We have no record of anything that Frederick ever wrote (unless the carefully-written log of Herbert’s life was his work), but he was clearly an intelligent and interesting man. We get a sense of his personality and humor from his photographs, which you can (and really should!) see below. It’s interesting to note that Frederick’s love of humorous photography was passed on to his son.

Frederick was born May 5, 1859 in Orange Township in Illinois. He lived in Knoxville, Illinois until 1877, then moved to Peoria. His sister, whose name we do not know (because she is referred to only as Mrs. George Drury) lived in Peoria at least until Frederick’s death in 1920.

Frederick apprenticed as a typesetter or printer, and joined the Typographical Union at Peoria in 1881. On Dec. 30, 1885 he married Rosa Matilda Ward at Omaha, Nebraska, and began a series of moves that took him all over the Midwest and West Coast: Omaha, Los Angeles, San Diego, and San Francisco. He lived in some of these cities more than once.

Frederick was divorced from Rosa in 1896. No reason is given, but with all those moves it does not sound like a very stable life for Frederick as a young man. But when he found his life’s work (osteopathy) he stopped moving around so much and settled into a marriage and family in which he stayed for the rest of his life.

Frederick enrolled in the Pacific School of Osteopathy in Los Angeles in 1900. One of the newspaper articles (see photos, below) says that he started his osteopathic studies in Portland and continued them in L.A., but that is not recorded in his biographical outline (reproduced at right).

Frederick married Caroline Sophia Beardsley at Peoria, Illinois on August 14, 1901, at his sister’s home in Peoria. She had recently received her D.O. (Doctor of Osteopathy) degree. They moved back to L.A. for Frederick to finish his degree, which he did in 1902.

Their only child, Herbert Beardsley Martin (who became my grandfather) was born on June 28, 1902. In that same year, Frederick and Caroline began their osteopathy practice in Los Angeles.

The Martins became members of the Masonic order in Los Angeles, and Herbert participated in the order’s activities for children and youth as he was growing up. In 1908 the family moved to Pomona, and Caroline gave up her work as an osteopath. They joined the Congregational church in Pomona, and that’s where Herbert received his early Christian training. This church was later the location for my parents’ wedding.

In this sequence of three photos Frederick is pictured with some of his classmates at the School of Osteopathy. Osteopathy is “a branch of medical practice that emphasizes the treatment of medical disorders through the manipulation and massage of the bones, joints, and muscles.” So it was natural for the students to be working with skeletons and muscular models. But Frederick went a little further, and set up some funny photos with these specimens.