Darwin D. Martin Family papers

Collection — Multiple Containers

Identifier: MS-0022-0006

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

Papers, circa 1878-1935, of Darwin D. Martin (1865-1935) of Buffalo, New York, an official of the Larkin Company and an early client of Frank Lloyd Wright. Includes diaries, memorandum books, business and family correspondence, genealogical material and other items concerning Darwin D. Martin, his wife Isabelle Reidpath Martin, and their children Dorothy and Darwin R. Martin. Also included are letters to Martin from his brother William E. Martin of Chicago, 1902-1910, letters to Martin from Elbert Hubbard of the Roycroft Shop, East Aurora, New York, 1893-1912, and letters to Martin from Booker T. Washington, 1901-1915. Some of the correspondence between William E. and Darwin D. Martin concerns the activities of Frank Lloyd Wright. Also included are various memoranda concerning the Darwin D. Martin House designed by Frank Lloyd Wright and a typescript draft of "Romeo and Juliet", 1929(?), which was later incorporated into Frank Lloyd Wright's Autobiography (1932). The bulk of the correspondence between Darwin D. Martin and Frank Lloyd Wright, including additional letters of Darwin D. to William E. Martin, is included in the related "Frank Lloyd Wright Darwin D. Martin Papers" (MS 22.8) available at the University Archives of the State University of New York at Buffalo and in the Special Collections at Stanford University. The University Archives also has architectural plans, contractor's correspondence and photographs of the Darwin D. Martin House and related structures (MS 22).

Dates

circa 1878-1935

Creator

Martin, D.D. (Darwin D.) (Person)

Language of Materials

Collection material in English.

Terms of Access

Darwin D. Martin Family Papers, circa 1878-1935, are open for research.

Copyright

Copyright of papers in the collection may be held by their authors, or the authors' heirs or assigns. Researchers must obtain the written permission of the holder(s) of copyright and the University Archives before publishing quotations from materials in the collection. Most papers may be copied in accordance with the library's usual procedures unless otherwise specified.

Chronology: Martin Family - Frank Lloyd Wright, 1865-1959

1865
: Darwin D. Martin born - Boucville, Madison Co., New York
1867
: Frank Lloyd Wright born - Richland Center, Wisconsin
1869
: Isabelle Reidpath, the future Mrs. Martin, born - Buffalo, New York
1878
: Brothers Darwin D. Martin and Louis Frank Martin selling soap for Larkin Company in New York City
1879
: Darwin D. Martin, aged thirteen, begins work at Larkin Company in Buffalo
1885
: Darwin D. Martin invents cardex
1887
: Frank Lloyd Wright begins studies at the University of Wisconsin
1888
: Darwin D. Martin begins building house on Summit Avenue in Buffalo
1889
: Darwin D. Martin marries Isabelle Reidpath; Frank Lloyd Wright builds Home and Studio in Oak Park
1890
: Frank Lloyd Wright joins Alder and Sullivan; Darwin D. Martin replaces Elbert Hubbard as Secretary of Larkin Soap Company
1893
: Frank Lloyd Wright starts his own practice
1902
: October 29 -- Darwin D. Martin meets Frank Lloyd Wright; Darwin D. Martin purchases site for Martin House Complex, Jewett Parkway
1903
: October 11 - Construction begins on Barton House
1904
: July 20 - Construction begins on Martin House; October - Barton House occupied
1905
: Martin House Complex completed
1910
: Frank Lloyd Wright designs Bar Beach Cottage (Bay Beach, Ontario, Canada) for Darwin D. Martin (unexecuted)
1923
: Darwin D. Martin commissions Frank Lloyd Wright to design a home for James and Dorothy Martin Foster, daughter of Darwin D. Martin (unexecuted)
1925
: Martin retires from the Larkin Company
1926
: Construction begins on Graycliff
1928
: June 20 - Graycliff occupied; Frank Lloyd Wright designs the Blue Sky Mausoleum for Darwin D. Martin's ploy in Buffalo's Forest Lawn Cemetery (unexecuted)
1935
: Darwin D. Martin dies in Buffalo
1936
: Fallingwater (Bear Run, Pennsylvania), designed by Frank Lloyd Wright for the Kaufmanns
1945
: Isabelle R. Martin dies in Buffalo
1959
: Frank Lloyd Wright dies

Chronology: Graycliff, 1926-1997

1926
: April 5 - Darwin D. Martin writes to Frank Lloyd Wright requesting 1910 Bay Beach Cottage design; Darwin D. Martin is considering building on shores of Lake Erie; April 18 - Darwin D. Martin looks at site in Derby, New York; April 19 - Darwin D. Martin purchases 250-foot front on Lake Erie, with 60-foot cliff; April 21 - Darwin D. Martin informs Frank Lloyd Wright that he's not interested in 1910 cottage design, but a two-story stone house designed by Frank E. Newman for E.W. Russell of Greenwich, Connecticut; May 3 - Frank Lloyd Wright sends Darwin D. Martin preliminary drawings; May 5 - Darwin D. Martin informs Frank Lloyd Wright that Isabelle R. Martin is Frank Lloyd Wright's client; August 19-20 - Frank Lloyd Wright in Buffalo to see site; August 27 - Isabelle R. Martin sees the site for first time; September - Construction on garage begun.; September - Due to marital problems, Frank Lloyd Wright asks his son John Lloyd Wright to take over the project; the Martins did not approve the change; November - Frank Lloyd Wright resumes his service to the Martins; construction continues on the site
1927
: April 5-6 - Frank Lloyd Wright visits site; June 4 - Darwin D. Martin writes to Frank Lloyd Wright of the completion of the foundation of the main house; June 15-16 - Frank Lloyd Wright visits site; August 31-September 2 - Chimney and masonry of main house completed; September - Frank Lloyd Wright finalizes designs for landscape, tennis court, circle, and guest house; the guest house was not executed; September - Furniture designs by Frank Lloyd Wright are executed
1928
: March 10, 12 - Furniture bought for main house; June 20 - Martins "open" house; September 20 - Paul A. Harsh, a house guest at Graycliff, suggests the name "Graycliff"
1929
: April - Isabelle R. martin asks Frank Lloyd Wright to design a screened walk to cross the esplanade behind the stone bench for servants; June 15 - Frank Lloyd Wright visits site; July - Martins request Frank Lloyd Wright to design a "concrete tent house" for the Foster family (unexecuted); July - Martins request Frank Lloyd Wright to design a third-floor to main house (unexecuted); July 29 - Construction on evergreen garden, stone seat begun; Frank Lloyd Wright selects and ships furnishings for the main house from Marshall Fields in Chicago; Frank Lloyd Wright suggests wicker and overstuffed chairs fo the main house
1935
: Darwin D. Martin passes away; Isabelle R. Martin continues to summer at the site, and winters with the Foster family
1938
: November - Engineering report on site compiled by G.E. Seitzmiller for insurance purposes
1941
: Isabelle R. Martin continues to summer at the site, but moves into garage apartment
1942
: Isabelle R. martin spends her last summer at the site; she moves permanently to Buffalo to live with the Foster family
1945
: Isabelle R. Martin passes away; Stewardship of the site falls to a holding company belonging to Darwin R. Martin, son of Darwin D. Martin
1950
: Piarist Fathers, a Hungarian order, purchases site from Darwin R. Martin
Mid-1950s
: Chapel addition constructed over south terrace of main house; Garage addition and a storage building constructed
Circa 1956
: School building/dormitory constructed to house Hungarian refugees
1958
: August - Frank Lloyd Wright visits the site
1996
: Piarist Father's place property for sale; Graycliff Conservancy is formed to acquire and restore the site
1997
: October - Graycliff Conservancy signs a contract to purchase the site

Extent

5.71 Linear Feet (10 legal manuscript boxes, 2 half legal manuscript boxes, 1 flat box, 1 oversize flat box, 1 oversize folder)

Additional Description

Abstract

Papers, circa 1878 to 1935, of Darwin D. Martin (1865-1935) of Buffalo, New York, an official of the Larkin Company and an early client of Frank Lloyd Wright.

Arrangement

The collection is arranged in 17 series:

Index
Diaries
Autobiography
Travel Accounts
Diaries, Memorandum Books and Notebooks
Darwin D. Martin, 1880s
Family Correspondence
Elbert Hubbard
Booker T. Washington
Frank Lloyd Wright
Miscellaneous Items
Financial Records
Larkin Company
Genealogy
Darwin R. Martin
Oversize Materials
Miscellaneous

Acquisition Information

Gift to the University Archives, State University of New York at Buffalo, by the Estate of Mildred Martin (Mrs. Darwin R. Martin), in 1983; also includes related documents donated by Darwin R. Martin, son of Darwin D. Martin, in 1976, and 1977; and from the Office of the President, State University of New York at Buffalo, in 1981 and 1983; printed invitation to "Informal Musical" at Martin House on October 11, [no year], donated by Margaret Phillips, December 12, 2000, and added to folder 6.7, ephemera.

Accruals and Additions

No further accruals are expected to this collection.

Alternate Forms

Negatives of photographs are shelved in MS 22.5 box 25.

Transcriptions of selected material in Series V and XV are available online: Darwin D. Martin Family papers digital collection.

Related Materials

For a list of collections related to Darwin D. Martin and Frank Lloyd Wright see the University Archives' research guide at https://research.lib.buffalo.edu/martin-wright/collections.

Photocopies from MS 22.8

Photocopies of some letters from MS 22.8, Boxes 1-2, primarily concerning Martin family affairs or the public life of Darwin D. Martin were added to MS 22.6 as indicated below. The originals of these letters remain in MS 22.8.

Thomas Berry to Darwin D. Martin, December 8, 1904 [Box/Folder 5.37]
Darwin D. Martin to Thomas Berry, June 30, 1905 [Box/Folder 5.37]
Horace Warren to DRM, July 31, 1906 [Box/Folder 5.39]
Darwin D. Martin to Horace Warren, August 7, 1906 [Box/Folder 5.39]
Booker T. Washington to Darwin D. Martin, March 29, 1907 [Box/Folder 5.40]
Darwin D. Martin to W.H. Crosby, October 23, 1908 [Box/Folder 6.8]
Charles Evans Hughes to Darwin D. Martin, November 5, 1908 [Box/Folder 6.8]
Booker T. Washington, July 29, 1909 [Box/Folder 5.40]
John D. Larkin Jr. to Darwin D. Martin, January 28, 1911 [Box 8]
Darwin D. Martin to W.H. Phillips, August 17, 1911 [Box/Folder 5.37]
Darwin D. Martin to Mrs. Maud L. Huffer, May 18, 1912 [Box/Folder 5.37]
L. Gertrude Angell to Darwin D. Martin, September 29, 1913 [Box/Folder 5.37]
Darwin D. Martin to L. Gertrude Angell, October 3, 1913 [Box/Folder 5.37]
Darwin D. Martin to Henry R. Howland, January 7, 1914 [Box/Folder 5.37]
Darwin D. Martin to Josephus Daniels, April 6, 1914 [Box/Folder 5.37]
Josephus Daniels to Darwin D. Martin, April 10, 1914 [Box/Folder 5.37]
Booker T. Washington to Darwin D. Martin, December 28, 1914 [Box/Folder 5.40]
Booker T. Washington to Darwin D. Martin, March 11, 1915 [Box/Folder 5.40]
Booker T. Washington to Darwin D. Martin, October 15, 1915 [Box/Folder 5.40]
Darwin D. Martin to E.J. Ward, October 15, 1915 [Box/Folder 5.37]
E.J. Ward to Darwin D. Martin, December 18, 1915 [Box/Folder 5.37]
John R. Mott to Darwin D. Martin, December 20, 1916 [Box/Folder 5.37]
Darwin D. Martin to Joseph S. Ford, August 27, 1918 [Box 12]
Darwin D. Martin to Isabelle R. Martin, September 21, 1926 [Box/Folder 5.37]
Darwin D. Martin to John Young-Hunter, March 9, 1927 [Box/Folder 5.37]
John Young-Hunter to Darwin D. Martin, Friday, [March?] 29th, [1927?] [Box/Folder 5.37]
Darwin D. Martin to John Young-Hunter, April 1, 1927 [Box/Folder 5.37]
Darwin D. Martin to John Young-Hunter, July 15, 1927 [Box/Folder 5.37]
John Young-Hunter to Darwin D. Martin, undated [Box/Folder 5.37]
Darwin D. Martin to Isabelle R. Martin, September 2, 1927 [Box/Folder 5.37]
Darwin D. Martin to Isabelle R. Martin, September 6, 1927 [Box/Folder 5.37]
Darwin D. Martin to Isabelle R. Martin, September 12, 1927 [Box/Folder 5.37]
Darwin D. Martin to Isabelle R. Martin, September 27, 1927 [Box/Folder 5.37]
Darwin D. Martin to Isabelle R. Martin, September 28, 1927 [Box/Folder 5.37]
Darwin D. Martin to Isabelle R. Martin, September 29, 1927 [Box/Folder 5.37]
Darwin D. Martin to Isabelle R. Martin, October 3, 1927 [Box/Folder 5.37]
Isabelle R. Martin to Darwin D. Martin, October 3, [1928?] [Box/Folder 5.37]
Darwin D. Martin to Isabelle R. Martin, October 4, 1928 [Box/Folder 5.37]
Darwin D. Martin to Isabelle R. Martin, October 2, 1929 [Box/Folder 5.37]
Darwin D. Martin to Isabelle R. Martin, October 3, 1929 [Box/Folder 5.37]
Isabelle R. Martin to Darwin D. Martin, October 4, 1929 [Box/Folder 5.37]
Darwin D. Martin to Isabelle R. Martin, October 4, 1929 [Box/Folder 5.37]
Darwin D. Martin to DRM, March 7, 1930 [Box/Folder 5.37]
Darwin D. Martin to Uncle Will and Aunt Delta, November 2, 1931 [Box/Folder 5.37]
Darwin D. Martin to Delta Barton, 1931 [Box/Folder 5.37]
Darwin D. Martin to Delta and Will, September 5, 1933 [Box/Folder 5.37]

Processing Information

Processed by University Archives staff, 1983. Finding aid revised 1988, 1995. Part of this collection was transcribed by Anita Mitchell in 2014 and published on Digital Collections in 2016.