Eliphlet Martin

Lifespan: 1869 – 1956

FamilySearch ID: G9VT-JCS

Summary

Born April 1869 (“April 1[7], 1869” per his obituary — day OCR-uncertain) in the town of Sevastopol “to Mr. and Mrs. Harry Martin.” Known as “Life” (Gerald’s obituary, his own 1956 obituary) and “Lile” (1920 census index). Real name Eliphlet — a biblical name (Hebrew: “God is my deliverance”), commonly nicknamed “Life/Lif” in 19th century America. Youngest of nine children in the household of Henry Martin (b. near Belfast, Ireland) and Eliza (Hutchinson) Peters Martin (b. Canada) — the older household children were likely Eliza’s from her first marriage (see henry-martin.md). Listed as “Elipalet” age 1 in the 1870 Door County census. Married Mildred Guernsey, October 1/2, 1901, Sturgeon Bay (obituary says Oct 1; WHS index Oct 2). Lived on Peter Street, later 32[6?] North 3rd Avenue, Sturgeon Bay. Occupation: laborer; also farmed — “the Lifelet Martin farm on the Egg Harbor road” (1966 Advocate retrospective). Family attended Christian Science Society. Four children: Gerald, John, Donna, Henry. Died Sunday morning, August 5, 1956, at Door County Memorial Hospital, age 87. Funeral Aug 7, Stevenson’s funeral home; buried Bayside Cemetery (FindAGrave #130255262).

Relationships

• Father: Henry Martin (1831–1896) — born in Ireland. FamilySearch ID: LYS2-3P2. The Irish ancestor that Betty (Schmidt) Krumpos remembered.
• Mother: Eliza Hutchinson (c. 1830–1884) — born in Canada (per 1870 census; parents English/Scottish). FamilySearch ID: K814-2YL. Died when Eliphlet was ~15.
• Siblings (8 older, per 1870 Door County census):
  1. Elias Martin (b. c. 1853, New York)
  2. Charles Martin (b. c. 1856, Wisconsin)
  3. John Martin (b. c. 1857, Wisconsin)
  4. Eliza Martin (sister, b. c. 1860, Wisconsin)
  5. William Martin (b. c. 1861, Wisconsin)
  6. Henry Martin Jr. (b. c. 1865, Wisconsin)
  7. James Martin (b. c. 1866, Wisconsin)
  8. David Martin (b. c. 1867, Wisconsin)
  • Eliphlet was the youngest of nine children.
• Wife: Mildred Amelia Guernsey (Mar 21, 1880, Ionia, Michigan – Dec 15, 1971, Sturgeon Bay). FamilySearch ID: G9VT-4B1.
• Children:
  • Gerald E. Martin Sr. (Mar 8, 1903–Jun 14, 1931) — direct line. m. Hazel Mielke. FamilySearch ID: G9VT-66L.
  • John A. Martin (1907–1997) — Sturgeon Bay. FamilySearch ID: G9VT-NLB.
  • Donna C. Martin (1909–2009) — m. Herlache. Lived to 100. FamilySearch ID: LL4V-BXZ.
  • Henry E. Martin (1911–2001) — m. Viola Rupp (1910–1953). FamilySearch ID: GFHK-MYJ.

Sources

• FamilySearch Family Tree — Eliphlet Martin, G9VT-JCS. Parents: Henry Martin (LYS2-3P2) and Eliza Hutchinson (K814-2YL). Wife: Mildred Amelia Guernsey Martin (G9VT-4B1). Four children with FamilySearch IDs.
• 1920 US Census, Door County, Wisconsin, ED 69, Sturgeon Bay Ward 1, Sheet 10A — “Life Martin” (indexed as “Lile”), Head, age 49, married, white. Birthplace: Wisconsin. Father’s birthplace: Ireland. Mother’s birthplace: England. Language: English. Occupation: Laborer. Household #222.
• 1900 US Census — Life Martin, Wisconsin. Birthplace: Wisconsin. (Confirmed by user.)
• 1910 US Census — Life Martin, Wisconsin. Birthplace: Wisconsin. (Confirmed by user.)
• 1870 US Census, Door County, Wisconsin — “Elipalet” Martin, age 1, born Wisconsin. Youngest of 9 children of Henry Martin (39, Ireland, Farmer) and Eliza (40, Canada). Two pages of the household.
• Gerald Martin obituary, Door County News, June 18, 1931 — “the son of Mr. and Mrs. Life Martin.” Funeral at parents’ home on Peter Street, Sturgeon Bay.
• His own obituary — FOUND 2026-07-15. Door County Advocate, Tuesday, August 7, 1956, Obituaries column, as “Life Martin” (which is why prior searches for “Eliphlet” failed). OCR verbatim: “Life Martin, 87, 32[6?] North 3rd Avenue died at the Door Co. Memorial hospital Sunday morning, Aug. 5. He was born April 1[7], 1869 in the town of Sevastopol to Mr. and Mrs. Harry Martin. He lived in Door county all of his life. On Oct. 1, 1901 he married Mildred Guernsey in Sturgeon Bay. She survives him. Other survivors are: two sons, Jack and Henry, Green Bay; six grandchildren and ten great-grandchildren. Funeral services were Tuesday, August 7 at 2:00 p.m. from Stevenson’s funeral home. Burial was at Bayside cemetery. The pallbearers were: Chester Ostrom, Eli and Vernon Gilbert, John, William and Lloyd Walker.”
• Card of Thanks, Advocate, Aug 14, 1956: “…the death of our beloved Husband and Father, Life Martin. — Mrs. Life Martin, Mr. and Mrs. Jack Martin, Mr. and Mrs. Henry Martin.”
• WHS pre-1907 marriage index [CONFIRMED]: “Martin, Elephlet | October 2, 1901 | Door | Vol 2, p. 217, Index Vol R, seq 04546” (MR1532805) — orderable; era records name both parents, so this independently re-tests the “Nancy Storm” grandparents claim.
• Advocate retrospectives: 1961-09-28 “60 Years Ago” reprints the license — “Eliphlet Martin and Mildrege Guernsy, Sevastopol” (~Sept 1901); 1966-04-14: “Herman Moeller has leased the Lifelet Martin farm on the Egg Harbor road.”

Research Notes

Name

• Eliphlet is the true given name. Confirmed by FamilySearch and 1870 census (written as “Elipalet”). “Life” and “Lile” are nicknames/phonetic renderings of the common 19th century short form of Eliphalet/Eliphlet → “Lif” → “Life.”
• Four spellings across four documents: Elipalet (1870 census), Eliphlet (FamilySearch), Lile (1920 census index), Life (1931 obituary).
• Eliphalet is a biblical name (2 Samuel 5:16, 1 Chronicles 3:8) — a Puritan/Protestant naming tradition. His eldest brother Elias also has a biblical name; the other seven siblings got common English names.

Irish ancestry — CONFIRMED

• Henry Martin (1831–1896) — born in Ireland, Don’s 4x great-grandfather. The Irish ancestor Betty remembered.
• Eliza Hutchinson (c. 1830–1884) — born in Canada (per 1870 census), not England as Eliphlet reported in 1920. Her parents (Thomas Hutcheson, Sophia Miller) were English/Scottish — Eliphlet likely reported his mother’s ethnic origin rather than her actual birthplace, 36 years after her death.
• Henry emigrated from Ireland to New York (eldest son Elias born there c. 1853), then moved to Door County, Wisconsin by c. 1856. Likely a Famine-era emigrant.
• By 1870, Henry was a farmer with $1,000 in real estate and 9 children. The youngest — Eliphlet — carried the family forward to Don’s line.
• Martin is the 10th most common surname in Ireland, particularly concentrated in County Galway.

Family longevity

• Eliphlet: died 1956, age ~87
• Mildred: died 1971, age 91
• John A.: died 1997, age 90
• Donna C.: died 2009, age 100
• Henry E.: died 2001, age 90
• Gerald was the tragic exception — died 1931, age 28. The only short life in a family of near-centenarians.

Donna C. Herlache

• A daughter not mentioned in Gerald’s 1931 obituary (she wasn’t among “survivors” listed — possibly she was listed under a married name we didn’t recognize, or the obituary only listed Gerald’s brothers). Born 1909, married Herlache (a Door County Belgian surname). Lived to 100.

Eliphlet’s obituary — FOUND [2026-07-15]

• Full text in Sources. Key notes:
  • Confirms parents (“to Mr. and Mrs. Harry Martin”) and gives birth month April 1869 and birthplace town of Sevastopol.
  • “Two sons, Jack and Henry, Green Bay” — Jack = John A. Note it places both sons in Green Bay (file previously had John in Sturgeon Bay).
  • Donna is omitted from the survivors — the second obituary in a row (after Gerald’s 1931) to skip her. She was alive (d. 2009). Estrangement? Married-name confusion? Worth a look at her own record trail someday.
  • Pallbearers were Walkers (John, William, Lloyd) — echoing “Mrs. Chas. Walker,” the married daughter/stepdaughter who signed Henry’s 1896 Card of Thanks. The Walker connection spans 60 years.
  • Mildred’s death date: file says Dec 15, 1971; the Bayside FindAGrave listing says Dec 20, 1971 — minor discrepancy, unresolved.
• Archive search-spelling key: “Lifelet”, “Life Martin”, “Eliphlet”, index spelling “Elephlet”.

Naming patterns

• Eliphlet named his sons John and Henry — the same names as two of his brothers in the 1870 household. Gerald named his son Henry too. Family names carrying forward across generations.
• The eldest and youngest of Henry’s nine children both got biblical names (Elias, Elipalet). The middle seven got standard English names (Charles, John, William, Henry, James, David, Eliza).

Next steps

1. Eliphlet’s obituary (1956) — FOUND (see Sources).
2. Order his Oct 2, 1901 marriage record (WHS Vol 2, p. 217, seq 04546) — names both parents; re-tests “Nancy Storm” independently of Henry’s 1862 record.
3. Oct 5, 1901 Advocate & Democrat — wedding write-up likely; also the 1890 “Lifelet” items (Jan 11 / Feb 8 / Sep 6, 1890) in the Door archive.
4. 1880 census — “Elipalet”/“Eliphlet Martin” age ~11 in Henry Martin’s household, Door County.
5. Henry Martin’s death record (1896) — confirmed never state-registered (WHS index absence).
6. Eliza’s Canadian origin — where in Canada? Ontario most likely.
7. The Donna omission — check her marriage record / Herlache family sources.