Biographical Database of NAWSA Suffragists, 1890-1920

Biography of Anne Henrietta Martin, 1875-1951

By Jennifer Banks, University of Strathclyde

Born Anna Henrietta Martin on 30 September 1875 in Empire City, Nevada, Anne Martin was the daughter of William O'Hara Martin and his wife, Louise W Stadtmuller. Between the ages of five and eight Anne's family lived briefly in San Francisco before moving to Reno, Nevada where she spent her formative years.

Anne's father, William O Martin, had crossed the plains in a covered wagon as a child traveling from Wisconsin to the gold fields of California where his father worked first as a miner and then as a merchant. As an adult, William O Martin moved to the east side of the Sierra Nevada Mountains where he began clerking in a store. He went on to become a merchant in his own right, a bank president, and Nevada state senator.

Louise W Stadtmuller, Anne's mother, was born in February 1851 to German parents shortly after their arrival in New York from Bavaria. Louisa grew up in Manhattan where she worked briefly as a schoolteacher in New York City. Sometime between 1 June 1870 and 10 June 1873 Louise left New York City and moved across the country to Empire City, Nevada. The completion of the transcontinental railroad in 1869 made her journey much easier and faster than the Martin family's travel by wagon train years earlier.

Anne Martin entered the Occoquan Workhouse in Lorton, Virginia on 17 July 1917 after being convicted of "Obstructing the Sidewalk." For that crime she was given the option of serving 60 days in the workhouse or paying a $25 fine. Anne chose the workhouse. As she explained to Judge Mullowney, "We have decided not to pay any fines...we are confident that we are not guilty of any charge which has been brought against us and we stand ready to serve our sentence." Along with fifteen other suffragists Anne Martin was taken to the Occoquan Workhouse and given work in the sewing room. Her time in the workhouse was short-lived however as Anne Martin was among the group of suffragists who were pardoned by President Wilson on July 19.

You can learn much more about the life of this remarkable woman here-- Notable American Women

See also a second crowdsourced sketch of Martin here.

Sources:

United States Passport Application. MARTIN, Anna Henrietta. 20 Sep 1900. Collection: U.S. Passport Applications, 1795-1925. Ancestry.com: accessed 1 Jun 2020

In Brief. USA. (1883) The Daily Appeal. 16 February. p. 3 col.1. www.newspapers.com: accessed 4 January 2022.

A New Firm. USA. (1883) Nevada State Journal. 8 April. p. 3 col. 4. www.newspapers.com: accessed 4 January 2022.

Census records. USA. Yuba, California. 4 September 1852. MARTIN, M W (head). p. 77. Ancestry.com: accessed 3 June 2020.

Census records. USA. Bridge Port, Nevada, California. 1 June 1860. MARTIN, M W (head) p. 108. Ancestry.com: accessed 3 June 2020.

Census records. USA. Empire City, Ormsby, Nevada. 1 June 1870. WALTERS T. (head) p. 2. Ancestry.com: accessed 3 June 2020.

"A Tribute To The Life and Character of W. O. H. Martin. USA" (1901) Reno Gazette-Journal. 21 September. p. 1 col. 1 www.newspapers.com: accessed 4 January 2022.

Census records. USA. New York City, New York. 1 June 1855. STADTMILLER, Henry (head) ED 1, [unpaged] family #115. Ancestry.com: accessed 2 Jun3 2020.

Census records USA. Reno, Washoe, Nevada. 1 Jun 1900. MARTIN, Wm O (head) ED 41 p. 18 B. Ancestry.com: accessed 6 May 2020.

Census records. USA. New York City, New York, New York. 1 June 1870. STADTMULLER, Henry (head) p. 40. Ancestry.com: accessed 2 June 2020.

Marriages (CR) USA. Empire City, Ormsby, Nevada. 10 June 1873. MARTIN, Wm O. and STADTMULLER, Louise. p. 223. Collection: Nevada County Marriages, 1862-1993. www.familysearch.org: accessed 1 June 2020.

District of Columbia Department of Corrections [USA]. Register April 1917-September 1918 Washington Asylum Jail. p. 248, prisoner 388. Lucy Burns Museum. 9518 Workhouse Way, Lorton, Virginia.

District of Columbia Department of Corrections [USA]. Register April 1917-September 1918 Washington Asylum Jail. p. 248, prisoner 388. Lucy Burns Museum. 9518 Workhouse Way, Lorton, Virginia.

"'Suffs' Go to Jail." The Washington Herald. 18 July 1917. p. 2 col. 4-5. www.newspapers.com: accessed 4 January 2022.

Pickets, In Gray Garb, "Begin Occoquan Term Turning Out Overalls." The Washington Times. 18 July 1917. p. 2 col. 1-2. www.newspapers.com: accessed 4 January 2022.

"Suffs Are Pardoned." The Washington Herald. 20 July 1917. p. 2 col. 2-3. www.newspapers.com: accessed 4 July 2022.

back to top