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Submitted: 11/23/14 • Approved: 12/1/14 • Last Updated: 3/14/15 • R1053196-G0-S3
CAPTAIN Company A 10 Arkansas Infantry
Civil War Confederate
February 20, 1835 - December 10, 1911
Source Information:
National Park Service. U.S. Civil War Soldiers
Film Number:
M376 roll 15
Inscription on stone;
As Soldier, Business Man, Mayor, Citizen, Philanthropist, and Churchman, Captain Martin was a Pioneer and a Leader of Men. His Investment of the Time, Thought and Money in Hendrix College has Multiplied itself a Thousand Fold, and will Share for all time in the Contributions of the College to Human Welfare.
Captain W.W. Martin, as referenced by "Captain W.W. Martin, Friend of Man, Hendrix Brochures Number three, written by Elmer T. Clark..
"Some men are immortalized by the heroic deeds they do. Some by the exalted positions they occupy or by the wealth they accumulate." But Captain W.W. Martin, greatest philanthropist and private citizen that Arkansas ever produced, is immortal for another reason. He was a friend of man..
He was a brave soldier for the "lost cause," but was never called a military hero. He was a leader in civic affairs, but never occupied, nor did he aspire to occupy, a place of power. In business he was successful and did prosper, but he was never a man of great wealth. But he was a great friend..
In 1899 it was desired to remove Hendrix College from Altus to a more central location, and Captain Martin was determined that the institution should be secured for Conway. He had no large means, but he at once offered to give $10,000 to the fund and challenged his fellow citizens to follow him..
They did follow him. The Captain and sixteen others, personally signed bankable notes and appeared before the board of trustees on March 4, 1890. They were successful. Hendrix College was moved to Conway. Hardships came along that tired men's souls, and became the lot of Hendrix, but always Captain Martin stood staunchly by. The life of man and institution have been and are inseparably linked." End of quote..
Through reading this booklet, it is obvious that Captain Martin spent his entire life working for the beginning and upkeep of Hendrix College. He worked to keep it going, and to have it deeply planted, strong before his death. It is stated in the booklet that just as Harvard has a statue of their founder on campus so should and does Hendrix College. He personally attended the funeral of President McKinley, a Federal Major, in a blinding snow storm. He thus contracted a severe cold from which he never recovered and died on December 10, 1911, and was buried at Martinsville. His remains were brought to Conway in 1919, and interred on the campus of the college he loved, there to rest n death where his heart dwelled in life. He made a permanent investment of everything that he possessed; it can never be dissipated, moth and time cannot corrupt it and thieves cannot break through to steal it..
This investment will pay wonderful dividends, too. He had no sons in life. But through Hendrix College, he will have many thousands of the brainiest and the best. For" he was a friend to man.".
On the back of the brochure, there is a wrote by the then Governor of the State of Arkansas, "Captain Martin is easily Arkansas' greatest philanthropist. Through his social reforms and through this institution, Hendrix College, founded by him, he projected his life further into the future and perhaps will type the civilization of the adopted state longer and more completely that any other of her citizens."
Contributed on 11/23/14 by hawkinsdonna
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Record #: 1053196