William Martin was born on December 5, 1852 at Griggs ville, Illinois
     and married Comora Anice Scott on February 11, 1883 at Scottsville in
     Sullivan County, Missouri.
       In February 1884, William, along with his father and mother, George
     Washington Martin Jr. and Susan Durham Ayers Martin, came to Barber
     County. They settled in the area along what is called the 'Ridge,'
     between Medicine Lodge and Isabel, where George bought his claim and
     William filed. Some of their close neighbors were the families of B.F.
     Coffman, J.P. Gibson, Dr. I.W. Stout and Archibald Taylor (brother of
     M.E. Bishop William Taylor).
       George immediately began to build a house that was somewhat remarkable
     in construction. The middle room was built around the windmill with the
     tower going through the roof, thus providing a vertual springhouse inside.
     The large tank of water at the base provided a constant supply of water
     for drinking and kept their food cool. Here George and Susan lived with
     their two youngest son, Charles and Edwin, and two grandchildren, Russell
     and Minnie.
       William started to work on his "Prove Up" shanty and in May, 1884, he
     sent for his wife, Comora, and six-month old daughter, Coila. Comora
     arrived at Harper, Kansas, which was the end of the ATSF Railroad line,
     on the night of May 26th. She spent the night in a room over a saloon
     with her baby and a young, frightened girl who had boarded the train in
     Kansas City.
       On May 27, 1884, William arrived in Harper and he and his young family
     started the 45 mile trip to his parent's home, where they lived until
     their own cabin was finished. Comora made the trip, that took all day,
     holding her baby in her lap whild sitting in a rocking chair on top of
     the lumber that was to complete their new home.
       Living on a claim can be a lonely existence, and as William took up
     hauling freigh to supplement their income, there were times when Comora
     and Coy would be all alone. In the fall of 1884, at the end of the pre-
     emption period, William and his family moved to Medicine Lodge for the
     winter, and took up residence at the corner of Main and Lincoln. Comora 
     opened a dressmaking and millinery shop and William continued to haul
     freight to the surrounding towns.
       On September 16, 1893, William made the run into Oklahoma when the
     Cherokee Strip was opened. He staked a claim 5 1/2 miles southeast of
     Alva and built a three-room house. Here the family would live part-time
     from March 16, 1894 to 1898. Comora and her four children made many trips
     between Medicine Lodge and Alva in a one-horse buggy. They had to ford
     the Salt Fork River which was very treacherous at times.
       William became an implement salesman for the Noble and Case Hardware
     Store in Medicine Lodge and set up the first harvesting machines in this
     part of Kansas and northern Oklahoma. He also was a painter and went into
     a meat market with G.W. Shaw. He was on the city council for many years 
     and while water superintendent helped plan the first city water system,
     which brought the water from Elm Creek, noth of town, in an irrigation
     ditch.
       William had a high sense of humor but was always ready to help in times
     of trouble. He was one of many men to respond when Pete Parsons and Nick
     Purdy were missing in Sugar Lake. William found both boy's bodies and
     brought them to the surface. Several years later when Walter and Leroy
     Moore broke through the ice on the lake, William brought up the surviving
     Leroy and returned to find the body of Walter. Soon thereafter, Sugar
     Lake was drained.
       William and Comora were active members of the Methodist Church, in both
     Medicine Lodge and Alva. Comora helped set up the first Sunday School in
     Alva and participated in all aspects of church life. William even became
     a tradition as the Santa Claus at the Christmas party. Their home became
     the stopping place for the church circuit riders of the era.
       William and Comora Martin had seven children: Coila Anice (married Elbert
     Hall and their children and grandchildren are still living in Harper County);
     William Scott; Alice Belle (married Riley W. MacGregor and is living in
     Medicine Lodge); Minis Ayers; Florence Kathryn (married Lester Stone and 
     lived in Barber and Harper Counties for many years and is still living in
     Kiowa, Kansas); Arthur Albert (married Laverne Huse and is living in Topeka,
     Kansas); Rubert Garnet (married Beulah Fair and is living in Lyons, Kansas).
       After William's sudden death on June 8, 1919, Comora opened a hemstitching
     and dress goods shop in their home at the corner of Cherry and Lincoln in
     Medicine Lodge. She died on March 23, 1945.
                
     Source:Chosen Land - Barber County, Kansas, pg. 318