Best - The Government's man in the Baringo area (when Delamere came down from Somalia), and the same Maltese ex-sail maker who had accompanied Joseph Thomson on his epic trek through Masai Land. After a very diverse career, including a spell as second-in-command of the Zanzibar Army, Martin still could not read or write. He had learned to sign his name, but that was as far as he went.

Hobley - recovered Bishop Hannington's skull from where he was murdered and it was buried in Mumias village; it was, however, eventually disinterred by Bishop Tucker and reburied with great ceremony at Kampala. Guide and a kind of glorified headman to F.J. Jackson's expedition to Uganda in 1890. ......... James Martin was a man of great natural ability, but unfortunately of little education. Originally a Maltese sailor on a sailing vessel which was wrecked in the Red Sea, he was rescued from a floating spar by a passing ship and was landed at Zanzibar. There he attracted the notice of General Sir Lloyd Matthews, and was employed by him on various missions for the Sultan on the mainland. He was attached to the famous expedition of Joseph Thomson, ......... When the Chartered Company of EA was formed, he was engaged to organise and conduct supply caravans to Uganda, and for a number of years was so employed. Later on he became the Collector at Entebbe, a post he filled with credit for some time, and, leaving Government service, he for some years managed a large estate in Uganda. His name was a by-word with every porter on the coast, and he had the gift of obtaining the best out of a heterogeneous mass of native carriers. He was the soul of hospitality, and although newcomers were inclined to jeer at his deficiencies his abilities were fully recognised by his superiors. The effectiveness of communications with the distant interior owed much to his efforts. He passed away at Lisbon about 3 years ago.

Permanent Way - Maltese by birth. He began life as a sailmaker. He accompanied Joseph Thomson across Masailand in 1883, and later became second-in-command of the Sultan of Zanzibar's troops. Later still, Martin was one of the most famous caravan leaders in the Company's employ. Despite the fact that he was an illiterate, Martin rose to the rank of District Commissioner in the East Africa Protectorate.

Boyes - one of the first white men to venture among the Masai with Joseph Thomson. He now manages the Mabira forest rubber estate. [1911]  

Cranworth - 1907 - '....remarkable character, Jimmy Martin. Jimmy was a Maltese with a leonine head and a twinkling eye. He had been a caravan leader in the very earliest days of the old trade route up to Uganda ...... Like others of his companions, James Martin entered the Uganda Civil Service when the railway superseded the ancient trade route, and they were right glad to get his services even if he were completely illiterate. His career therein was somewhat chequered. He was entirely and absolutely honest according to his lights, but those lights did not include ivory. Being attached as a sort of ADC to Mr Jackson, it was his duty when they were touring the country to go ahead and arrange not only the camp but the ensuing interview with the local chiefs and elders. Jimmy's habit was to explain to each chief that the Great Master was coming and was expecting the customary present of one or two tusks. They were to be given to him, Martin, because the great one was peculiar in this, that he desired no mention made of the customary offering ........ went on for some time until a chief arrived late and offered tusks to Jackson ...... Jimmy relegated to banishment for 2 years in the Sesse Islands ....... left Government service and recently appointed manager of Mabira rubber forest at a salary well into four figures, surely almost a record for one who could neither read nor write, and he earned every penny of it. His virtues were great and many, his failings few. When he died tributes were paid to him by black and white, rich and poor. I for one felt that a great and lovable man had passed.'  

Coast Causerie - In the early 20s one might have met a smallish, elderly man named Martin in the Mombasa Club; he had in his time been a DC with full magisterial powers. At one stage he was the right hand man of Thomson the explorer, and at others had been second-in-command of the Sultan of Zanzibar's troops and an ivory trader. But up to the day he died in 1924 James Martin could not read or write. And that is why, if he asked one to take a drink with him in the Club, he would pass the chit pad saying that he had left his glasses at home. .......... tough as old boots ....... (more) .... James Martin was a small man, humorous, not particularly brave, a natural organiser, a tireless worker. But he never learned to write his name. And that is why, when he offered you hospitality at the Club, you courteously swallowed the fib about his spectacles as well as the drink for which you inscribed the chit on his behalf.

Thomson - 1883 - I should mention another valuable addition made to the caravan in the person of James Martin, a Maltese sailor .... presented himself with very good certificates of character. He had been over 6 years in the employment of the CMS Mission at Mombasa, knew KiSwahili well and had been thoroughly accustomed to the natives. As he was then out of work, and ready to go for whatever I pleased to give him, I at once resolved to take him, and I am happy to say that I had never reason to regret my decision. Though unable to read or write, he was very intelligent and could talk about 10 languages in sailor fashion. In every respect, manners, language, dressing etc. he was far above the average sailor, and from the first I never scrupled to treat him more as a companion than a servant. Yet he never presumed on this, but from first to last was most respectful, had no opinions of his own as to what should be done or not done, was ever prompt to carry out orders, and always anxious to do something. To show how well we got on, I might mention the possibly unprecented fact in African travelling, that we actually never once had an unpleasantness between us. I cannot speak too highly in Martin's praise, and if it were ever my lot to go back to Africa, I would seek for no better an assistant. ........ comparatively short of limb, though stout of body, he has the somewhat ungraceful walk of the sailor. Dark hair and eyes and swarthy complexion at once indicate that he comes of a Mediterranean race.

Lorimer - Uganda - 1916? - Mabara is a huge coffee estate. It is owned by an English company, and managed by the celebrated Jimmy Martin, who is known all over EA and Uganda. We stayed with the Martins for 3 days. They are the most hospitable people imaginable; they entertain every one who comes up here ....... Jimmy Martin seems to me to have stepped out of one of Hugh Conrad's novels .......... It is a recognized fact that Jimmy Martin understands the natives, and gets more out of them and develops their capabilities better than any European in Africa. ....... There are plenty of British overseers on the estate, mostly Scotch, who, by constant watchful supervision, manage to get work out of the natives who, left to themselves, would never do a hands turn. Mrs Martin is partly Portuguese, and her husband is, I think, Maltese, but he is really such an interesting character, and his knowledge of the country is so extensive, that there ought to be a book written about him by some one who could do him justice.  

Matson - IBEA officer at Ravine in 1895  

White Man - unique among district Commissioners in a British Protectorate. Probably the only administrative officer who could not read or write. He was a Maltese sail-maker called Antonio Martini. He first reached EA in an American ship which was run ashore by the captain in Zanzibar. Later he accompanied Joseph Thomson on his famous expedition across Masailand and over Laikipia to Victoria Nyanza in 1883, when Lake Baringo was discovered. After a period in which he alternated between conducting caravans to Uganda and acting as second-in-command of the Sultan of Zanzibar's troops he became an officer of the Company. When the British Govt. took over the Co's territory as a Protectorate, 2 years before Delamere's arrival at Ravine, James Martin - like many of the Co's employees, including such well-known provincial commissioners as Ainsworth, Hobley and Bagge - became a civil servant, rising to the rank of Collector. F.J. Jackson taught him to sign his name but that was the limit of his literary skill. All his letters were written for him by da Silva, a Goanese cousin. He used to disguise his inability to read by pretending to have bad sight, though it was as keen, in reality, as his native wit.

EAHB 1905 - Collector, Entebbe. IBEA Co. General Africa Staff - appointed 26th January 1889. Royal Geographical Society's Expeditions 1882-84; Zanzibar Govt. Service 1884-85; joined the IBEA Co. 1885; joined the Zanzibar Govt. service 1892; Transport Officer and Collector, Uganda Protectorate 1894.

The African Standard - 26-2-1903 - Invited to the wedding of H.R. Phelips & Miss Jacquette Edith Lambe in Mombasa (Mr & Mrs James Martin)

North - Caravan leader; accompanied Joseph Thomson across Masailand; Appt. IBEA Co. 26/1/1889; signed treaty with Ukambani 4/8/1889; arr. Kampala from coast 11/3/1890; In charge of porters during 1st Witu expdn. 23/10/1890 to 30/10/1890; Appt. 2nd Class Asst. UP 30/8/1894, Transport Dept.; dep. Zanzibar for Mombasa 3/9/1894 with 450 porters; In charge of Eldama Ravine area Aug 1895; arr. Zanzibar 3/2/1896; m. Augusta Elvira de Sousa, Zanzibar; 2nd Class Asst. 1896; Temp. loaned to Railway to recruit Wakamba labour 13/8/1896; found to be trading privately in ivory and transferred to Sese Islands, Jan 1901, to be away from temptation; Collector Entebbe Aug 1901

Curtis - p. 37 - Life at Fort Smith - '....... [1896 letter from Francis Hall to his father]] .. Martin and his wife came up and stayed here about 12 days. I gave them my quarters and we had a very jolly time. She is Portuguese but very nice; and plays, and sings in several languages, and as old Dugmore (in charge of the troops) has the American organ (that I brought out for him) up here, we had some musical evenings, Russell on the 1st whistle, Lane banjo and Mrs M. on the organ, while I occasionally had to warble as my share, and another fellow here, Trefusis, plays the autoharp very well. By-the-bye I shall be mentioning names you don't know, so I must tell you that two Mombasa firms have agents up here, living about 1000 yards from the Fort. Trefusis, a very good sort who has travelled the world, is one, and a man named Walsh with his wife for the other. Then we have one coffee planter, Kitchen, and Dr. Wallace's party just coming. Mr Wallace (brother) and his wife arrived about 10 days ago and Dr Boedecker and wife, and a Mr McQueen and wife are to arrive tomorrow. We shall then have 10 Europeans resident in Kikuyu.

Article in 'Safari' magazine 1997 by Bill Tunstall - 'East Africa's First Frontiersman'

IBEA Co. - Nominal List of British Born Subjects resident in IBEA Territories outside the Sultans Domain, 30 April 1891 - James Martin (crossed out), Asst. IBEA Co.

Ansorge - Mr James Martin, the officer in charge of the Ravine Station is a veteran traveller, having done a score of journeys, though not always right up to Kampala. He was the first of the bachelor officials who got married, and his example has been followed by others, from storekeeper to Commissioner. Since English Mission ladies by their presence demonstrated that Uganda suited European ladies, there has been quite a matrimonial epidemic.

Gazette - 7/4/15 - Liable for Jury service, Nairobi District - James Martin, Newland Tarlton and Co.

Nicholls - Everyone loved 'little Martin', a superb organiser of caravans and the most affable of men. 'To the day of his death in September 1924,' said Jackson [Sir Frederick], 'I doubt if anyone had a more devoted and loyal friend than I had in that little man.' Jackson tried, but failed, to teach Martin to read and write.

North - Mrs Martin - 'A fshionable lady of Portuguese descent' (Markus, RH); 'Portuguese but very nice' (Hall, RH)

Chandler - After resigning from the East African civil service about 1900, Martin managed the Mabira Forest rubber plantation in Uganda for several years. In WW1 he served in the British and Belgian armies as an intelligence officer, a position shared by many of the regions outdoorsmen. In his old age Martin lived first in Tanganyika, then in Postugal, where he died in December 1924.

Best - 1896 - a Uganda Railway employee, he camped for 10 days on a site now occupied by the steam loco workshops behind the station at Nairobi.

Mills - Railway - James Martin, a Maltese sail-maker born Antonio Martini who found himself in Zanzibar and went up to the CMS Mission station at Freretown, Mombasa, where he became general handyman to the Mission. From there, in 1883, he joined Joseph Thomson's expedition to the north-east shores of Lake Victoria and it was his dedicated nursing which enabled Thomson to get back to the coast alive. Martin joined the Company in January 1889 and was a member of Jackson's caravan, the first British party to enter Buganda from the east. Jackson wrote of him with affection and: "As a caravan leader and in his ability to recruit and control large numbers of men and get a good days work out of them, Martin's record was unique."

With his colleagues, Martin transferred to Government service when the Company withdrew and rose to be District Commissioner with the appropriate powers as a magistrate. An extraordinary achievement by one who remained illiterate to the end of his life.

When District Officer at Eldama Ravine in November 1897, Martin received news of a party approaching from the north: there was no Government post between him and Ethiopia. Unaware of the size and composition of the visiting caravan, Martin proceeded to dig ditches and build barricades; he also sent off a mail runner with a message, written by his clerk, warning the leader of the party that he was on British soil and warlike acts would be resisted. Considered thus in isolation, Martin may seem to have over-reacted, but the Sudanese Mutiny was even then in progress in Busoga, less than 200 miles distant and he had no reliable up-to-date news of events.

It turned out that the visitor was Lord Delamere on his fifth visit to East Africa which he had entered at Berbera, on the Gulf of Aden in the previous December. This was the first time he had penetrated so far south and so impressed was he by the highland countryside that he returned to settle and become the undisputed leader of the European immigrant community until his death in 1931.

Perhaps Martin's most lasting claim to fame, though it has hitherto been overlooked, is that he was the first European resident of Nairobi. There had been travellers before him but none is recorded as having stayed longer than the normal overnight stop at the caravan camp site. Martin remained about ten days and was thus more than a transient. 

Selma Carvalho 'A Goan Wedding in Zanzibar': In March 1896, the Zanzibar Gazette announced the engagement of Elvira de Sousa to James Martin. Elvira was 19, Martin was 39. She was the eldest daughter of Dr Augusto Bras de Sousa, who had arrived in Zanzibar in 1881. The wedding took place in April, 1896, at the British Agency, and was presided over by Arthur Hardinge the British consul-general. With both the bride and groom, well known in Zanzibar, the streets leading up to the Agency were decorated with palms and bunting. After the ceremony, the couple returned to the bride’s house, where ‘all Zanzibar assembled’ to congratulate them. Over 500 invitations had been sent out. The Sultan’s Goan band ‘played with a suitable fervour’. Martin and Elvira travelled to Fort Smith and Ngong in Kenya, where Martin introduced his bride to the small contingent of European colonists camped there as settlers and officials. On colonial maps of this era, this area is named ‘Martin’s camp’. Ngong Fort became Fort Elvira, named in honour of Elvira de Sousa. She entertained the Europeans playing the organ and singing in several languages. No one guessed that Elvira was Asian. Everyone remembered her as the Portuguese lady. In 1899, Elvira and Martin were stationed at Eldama Ravine, where they baptised their daughter Nina Eldama Martin. (Previously Elvira had lost a daughter named Magdalena). The ceremony was performed by Rev. Father Plunkett of Uganda who had arrived the previous day from Nandi and was on his way to the coast. Father Plunkett being quite the traditionalist, took this opportunity to solemnise Elvira and Martin’s marriage according to the rites of the Catholic Church.