Reverend George F. Martin Papers

 

Dates: 1901-1972
Size: 2 linear feet
Repository: Chicago Public Library, Woodson Regional Library, Vivian G. Harsh Research Collection of Afro-American History and Literature, 9525 S. Halsted Street, Chicago, Illinois 60628

Collection

Number:

 2000/06
Provenance: Donated by Chestine Allen in 2000
Access: No restrictions
Citation:

When quoting material from this collection the preferred citation is:

Reverend George F. Martin Papers [Box #, Folder #], Chicago Public Library, Woodson Regional Library, Vivian G. Harsh Research Collection of Afro-American History and Literature
Processed by: Beverly A. Cook, April 2021

Biographical Note

George F. Martin was born in Jackson County, Missouri in 1884. He was educated in Missouri and was one of the earliest graduates of Lincoln High School in 1901. He married Myrtle L. Martin in 1911. He was elected to be a ministerial delegate from the Puget Sound area to the 26th General Conference of the AME. Church in St. Louis, Missouri. That next year he received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Montana Wesleyan College in Helena, Montana. In 1924, he was accepted into the Scottish Rite of Free Masonry. In 1926, he became the president of Flipper Key Davis College in Tullahassee, Oklahoma. Flipper Key Davis College was the only private higher level education institution for African Americans in Oklahoma. The school closed in 1935. He also served as dean of the former Bishop William School of Religion in Kansas City, Kansas.

Rev. George F. Martin pastored three AME. Churches in Kansas: Trinity AME Church, Ebenezer AME Church and Cain-Grant AME Church. Rev. George F. Martin, D.D. died in 1974.

This collection was donated by Chestine Allen, foster daughter to Reverend and Mrs. George F. Martin. Allen was highly active in the Ebenezer AME Church and after she lost her mother in 1947 developed a close relationship with Pastor Martin. She lived in the parsonage and helped them while they paid for her education. She later became a teacher in the Chicago Public School system and a member of the Patricia Liddell Researchers, an African American genealogy organization.

Scope and Content

The correspondence series contains letters between Bishop Henry Blanton Parks (1859-1936) dating from 1926 to 1933 shedding light on their friendship and work in the AME Church. Bishop Parks was very influential in the AME Church organization and known for his administrative and fundraising abilities. Many of the photographs are on the parsonage at the Cain-Grant AME Church.

Arrangement

This collection is divided into 3 series: Biography, Correspondence, and Photographs.

Series 1: Biography, 1901-1961

This series is in chronological order.

Series 2: Correspondence, 1926-1972, undated

This series is in chronological order.

Series 3: Photographs, 1900-1975, undated

The donor’s original order has been maintained.

Related Materials

Related materials at the Chicago Public Library include:

Container List

Series 1: Biography, 1901-1961

Box 1 Folder 1 General conference of the AME Church certificate of ministerial delegate’s election, 5th Episcopal District, 1919, May 3 (see oversize box 2)
Box 1 Folder 2 Montana Wesleyan College B.A., 1920 (see oversize box 2)
Box 1 Folder 3 United Supreme Council 33 Rite of Freemasonry, 1924 August 30 (see oversize box 2)
Box 1 Folder 4 50th wedding anniversary napkin, 1961
Box 1 Folder 13 Lincoln High School diploma, 1901 (see oversize box 2)

Series 2: Correspondence, 1926-1972, undated

Box 1 Folder 5 Bishop Herbert Blanton Parks to Reverend George Martin, 1926-1933
Box 1 Folder 6 Davis, Reverend T.M., 1933
Box 1 Folder 7 Furrell, A. Wyburd, 1935
Box 1 Folder 8 Kern Park Christian Church, 1936
Box 1 Folder 9 Wettenborg, Ruth, 1937 [President of Oregon Older Girls]
Box 1 Folder 10 Cain-Grant AME church program, 1972 January 9
Box 1 Folder 11 Mitchell, W.A., 1972 [including obituary of Mrs. Ella Womens]
Box 1 Folder 12 Newspaper clipping, undated

Series 3: Photographs, 1900-1975, undated

Box 2 Photo 001 “My first annual conference,” 1921 [Rev. Martin is in 2nd row, 3rd from left]
Box 2 Photo 002 Rev. Martin’s first Puget Sound annual conference, 1917
Box 2 Photo 003 Rev. George F. Martin, circa 1920s
Box 2 Photo 004 Ebenezer AME Church finance committee meeting in Kansas City, Missouri, 1949
Box 2 Photo 005 Myrtle Thomas and Martin family in Maryville, Missouri, circa 1900
Box 2 Photo 006 Myrtle L. Martin (before marriage), 1904 March 2
Box 2 Photo 007 Voting card to elect Rev. George Martin as bishop, circa 1930s
Box 2 Photo 008 Rev. George and Myrtle, undated
Box 2 Photo 009 Myrtle Martin as a young girl, circa 1900
Box 2 Photo 010 “My buddie Myrt,” undated [Myrtle Martin]
Box 2 Photo 011 Rev. George Martin (2nd from left), 1921
Box 2 Photo 012 Myrtle Martin with aunt and child, 1923 August
Box 2 Photo 013 Myrtle Martin in Kansas City, Missouri, circa 1970
Box 2 Photo 014 Ebenezer AME choir, Rev. Flipper in rear, 1962. Photo by Washington
Box 2 Photo 015 Farmers in the Martin’s backyard, undated
Box 2 Photo 016 Rev. Martin working on farm, undated
Box 2 Photo 017 Myrtle Martin (6th from right, front row) and Rev. Martin, circa 1930s
Box 2 Photo 018 Rev. Martin “Getting ready to start home,” 1923 August 14
Box 2 Photo 019 Rev. and Mrs. George Martin, circa 1930s
Box 2 Photo 020 “My class at Reed College,” 1939
Box 2 Photo 021 Rev. George F. Martin in midst of group, circa 1930s
Box 2 Photo 022 Rev. George F Martin and unidentified teacher, circa 1930s
Box 2 Photo 023 Neighborhood picnic at 2900 Victor, Kansas City, Missouri, circa 1951. Photo by Washington. [Rev. George Martin, Myrtle, Chestine Warfield and classmate, Martha Pitts]
Box 2 Photo 024 Women’s Missionary Society’s Second Quadrennial Convention in Memphis, Tennessee. Included in the photograph are Chestine Warfield, Youth Delegate from Ebenezer AME and Claudia Darden, Youth Supervisor, 1951
Box 2 Photo 025 Ebenezer AME Church Celestial Choir, circa 1949. Photo by Washington. [Chestine Warfield, President, Rev. George F. Martin, and Mrs. Ellis, choir director]
Box 2 Photo 026 Thom Thumb wedding. Chestine Warfield in back row, 1950. Photo by Washington
Box 2 Photo 027 Myrtle L. Martin at Ebenezer’s parsonage, 2921 Victor, Kansas City, Missouri, circa 1950
Box 2 Photo 028 Mrs. Helen Hall, 1950
Box 2 Photo 029 Mrs. Helen Hall, Chestine Warfield and Myrtle L. Martin in backyard of Ebenezer parsonage, 1950 July
Box 2 Photo 030 Chestine Pearl Warfield, standing outside Douglass Elementary School in Kansas City, 1955
Box 2 Photo 031 Rev. Dr. George F. Martin in Chicago, Illinois, 1973
Box 2 Photo 032 Chester Martin Allen [named for Rev. Martin], circa 1975
Box 2 Photo 033 Rev. and Mrs. George Martin, Lawrence and Chestine Allen with their two sons (Chester and Lawrence Junior), circa 1966
Box 2 Photo 034 Rev. and Mrs. George Martin, Lawrence Allen Junior at Cain-Grant AME in Kansas City, Missouri, 1961
Box 2 Photo 035 Episcopal Committee in Kansas City, Missouri, 1948
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