Morgan Lewis Martin

Morgan Lewis Martin (March 31, 1805 – December 10, 1887) was an American lawyer, land speculator, Democratic politician, and one of Wisconsin’s founding fathers. He was one of the first lawyers in what is now Wisconsin. He represented the Wisconsin Territory as a delegate to the U.S. House of Representatives during the 29th Congress (1845–1847). He was also president of the constitutional convention that crafted the Constitution of Wisconsin in the winter of 1847–1848, and served in the Council (upper legislative chamber) of the Wisconsin Territory from 1838 to 1844, representing Brown County.

Martin arrived in the area that is now Wisconsin before the Wisconsin Territory was created, when it was still part of the Michigan Territory; he also served in the Michigan Territory legislature in the 1830s. During those early years, he was also instrumental in the development of the city of Milwaukee, Wisconsin; he was a financial partner to Solomon Juneau in his original land claims in what is now Milwaukee, he sketched one of the first maps of the area, assisted Juneau in platting the original Milwaukee village, and assisted in constructing several of the first buildings.

After Wisconsin achieved statehood, he served two years each in the Wisconsin Senate (1858 & 1859) and State Assembly (1855 & 1874). He also served as a Union Army paymaster and U.S. Indian Agent during the 1860s, and served as vice president of the Wisconsin Historical Society and probate judge for Brown County in the last decade of his life.