Clark, Robert Carlton, Ph.D. "History of the Willamette Valley Oregon."  Vol. 3.
Chicago: Chapman Publishing Company, 1927. p. 344.
 
BARNEY SPRINGER MARTIN

     Barney Springer Martin, who has long stood among the leaders of the Marion
county bar, is descended from old pioneer and Revolutionary ancestry, and is
himself the possessor of the qualities that contribute to the highest type of
citizenship, so that he is well entitled to the enviable place which he holds in
public esteem. Born in Benton county, Oregon, on the 10th of February, 1865, he
is a son of Rev. Robert C. and Susan (Springer) Martin, the former born in Boone
county, Missouri, and the latter in Galena, Illinois. The father and two of his
brothers were soldiers in the Mexican war, being mustered out of the service in
1848, and in the following year Mr. Martin became a pilot for emigrant parties
crossing the plains to California. He was in the latter state from 1849 to 1860,
and became a minister of the Methodist Episcopal church South in 1853. In 1860
he and Rev. James Kelsey were sent to Oregon to organize congregations of their
church and arrived at the home of Judge John Kelsey, at Corvallis, December 3,
1860. Rev. Martin did effectual work in the establishment of the church in this
state and in 1865 Mrs. Martin bought a home in Corvallis and there the family
was established. In January,. 1868, they moved to the vicinity of Brownsville,
Linn county, but in the following year moved to Lane county, which was their
home until 1882, when they returned to Brownsville, where Rev. and Mrs. Martin
died, the father's death occurring in 1910. He was a minister of the; Methodist
Episcopal church South for fifty-five years, being a typical circuit rider and
was a torch-bearer of the Gospel in many communities of this state. Susan
Springer was a daughter of Barney D. Springer, a native of New Jersey, who later
lived, in Illinois and Iowa, from which latter state he brought his family
across the plains in 1850, at which time Susan was about twelve years of age.
Mr. Springer took a donation claim in Polk county, Oregon, but later moved to
Amity, this state, where he engaged in farming. He was a man of prominence and
ability and served as territorial marshal of Iowa in 1841. Susan Springer became
the wife of Rev. Robert C. Martin in Benton county, Oregon, in 1862, and among
the children who. blessed their union is he whose name appears at the head of
this review.
     Barney S. Martin received a good public school education, graduating from
the high school at Junction City, Oregon, after which he entered the Oregon
Agricultural College, from which, he was graduated with the degree of Bachelor
of Science. He later attended the University of Oregon and, after reading law
under Colonel John Kelsey, was admitted to the bar in June, 1892. Locating at
Brownsville, Oregon, he engaged in the practice of his profession at Albany, the
county seat, remaining there until 1914, when he came to Salem, where he has
continued to practice to the present time. A man of keen and logical mind,
keeping in close and .constant touch with the latest legal decisions, and
persistent and courageous in the handling- of all causes entrusted to him, he
has been more than ordinarily successful and has won a well deserved reputation
as an able and dependable lawyer.
     On November 5, 1896, Mr. Martin was united in marriage to Miss Elya M.
Savage, who was born in Marion county, Oregon, a daughter of James. F. and
Margaret (Ray) Savage. Her paternal grandfather was Dr. John Savage, who crossed
the plains to Oregon in 1880 and took a donation claim in the Waldo hills. The
mother, was a daughter of Lewis Ray, who came to this state in 1852 and took a
donation claim in Linn county. To Mr. and Mrs. Martin have been born eleven
children, as follows: Zenas F., of Salem; Linden R-, who pursued a law course at
Willamette University and is now associated with his father in practice; Barney
D., who is connected with, the commissary department of the Standard Steamship
Company; Charles: H., who lives in Salem; Verna P., who is a junior in the
Oregon Agricultural College; Susan A., who also is in the Oregon Agricultural
College; Theda M. and Genevieve E., who are in high school; Jean Weldon, who is
in junior high school; Erma Katherine, who is in high school; and one who died
in infancy.
     Politically Mr. Martin has always been aligned with the democratic party
and is deeply interested in public affairs, though not a seeker after office. He
is a member of the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons and the Modem Woodmen of
America, and maintains professional affiliations with the Marion County Bar
Association and the Oregon State Bar Association. He was one of the organizers
of the Sons and Daughters of Pioneers of Linn County, of which he was the first
vice president and later secretary. He is a man of sterling character and stanch
patriotism, the latter quality being strongly inherited through all lines of his
ancestry, as all four of his great-grandfathers were soldiers of the
Revolutionary war, while his paternal grandfather fought under General Jackson
in the War of 1812. He has stood consistently at all times for those thing's
which contribute most to the public welfare and the betterment of community life
and is regarded as one of the dependable and worthy citizens of his city and
county.

     
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Submitted to the Oregon Bios. Project in December 2013 by Diana Smith.
Submitter has no additional information about the person(s) or family mentioned
above.