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SIDNEY C. MARTIN, M. D., who has been engaged in the practice of medicine and surgery at Anna, Illinois, for more than a quarter of a century, is one of the leading members of the profession in Southern Illinois, and has also identified himself with business and public life. Dr. Martin was born in Union county, January 10, 1851, and is a son of Samuel and Matilda (McElhaney) Martin, both families having located in Union county at an early day.
Samuel Martin was born in Jackson county, Alabama, in 1824, and was six years of age when brought to Union county by his parents, who located on a farm about five miles east of Anna, and in 1851 they moved to Fort Worth, Texas, where they died. He grew to manhood on the old homestead, and spent his life in farming, becoming one of the leading agriculturists of his day and serving as county treasurer and assessor for five years. His wife was born in Jonesboro, Illinois, in 1827, her parents having settled in Union county ten years previous to that time, and owned a farm where the town of Jonesboro now stands. Samuel Martin died at Anna in 1898. The youth of Sidney C. Martin was spent much the same as other farmers' boys, and his preliminary education was secured in the common schools. After three years' study in the medical department of the Northwestern University, Chicago, he was graduated in 1884 and at once settled in Anna, where he formed a partnership with Dr. J. I. Hale, with whom he continued to be associated until 1909. Dr. E. V. Hale, son of the elder Hale, was admitted to the firm in 1897, and on the dissolution of partnership in 1909, the younger member and Mr. Martin formed a connection that has lasted to the present time. Dr. Martin is recognized as one of the eminent members of the Union county medical profession, and for some years acted as president of the Union County Medical Society. He also belongs to the Illinois, Southern Illinois and American organizations, and is now serving in the office of health official, a position which he has held on several previous occasions. Dr. Martin adheres to the principles of the Republican party, and for fifteen years has served very acceptably as a member of the school board. The greater part of his time and atttention have been given to his extensive practice, but he has also found time to identify himself with several large business enterprises, being at present the president of the Anna Lumber Company, a director in the First National Bank of Anna, and a stockholder in the Anna Building and Loan Association and the Union Fruit Package Company. He is a popular member of the Commercial Club, and belongs to Anna Blue Lodge No. 520, A. F. & A. M., in which he has held several offices.
In 1892, Dr. Martin was married to Miss Minnie Boettner, of Jonesboro, Illinois, daughter of J. C. and Julia Boettner, and one daughter was born to this union: Esther, born in 1895, who resides at home and is now a student in the Union Academy. A close student, a careful observer, full of energy and possessed of executive ability, Dr. Martin has attained a high position in his profession, while the extensive nature of the various enterprises with which he has been connected has given him a prominent standing in the business world of Union county.