John Ellis Martineau (December 2, 1873 – March 6, 1937) was the 28th

governor of Arkansas A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political r ...

and was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas. His term as Governor was marked by the Great Mississippi Flood of 1927, with Martineau serving as President of the Tri-State Flood Commission.

Education and career

Born on December 2, 1873, in Clay County, Missouri, to Sarah Hetty Lamb and Gregory Martineau, a farmer recently arrived from Quebec, Canada, Martineau received an

Artium Baccalaureus Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

degree in 1896 from the Arkansas Industrial University (now the University of Arkansas) and a Bachelor of Laws in 1899 from the University of Arkansas School of Law. He entered private practice in Little Rock, Arkansas starting in 1899. He was a member of the

Arkansas House of Representatives The Arkansas State House of Representatives is the lower house of the Arkansas General Assembly, the state legislature of the US state of Arkansas. The House is composed of 100 members elected from an equal amount of constituencies across the ...

from 1903 to 1905. He was a Chancellor for the Arkansas Chancery Court for the First Chancery District from 1907 to 1927.

Grant of habeas corpus

While serving on the chancery court, Martineau issued a writ of habeas corpus for defendants in the criminal prosecutions arising out of the Elaine Race Riot in Phillips County in eastern Arkansas. Although the Arkansas Supreme Court later vacated that order, it allowed the defendants enough time to avoid execution and to seek habeas corpus relief in federal court. Their guilty verdicts were eventually reversed by the United States Supreme Court in its decision in '' Moore v. Dempsey''.

Gubernatorial service

Martineau ran unsuccessfully for

Governor of Arkansas A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political r ...

in the 1924

Democratic Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

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. In 1926, he unseated in the primary the one-term incumbent Tom Jefferson Terral and then defeated in the

general election A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...

the Republican attorney

Drew Bowers Drew Bowers (October 19, 1886 – December 15, 1985) was the Republican nominee for governor of Arkansas in 1926 and 1928. Early life and education Milton Drew Bowers, Jr., was born in Randolph County, Arkansas. He was the eighth of 15 chil ...

, originally from Pocahontas in Randolph County, in northeastern Arkansas. Martineau received 76.5 percent of the vote to Bowers's 23.6 percent. Bowers was an

Assistant United States Attorney An assistant United States attorney (AUSA) is an official career civil service position in the U.S. Department of Justice composed of lawyers working under the U.S. Attorney of each U.S. federal judicial district. They represent the federal gove ...

for the Eastern District of Arkansas in both the Coolidge and Eisenhower administrations. Martineau left office early to accept a federal judgeship.

Achievements as governor

Martineau was the first Governor of Arkansas to broadcast his inaugural address on radio. The Martineau administration established a Confederate pensions board and authorized state aid to cities for highway construction through the Martineau Road Plan. Martineau was forced to deal with a major crisis when the Mississippi River broke free of its banks and covered 13 percent of the state during the Great Mississippi Flood of 1927. Martineau was named President of the Tri-State Flood Commission. In May 1927, Martineau called out the National Guard in response to the

lynching Lynching is an extrajudicial killing by a group. It is most often used to characterize informal public executions by a mob in order to punish an alleged transgressor, punish a convicted transgressor, or intimidate people. It can also be an ex ...

of an African-American prisoner by a mob of 2,000 to 5,000 people in Little Rock. Martineau earned the reputation of fairness, integrity, and as a

progressive Progressive may refer to: Politics * Progressivism, a political philosophy in support of social reform ** Progressivism in the United States, the political philosophy in the American context * Progressive realism, an American foreign policy par ...

politician. His role in state politics and effective management of crisis situations further secured his reputation as one of Arkansas better governors and brought him national attention.

Federal judicial service

Martineau was nominated by President

Calvin Coolidge Calvin Coolidge (born John Calvin Coolidge Jr.; ; July 4, 1872January 5, 1933) was the 30th president of the United States from 1923 to 1929. Born in Vermont, Coolidge was a History of the Republican Party (United States), Republican lawyer ...

on March 2, 1928, to a seat on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas vacated by Judge

Jacob Trieber Jacob Trieber (October 6, 1853 – September 17, 1927) was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas. Education and career Born on October 6, 1853, in Raschkow, German Confederatio ...

. He was confirmed by the United States Senate on March 2, 1928, and received his commission the same day. His service terminated on March 6, 1937, due to his death. He was interred in Roselawn Memorial Park in Little Rock.

Memberships

Martineau was a member of the

secret society A secret society is a club or an organization whose activities, events, inner functioning, or membership are concealed. The society may or may not attempt to conceal its existence. The term usually excludes covert groups, such as intelligence a ...

Knights of Pythias The Knights of Pythias is a fraternal organization and secret society founded in Washington, D.C., on . The Knights of Pythias is the first fraternal organization to receive a charter under an act of the United States Congress. It was founded ...

, and the fraternal organization of the

Freemasons Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...

Martineau is an 1894 initiate of the Kappa Sigma - Xi chapter at the University of Arkansas.Xi Chapter: Century of Tradition at the University of Arkansas Contemporaries of Martineau at Xi Chapter included future State Senator and acting Arkansas Governor Xenophon Overton Pindall, future acting Governor Michael Pleasant Huddleston, future Federal Judge

Thomas Clark Trimble III Thomas Clark Trimble III (August 27, 1878 – July 6, 1965) was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas. Education and career Born in Lonoke, Arkansas, Trimble received a Bachelo ...

, and future Congressman and Federal Judge

Samuel Billingsley Hill Samuel Billingsley Hill (April 2, 1875 – March 16, 1958), was a lawyer, mayor, and U.S. congressman from eastern Washington. Born in Franklin, Arkansas, Hill attended the common schools, the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville, and wa ...

References

External links

* Encyclopedia of Arkansas History & Culture entry
John Ellis Martineau
{{DEFAULTSORT:Martineau, John Ellis 1873 births 1937 deaths People from Clay County, Missouri Politicians from Little Rock, Arkansas Democratic Party governors of Arkansas Democratic Party members of the Arkansas House of Representatives Judges of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas United States district court judges appointed by Calvin Coolidge 20th-century American judges University of Arkansas School of Law alumni Lawyers from Little Rock, Arkansas