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François Xavier Martin (March 17, 1762 – December 10, 1846), was a Franco-American lawyer and author, the first Attorney General of State of Louisiana, and longtime Justice of the
Louisiana Supreme Court The Supreme Court of Louisiana (french: Cour suprême de Louisiane) is the highest court and court of last resort in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The modern Supreme Court, composed of seven justices, meets in the French Quarter of New Orlea ...
. Born in
Marseille Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Franc ...
, he moved to
Martinique Martinique ( , ; gcf, label=Martinican Creole, Matinik or ; Kalinago: or ) is an island and an overseas department/region and single territorial collectivity of France. An integral part of the French Republic, Martinique is located in th ...
in 1780, and then immigrated to North Carolina just before the end
American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...
. He was appointed as Attorney General of the
Territory of Orleans The Territory of Orleans or Orleans Territory was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from October 1, 1804, until April 30, 1812, when it was admitted to the Union as the State of Louisiana. History In 1804, ...
after the
Louisiana Purchase The Louisiana Purchase (french: Vente de la Louisiane, translation=Sale of Louisiana) was the acquisition of the territory of Louisiana by the United States from the French First Republic in 1803. In return for fifteen million dollars, or app ...
; he also helped untangle layers of French and Spanish colonial law in the territory and subsequent state of Louisiana. His legal writing and reviews of cases was important to codification of Louisiana law in the 1820s. Likely his most well-known case in his decade as Chief Justice of the Louisiana Supreme Court was that of the
freedom suit Freedom suits were lawsuits in the Thirteen Colonies and the United States filed by slaves against slaveholders to assert claims to freedom, often based on descent from a free maternal ancestor, or time held as a resident in a free state or ter ...
of
Sally Miller Sally Miller, born Salomé Müller (c. 1814 – ?), was an American woman slavery, enslaved sometime in the late 1810s, whose freedom suit in Louisiana was based on her claimed status as a free Germans, German immigrant and indentured servant born ...
, in ''Miller v. Belmonti'' (1845 La). The court ruled to free Miller, a slave of obvious European descent, in part based on her appearance; the presumption was that she was "white" (European American), and the defendants had not sufficiently proved that she was enslaved. The decision was unpopular in the
South South is one of the cardinal directions or Points of the compass, compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Pro ...
and contributed to the Louisiana Constitutional Convention's abolishing the state Supreme Court in March 1846, ending Martin's career at the age of 84. The following day, the convention reinstated the court but did not reappoint Martin or his five colleagues.


Early life and career

Martin was born in
Marseille Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Franc ...
,
France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
, and was of Provençal descent. In 1780 as a young man he went to the French colony of
Martinique Martinique ( , ; gcf, label=Martinican Creole, Matinik or ; Kalinago: or ) is an island and an overseas department/region and single territorial collectivity of France. An integral part of the French Republic, Martinique is located in th ...
in the
Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...
.''Celebration of the Centenary of the Supreme Court of Louisiana'' (March 1, 1913), in John Wymond, Henry Plauché Dart, eds., ''The Louisiana Historical Quarterly'' (1922), p. 114. Before the close of the
American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...
, Martin immigrated to
North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...
. In
New Bern New Bern, formerly called Newbern, is a city in Craven County, North Carolina, United States. As of the 2010 census it had a population of 29,524, which had risen to an estimated 29,994 as of 2019. It is the county seat of Craven County and t ...
, he taught French and learned
English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...
by typesetting as a printer. He set up a
printing Printing is a process for mass reproducing text and images using a master form or template. The earliest non-paper products involving printing include cylinder seals and objects such as the Cyrus Cylinder and the Cylinders of Nabonidus. The ea ...
business, and printed a number of books, and the ''
North-Carolina Gazette The ''North Carolina Gazette'' was the first newspaper published in North Carolina, then the Province of North Carolina. It originally published from 1751 and continued to be published for approximately eight years, during which time it was disc ...
'' newspaper in North Carolina. After
reading the law Reading law was the method used in common law countries, particularly the United States, for people to prepare for and enter the legal profession before the advent of law schools. It consisted of an extended internship or apprenticeship under the ...
at an established firm, he was admitted to the North Carolina
bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar * Chocolate bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud * Bar (u ...
in 1789. He published various legal books, edited ''Acts of the North Carolina Assembly from 1715 to 1803'' (2nd ed., 1809), and translated
Pothier Pothier is a French surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Robert Joseph Pothier (1699–1772), French jurist and writer on contract law * Toussaint Pothier (1771–1845) Canadian businessman, seigneur and political figure in Lower Cana ...
's ''Traité des obligations''.


Political career

François Martin was elected as a member of the lower house of the
North Carolina General Assembly The North Carolina General Assembly is the Bicameralism, bicameral legislature of the Government of North Carolina, State government of North Carolina. The legislature consists of two chambers: the North Carolina Senate, Senate and the North Ca ...
, where he served in 1806 to 1807. In 1809 he was appointed
Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...
of the
Territory of Orleans The Territory of Orleans or Orleans Territory was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from October 1, 1804, until April 30, 1812, when it was admitted to the Union as the State of Louisiana. History In 1804, ...
(future
U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...
of
Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...
), recently acquired by the U.S. under the
Louisiana Purchase The Louisiana Purchase (french: Vente de la Louisiane, translation=Sale of Louisiana) was the acquisition of the territory of Louisiana by the United States from the French First Republic in 1803. In return for fifteen million dollars, or app ...
. The law there was in a chaotic condition, as French law had preceded Spain's taking over the territory in 1763 and imposing their
code In communications and information processing, code is a system of rules to convert information—such as a letter, word, sound, image, or gesture—into another form, sometimes shortened or secret, for communication through a communication ...
in some respects. For instance, although the Spanish governor
O'Reilly O'Reilly ( ga, Ó Raghallaigh) is a group of families, ultimately all of Irish Gaels, Gaelic origin, who were historically the kings of East Bréifne in what is today County Cavan. The clan were part of the Connachta's Uí Briúin Bréifne kin ...
had issued a proclamation in 1769 banning Indian slavery, the protests from French slaveholders convinced him to let them retain slaves of Indian descent while
the Crown The Crown is the state in all its aspects within the jurisprudence of the Commonwealth realms and their subdivisions (such as the Crown Dependencies, overseas territories, provinces, or states). Legally ill-defined, the term has different ...
reviewed the policy. By the time of the U.S. territorial annexation, the status of slaves of mixed
African African or Africans may refer to: * Anything from or pertaining to the continent of Africa: ** People who are native to Africa, descendants of natives of Africa, or individuals who trace their ancestry to indigenous inhabitants of Africa *** Ethn ...
and Native American descent was still unsettled. The American territorial administration began to try to create laws consistent with its own tradition, and in 1808 the '' Digest of the Civil Laws'' was adopted by Orleans Territorial legislature. It was an adaptation by
James Brown James Joseph Brown (May 3, 1933 – December 25, 2006) was an American singer, dancer, musician, record producer and bandleader. The central progenitor of funk music and a major figure of 20th century music, he is often referred to by the honor ...
and
Louis Moreau-Lislet Louis Moreau-Lislet (Dondon, 7 October 1766 – New Orleans, 3 December 1832) was an American jurist and translator. He is considered one of the fathers of the Louisiana Civil Code, which he drafted together with James Brown and Edward Livingston ...
of the Code of Napoleon, which repealed the Spanish ''fueros'', ''partidas'', ''recompilationes'', and laws of the Indies as they conflicted with its provisions. In 1811 and 1813, Martin published reports of cases decided by the superior court of the Territory of Orleans.


Attorney-general and supreme court judge

In February 1813, Martin was appointed
Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...
by the elected governor of the newly established state of
Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...
, serving until 1815. In 1816 he published two volumes, one in French and one in English, of ''A General Digest of the Acts of Legislatures of the Late Territory of Orleans and of the State of Louisiana''. For the period until 1830, he regularly wrote and published reports of the decisions of the state supreme court. Respected for his learning, Martin was appointed presiding judge of the
State Supreme Court In the United States, a state supreme court (known by #Terminology, other names in some states) is the supreme court, highest court in the State court (United States), state judiciary of a U.S. state. On matters of State law (United States), st ...
, serving a decade (1836–1846) in this position. In 1845, Martin and his court issued the final ruling in the widely publicized case of ''Miller v. Belmonti'' (1845 La), which was a
freedom suit Freedom suits were lawsuits in the Thirteen Colonies and the United States filed by slaves against slaveholders to assert claims to freedom, often based on descent from a free maternal ancestor, or time held as a resident in a free state or ter ...
initiated by supporters of
Sally Miller Sally Miller, born Salomé Müller (c. 1814 – ?), was an American woman slavery, enslaved sometime in the late 1810s, whose freedom suit in Louisiana was based on her claimed status as a free Germans, German immigrant and indentured servant born ...
. She was a light-skinned slave believed by some in the German immigrant community to be Salomé Müller. Known as the "Lost German Slave Girl", as a grown woman Miller was found living as a slave. Müller had immigrated as a young child with her family, and her father had signed an indenture agreement covering the whole family to pay their passage. A few weeks after the family left New Orleans to work, the father and son were reported to have died, but no one knew what became of the two young girls, Dorothea, six, and Salomé four.Carol Wilson, "Sally Muller, the White Slave"
''Louisiana History'', Vol. 40, accessed 8 March 2011
Members of the German-American community believed that Sally Miller was Müller. They arranged for an attorney to file a
freedom suit Freedom suits were lawsuits in the Thirteen Colonies and the United States filed by slaves against slaveholders to assert claims to freedom, often based on descent from a free maternal ancestor, or time held as a resident in a free state or ter ...
for her against Miller's owners, challenging her slave status on the grounds that she was a native-born European. Much contradictory evidence was introduced, and the documentation and claimed identities were confusing. A lower court ruled that Miller had been sold as a legal slave, but Martin and the justices of the supreme court ruled that she was free. Their decision in ''Miller v. Belmonti'' (1845 La) included the following statement:
That on the law of slavery in the case of a person visibly appearing to be a white man, or an Indian, the presumption is he is free, and it is necessary for his adversity to show that he is a slave.
It was an unpopular decision in a time and place where many slaves were mixed race and appeared to be "white". The case highlighted the prevalence of interracial relationships between white men and enslaved women that resulted in mixed-race children. In addition, the
abolitionist Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the movement to end slavery. In Western Europe and the Americas, abolitionism was a historic movement that sought to end the Atlantic slave trade and liberate the enslaved people. The British ...
movement was then viewed as a threat to the culture and cotton economy of the South. Martin's eyesight had begun to fail when he was seventy; after 1836 he could no longer write opinions with his own hand and would dictate them. He refused to resign from the court. As a consequence, together with his court's unpopular decision above, in March 1846 the Louisiana State Constitutional Convention abolished the Supreme Court, ending Martin's career as a jurist. When the Convention reconstituted the court the following day, it did not reappoint Martin or his fellow five justices. That year he died in
New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster.
; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...
in December 1846. His
holographic will A holographic will, or olographic testament, is a will and testament which is a holographic document, i.e. it has been entirely handwritten and signed by the testator. Historically, a will had to be signed by witnesses attesting to the validity ...
in favor of his brother in France (written in 1841 and devising property worth nearly $400,000) was unsuccessfully contested by the state of Louisiana. The state argued that the will was void as a legal and physical impossibility because of Martin's blindness, or as being an attempted fraud on the state. Under the will, the state could not levy the customary 10% estate tax since the property went to Martin's heirs in France.


Published works

* Edited ''Acts of the North Carolina Assembly from 1715 to 1803'' (2nd ed., 1809). * ''A Treatise on Obligations, Considered in a Moral and Legal View''. Newburn, N.C.: Martin & Ogden, 1802 (reprint Union, N.J.: Lawbook Exchange, 1999). Translation of
Robert Joseph Pothier Robert Joseph Pothier (9 January 1699 – 2 March 1772) was a French jurist. Life He was born and passed away at Orléans. He studied law to qualify for the magistracy, and was appointed Judge in 1720 of the Presidial Court of Orléans, following ...
's ''Traité des obligations''. * ''A General Digest of the Acts of Legislatures of the Late Territory of Orleans and of the State of Louisiana'' (1816), published both French and English versions * ''The History of Louisiana, from the Earliest Period''. 2 vols. New Orleans: Gresham, 1827–1829 (reprint Pelican, 1963). * ''The History of North Carolina''. 2 vols. 1829.


Legacy and honors

* Martin earned the name "Father of Louisiana Jurisprudence." His work was the foundation for the work of
Edward Livingston Edward Livingston (May 28, 1764May 23, 1836) was an American jurist and statesman. He was an influential figure in the drafting of the Louisiana Civil Code of 1825, a civil code based largely on the Napoleonic Code. Livingston represented both ...
,
Pierre Derbigny Pierre Augustin Charles Bourguignon Derbigny (June 30, 1769 – October 6, 1829) was the sixth Governor of Louisiana. Born in 1769, at Laon, France, the eldest son of Augustin Bourguignon d'Herbigny who was President of the Directoire de l'Aisne ...
, and
Louis Moreau-Lislet Louis Moreau-Lislet (Dondon, 7 October 1766 – New Orleans, 3 December 1832) was an American jurist and translator. He is considered one of the fathers of the Louisiana Civil Code, which he drafted together with James Brown and Edward Livingston ...
, who wrote the Louisiana codification of 1821–1826. * Elected a member of the
American Antiquarian Society The American Antiquarian Society (AAS), located in Worcester, Massachusetts, is both a learned society and a national research library of pre-twentieth-century American history and culture. Founded in 1812, it is the oldest historical society in ...
in 1812. * Elected to the
Académie de Marseille The Académie de Marseille, officially the Académie des sciences, lettres et arts de Marseille, is a French learned society based in Marseille. It was founded in 1726 and includes those in the city involved in the arts, letters, and sciences. Hi ...
in 1817.MARTIN, François Xavier
in the ''Dictionary of Louisiana Biography'', accessed 19 April 2017.


Notes


References

*


External links


Image of Francois Martin
*
MARTIN, François Xavier
in
Louisiana Historical Association The Louisiana Historical Association is an organization established in 1889 in Louisiana to collect and preserve the history of Louisiana and its archives. The organization was formed, in part, for the operation of New Orleans' Memorial Hall A m ...
's ''Dictionary of Louisiana Biography'' (Scroll down to Martin.)
François-Xavier Martin
in
Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities The Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities is a nonprofit organization dedicated to furthering the education of residents of the state of Louisiana. In its mission, the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities pledges to provide access to and promo ...
' ''KnowLouisiana'' encyclopedia {{DEFAULTSORT:Martin, Francois Xavier 1762 births 1846 deaths American legal writers Members of the North Carolina House of Representatives Louisiana state court judges Louisiana Attorneys General Chief Justices of the Louisiana Supreme Court Freedom suits in the United States United States slavery case law French emigrants to the United States Politicians from New Bern, North Carolina Members of the American Antiquarian Society U.S. state supreme court judges admitted to the practice of law by reading law