Darwin D. Martin
| Darwin D. Martin | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
Darwin Denice Martin October 25, 1865 Bouckville, New York |
| Died | December 17, 1935 (aged 70) Buffalo, New York |
| Resting place | Forest Lawn Cemetery, Buffalo |
| Occupation | Corporate Secretary of the Larkin Company |
| Spouse(s) | Isabelle Reidpath (m. 1889; his death 1935) |
| Children | Dorothy Martin Foster Darwin R. Martin |
| Parent(s) | Hiram Martin Ann Elizabeth McMannis |
| Relatives | George F. Barton (brother-in-law) |
Darwin Denice Martin (1865–1935) was an early 20th Century New York State businessman best known for the house he commissioned from Frank Lloyd Wright.
Darwin Martin was born on October 25, 1865 to Hiram Martin (1822–1893) and Ann Elizabeth McMannis (1832–1871) in Bouckville, New York, an upstate New York community. His siblings included Louis Franklin ("Frank") Martin, William Martin, Delta Martin (who married George F. Barton), and Maude Martin Huffer. Martin had a difficult childhood, starting with the death of his mother when he was six. Martin's family was separated and Martin, who was the youngest of five, was forced to part ways with all his siblings except for his brother Frank.
The two Martin brothers went to New York City and Darwin obtained a job selling soap. Martin then came by himself to Buffalo to work in the Larkin Company as the first, and at that time the only, hired office-worker of the Larkin Company, as all office work was done by Larkin himself. One of the figures in the company who Martin admired was Elbert Hubbard, an executive. Martin worked ferociously, putting in 361 workdays a year. His efforts enabled the company to expand and rival Sears and Roebuck Co.. He is credited with converting all the company customer records from cumbersome ledgers to efficient card catalogs, a pioneering advance in business record-keeping at the time. In 1890, Darwin D. Martin replaced Hubbard as Corporate Secretary of Larkin Company. One of his assignments was to find an architect to design a new administrative building for the expanding company. His brother, William Martin, who was living in Chicago, recommended a young architect named Frank Lloyd Wright.
While at Larkin, Martin created a unique card ledger system for tracking sales and maintaining accounts which is utilized by many corporations, in various formats, to this day. Martin retired from the Larkin Company in 1925 and in 1929, construction began on Graycliff begins.
Martin and Wright formed a lifelong friendship due to their similar outlooks on family. Although John D. Larkin, the company president, was unimpressed by Wright, Martin convinced Larkin to give Wright the job. By this time Martin had built a considerable fortune and asked Wright to design a house for him as well. This project would become the historic Darwin D. Martin House. Wright had complete freedom and an almost unlimited budget to execute it.
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