Francois Xavier Martin facts for kids
François Xavier Martin (born March 17, 1762 – died December 10, 1846) was an important French-American lawyer and writer. He became the first Attorney General of the state of Louisiana. He also served for a long time as a Justice on the Louisiana Supreme Court.
Born in Marseille, France, he moved to Martinique in 1780. Then, he came to North Carolina just before the end of the American Revolutionary War. After the Louisiana Purchase, he was named Attorney General for the Territory of Orleans. This territory later became the state of Louisiana. He helped sort out the many French and Spanish laws that were used there. His legal writings and reviews of court cases were very important for organizing Louisiana's laws in the 1820s.
One of his most famous cases as Chief Justice of the Louisiana Supreme Court was the freedom suit of Sally Miller. This happened in 1845. The court decided to free Miller, who was a slave but looked like she had European heritage. The court believed she was "white" (European American) because of her appearance. The people who claimed she was their slave could not prove it well enough. This decision was not popular in the South. It even led to the Louisiana Constitutional Convention ending the state Supreme Court in March 1846. This finished Martin's career when he was 84 years old. The very next day, the court was brought back, but Martin and his five fellow judges were not reappointed.
Contents
Early Life and Law Career
François Martin was born in Marseille, France. In 1780, as a young man, he traveled to the French colony of Martinique in the Caribbean.
Before the American Revolutionary War ended, Martin moved to North Carolina. In New Bern, he taught French. He learned English by working as a printer, setting type for books and newspapers. He started his own printing business. He printed many books and the North-Carolina Gazette newspaper.
After studying law with an experienced lawyer, he became a lawyer himself in North Carolina in 1789. He wrote several legal books. He also edited Acts of the North Carolina Assembly from 1715 to 1803. He even translated an important French law book called Traité des obligations.
Martin's Political Journey
François Martin was chosen to be a member of the North Carolina General Assembly. He served in this part of the state government from 1806 to 1807.
In 1809, he was appointed Attorney General of the Territory of Orleans. This territory had just been bought by the U.S. in the Louisiana Purchase. The laws in this area were very confusing. French laws were used before Spain took over in 1763 and added their own rules. For example, even though a Spanish governor had tried to ban Native American slavery, French slaveholders protested. So, they were allowed to keep slaves of Native American descent. By the time the U.S. took over, the status of slaves who were part African and part Native American was still unclear.
The new American leaders tried to create laws that fit their own traditions. In 1808, the Digest of the Civil Laws was passed by the Orleans Territorial government. This was a version of the Napoleonic Code. It removed many old Spanish laws that conflicted with its rules.
In 1811 and 1813, Martin published reports about cases decided by the main court of the Territory of Orleans.
Attorney General and Supreme Court Judge
In February 1813, Martin was appointed Attorney General by the governor of the new state of Louisiana. He served in this role until 1815. In 1816, he published two books, one in French and one in English. These books were called A General Digest of the Acts of Legislatures of the Late Territory of Orleans and of the State of Louisiana. Until 1830, he regularly wrote and published reports about the decisions made by the state supreme court.
People respected Martin for his knowledge. He was appointed as the main judge of the State Supreme Court. He served as Chief Justice for ten years, from 1836 to 1846.
The Sally Miller Freedom Suit
In 1845, Martin and his court made the final decision in a very public case called Miller v. Belmonti. This was a freedom suit. A freedom suit was a lawsuit filed by or on behalf of an enslaved person to gain their freedom. This particular case was started by people who supported Sally Miller.
Sally Miller was a light-skinned slave. Some people in the German immigrant community believed she was Salomé Müller. Salomé was known as the "Lost German Slave Girl." As a grown woman, Miller was found living as a slave. Salomé Müller had come to America as a young child with her family. Her father had signed an agreement for the whole family to work to pay for their trip. A few weeks after the family left New Orleans for work, the father and son were reported to have died. But no one knew what happened to the two young girls, Dorothea, age six, and Salomé, age four.
Members of the German-American community thought that Sally Miller was Salomé Müller. They helped an attorney file a freedom suit for her. They argued that she should be free because she was born in Europe, not as a slave. Many different and confusing pieces of evidence were presented. A lower court had ruled that Miller had been legally sold as a slave. However, Martin and the other judges of the supreme court decided that she was free.
Their decision in Miller v. Belmonti (1845) included an important idea:
- If a person looks like they are "white" or Native American, the law assumes they are free. It is up to the person claiming they are a slave to prove it.
This decision was not popular at a time when many enslaved people had mixed heritage and sometimes looked "white." The case showed that many white men had children with enslaved women, leading to mixed-race children. Also, the abolitionist movement, which wanted to end slavery, was seen as a threat to the South's way of life and cotton economy.
End of Martin's Career
Martin's eyesight began to get worse when he was seventy. After 1836, he could no longer write court decisions himself. He had to dictate them to someone else. He did not want to leave the court. Because of his failing eyesight and the court's unpopular decision in the Sally Miller case, the Louisiana State Constitutional Convention ended the Supreme Court in March 1846. This brought an end to Martin's career as a judge. When the Convention brought the court back the very next day, they did not reappoint Martin or his five fellow judges.
He passed away in New Orleans in December 1846. He had written a will in 1841, leaving nearly $400,000 to his brother in France. The state of Louisiana tried to challenge this will. They argued it was not valid because Martin was blind, or that it was an attempt to trick the state. If the money went to his heirs in France, the state could not collect the usual 10% estate tax. However, the state's challenge was not successful.
Published Works
- Edited Acts of the North Carolina Assembly from 1715 to 1803 (1809). This was a collection of laws passed by the North Carolina government.
- A Treatise on Obligations, Considered in a Moral and Legal View (1802). This was his translation of a French law book by Robert Joseph Pothier.
- A General Digest of the Acts of Legislatures of the Late Territory of Orleans and of the State of Louisiana (1816). This book summarized laws from the Orleans Territory and Louisiana state.
- The History of Louisiana, from the Earliest Period (1827–1829). A two-volume history book about Louisiana.
- The History of North Carolina (1829). A two-volume history book about North Carolina.
Legacy and Honors
- Martin is known as the "Father of Louisiana Jurisprudence." This means his work was very important for the legal system in Louisiana. His work laid the groundwork for others who wrote the Louisiana laws between 1821 and 1826.
- He was elected a member of the American Antiquarian Society in 1812.
- He was elected to the Académie de Marseille in 1817.
