Paul Martin

Pictures: Top: All dressed up Paul in top left corner; Paul in Army Uniform; Right: Paul's discharge picture Dec. 1918.

Paul Martin was the son of Otto and Johanna (Gustafsdotter) Martin. He was born on the 7 April 1895 in Riverside, Riverside, California. The Martin family had a large farm, that most likely occupied most of his time in his younger years. When Paul was 23 years old he enlisted in the US Army on the 12 of August 1918 to help fight in WWI. His discharge papers included the following physical description, "He had light blue eyes, flaxen hair, ruddy complexion, and was five feet nine inches in height." (1) 

Paul's First Car

He married Myrtle Evelyn Johnson four months after his discharge from the army on the 24 April 1919 in Long Beach, Los Angeles, California. They had two sons William Otto "Bill" 1920-1996 and Raymond Charles "Ray" living. Paul continued to work with his family on the family farm. Although the work was hard labor Paul was able to buy one of the first cars in Riverside. 

(Pictures from the Fuller Ranch, Corona, California: Top Right: Paul and Myrtle; Bottom: Bill and Ray, Paul's sons, on white horse)

Utah Ranch Workers - 1932

Clark Farm outside Cedar City, Utah 1941

In the early 1930s Paul and his brother Walter went to work on the Fuller Ranch in Corona, CA where they successfully raised alfalfa. After a year Mr. Fuller decided to not renew the lease and took over the ranch again. As a result, Paul and his brothers looked for other opportunities to farm, an acquaintance in Los Angeles owned a ranch 40 miles outside of Cedar City, Utah. The brothers original plan, according to his son Ray, was that each brother would spend a year in Utah every three years. Ray was not sure why his father stayed on after the first year but thought it may have been because he liked it and choose to stay. Paul took pride in his alfalfa crop ensuring its premium quality and not becoming like the "Mormon" hay which was very weedy. Paul rented a home for his family to live in Cedar City during the winter so the boys could go to school. However, during the summer the whole family was needed on the ranch to keep it running. The family did this from 1932-1937 when his wife and children returned to Riverside, Riverside, California. Myrtle didn't think that the Utah schools were good enough for their sons who were entering high school and she didn't care for country life, even though Paul rented her a house in Cedar City. They would remain separated 7-9 years before they divorced.

Ray, Bill, Fred Cheney and Paul on farm outside Cedar about 1950

 Paul continued farming in Utah, he eventually bought his own farm near the Clark farm of about 100 acres. He invested in a carrot crop in 1948 and mortgaged his farm to build a packing shed at Beryl, a railroad town, to process the carrots. When the carrot crop failed he traded the farm by New Caste, for a smaller farm in Roosevelt, Utah. 

Christmas of 1956 Paul wasn't feeling well while visiting Ray's family in Salt Lake City. He went to the doctor and was diagnosed with pleurisy. He decided, against the advice of his son to stay in Salt Lake and returned home to Roosevelt. Paul lived in a sheep herder's trailer and his nearest neighbor was two blocks away. He died shortly thereafter alone and was found a day or so later by his neighbor who noticed that there was no smoke coming from his trailer.

I asked my Grandparents, his son Ray and his wife Gloria, to describe him for me. They told me that Paul was a very loving, kind and patient man. He enjoyed talking to and playing with his grandchildren. Paul was a hard worker, he never smoked, and would only drink on rare occasions.  

Note: I interviewed Raymond Charles Martin 17 September 2016 about his father Paul Martin in his home in Salt Lake City, Utah. The data expressed in this post was shared by Ray during that interview, unless otherwise noted.


(1)  1918 Military Discharge Papers, found in Miscellaneous Records book 17 page 284, in the possession of Ray and Gloria Martin