (Mrs. H.J. Mays), Violet and Langsdale "Lang", lived in this house and helped in the little store which was soon offering for sale, besides groceries, fertilizer, feed and building supplies. This home was a source of various friendly neighborhood events, brought together by the congenial family headed by Mrs. Martin, a petite, lively, fun-loving woman. But when the national economic depression of the early 1930s occurred, the Martins, like many other families, lost their store and home through foreclosure, for failure to be able to make their mortgage payments.

E.L. Martin was a hero to a train crew in 1915 when he saved them from almost certain death. He was working on a new county bridge near the railroad at St. George when he discovered the railroad trestle across the St. Marys River was burning. He ran back toward St. George, knowing a through freight train was due at that time. He met it and flagged it but as the railroad signal board showed "clear", the crew paid no attention to him until he gave the Masonic distress signal, (whatever that was) and being a member of the Lodge the engineer heeded the warning and stopped the train, saving their lives.

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