D. H. Ramsey Library Special Collections and University Archives

Kendall Wayne Martin
Family Collection

M2010.09.01-.03

Kendall Wayne Martin Family Collection,
D. H. Ramsey Library Special Collections, UNC Asheville

Title  Kendall Wayne Martin Family Collection
Identifier http://toto.lib.unca.edu/findingaids/mss/martin_wayne_family/default_martin_wayne_family.htm
Creator Kendall Wayne Martin 
Alt Creator Kendall Wayne "Bozo" Martin ; Elsie Louise Martin
Subject  Keyword : Kendall Wayne Martin; Wade Hampton Martin ; Elsie Louise Martin ; Wanda K. Martin ; Edsel Martin ; woodcarving ; Appalachia ;  Swannanoa, North Carolina ; craft ; wood craft ; carving ; music ; musical instruments ; WWII ;
Subject LCSH : Martin, Kendall Wayne (1923 - 1973)
Martin, Elsie Louise
Martin, Wade Hampton (1920-?)
Martin, Wanda K. (1955 -
Wood-carving
Folk music -- Appalachian Region, Southern
Wood sculpture -- Appalachian Region, Southern
Handicraft -- Appalachian region, Southern
World War, 1939-1945 -- Personal narratives, American
Description Personal letters, photographs and memorabilia from the family of Kendall Wayne Martin. Although Martin is renowned for his wood carving, the materials in this collection generally focus on his family life, particularly letters sent to his girlfriend, later his wife, Elsie Louise Martin (nee Marlowe) between 1939 and his discharge from the Army in 1945. There are also a large number of family photographs.
Publisher D.H. Ramsey Library, Special Collections, University of North Carolina at Asheville 28804
Contributor n/a
Date Date of objects : 1940's - 1970's
Type Collection ; realia ;  image ; text
Format

1.5 linear feet ; 3 manuscript boxes

Source M2010.09.01
Language English ; eng
Relation Wade and Wayne Martin Master Woodcarver Collection ; Elsie Marlowe Martin oral history ; Martin, Wade H. Woodcarving Mountaineer Style: With a Barlow Pocket Knife ... . S.l: s.n, 1986 [TT199.7 .M3 1986 ]
Temporal Coverage Twentieth Century 
Spatial Coverage Buncombe County ; Western North Carolina
Rights Any display, publication, or public use must credit the D.H. Ramsey Library, Special Collections, University of North Carolina at Asheville, as the holding repository.
Donor 385
Acquisition  2010
Citation Kendall Wayne Martin Family Collection, D.H. Ramsey Library, Special Collections, University of North Carolina at Asheville 28804.
Processed by Special Collections staff, 2010: Susan Jones ; Toey Fortenberry ; Melissa Hutcheson ; Helen Wykle. 2013: Colin Reeve
Biography Kendall Wayne "Bozo" Martin was born on April 10, 1923 to Marcus Lafayette Martin and Callie Holloway Martin. Marcus was an "old timey" fiddler and recognized as one of the best in North Carolina. Wayne, as Kendall Wayne was commonly called, also played fiddle, though mostly just at family occasions.

Marcus and Callie had total of six children; in addition to Wayne, there was a daughter Zenobia, and sons, Fred, Quentin, Wade and Edsel. All the Martin brothers carved or made musical instruments; in addition to carving intricate human figures, Wayne also made dulcimers, fiddles and guitars.

During World War II, Wayne served in the army and was awarded the Purple Heart before being wounded and discharged.  Whilst he was serving, Wayne married his sweetheart Elsie Louise Marlowe, and the couple subsequently had three children: Priscilla, Carrol and Wanda.

After the war, Wayne was able to make a living from his carvings, and he and his brother Wade sold figurines to the Appalachian Craft Shop on Wall Street in Asheville, and to the Cliff Dweller in Gatlinburg, Tennessee.  The carvings of the brothers became very popular, selling out shortly after they arrived. The brother's carvings were featured in Life magazine, and are found in collections nationwide.

Wayne died in 1973. Although  he is often labeled as 'the brother of Wade Hampton Martin', in a letter to the Asheville Citizen-Times, written at the time of his brother's death, Wade described Wayne as, "a master craftsman...[who] made the most beautiful and best-sounding dulcimers in the land" before adding, "As a former woodcarver myself, I bowed to my brother long ago."

Series  
Box Number Folder Number  
1 1 - 9 Papers - primarily personal correspondence from Kendall Wayne Martin to Elsie Louise, but also includes some newspaper clippings and materials related to Wanda K. Martin
2   Loose photographs - generally of Martin family
3   Framed photographs and other materials: photographs ; military medals ; folder of clippings regarding Marcus Martin, Library of Congress folk songs and fiddle tunes indexes ; three photographs of Beacon Manufacturing baseball team

Realia

 

Musical instruments - all believed to have been made by the Martin but this cannot be confirmed

A five string banjo. Hand carved neck and headstock.

Hand carved Appalachian dulcimer. Carved bird’s head on the headstock. Diamond shaped sound holes.

Hand carved Appalachian dulcimer. Carved bird’s head on the headstock. Heart shaped sound holes.

Wide-body Appalachian dulcimer. Scroll work on the headstock and hand carved tuning keys.

Hand carved wooden paddle.

Hand carved lute. Sticker viewed through the sound hole “Hand Made by Kendall Wayne Martin.”

Hand carved Appalachian dulcimer. Unfinished. No tuning keys or saddle pegs. Carved bird’s head on the headstock. No eyes. Heart-shaped sound holes.

One wooden “Long Dulcimer” neck template.

One wooden “Banjo” neck template.

One wooden “Guitar” neck template.

Hand carved Appalachian dulcimer. Unfinished. No tuning keys or saddle pegs. Carved bird’s head on the headstock with eyes inlaid. Diamond-shaped sound holes.

Hand carved Appalachian dulcimer. Carved tuning keys and saddle pegs. Carved bird’s head on the headstock with eyes inlaid. Heart-shaped sound holes.