Martineau, Peter b. 6 Jun 1855 Oconto, Oconto, Wisconsin, USA d. Yes, date unknown: 1FAMILYTREE Genealogy

1855 - Yes, date unknown Has no ancestors but 3 descendants in this family tree.

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Name	Martineau, Peter
Born	6 Jun 1855	Oconto, Oconto, Wisconsin, USA
Gender	Male
Biography	Aft 6 Jun 1855
MARTINEAU, Pierre, a prominent and accomplished lawyer of Marinette, is the son of Anthony Martineau, who settled in Green Bay in 1845, and married Leonore Marie Bourgoin of that city in 1854. Five children were born of this marriage, Pierre, the subject of this sketch, being the fourth. In 1859 the family moved to Oconto, Wis., where Anthony Martineau was a prosperous merchant at the time of his death in 1872. He belonged to the old French family of Martineaus of the Place de St. Hiliare, France. His father immigrated to Canada, and later the son came on to Green Bay, as already stated. The grandfather of Pierre Martineau's mother, Leonore Marie Bourgoin, was Gen. Shevrier of Napoleon's army. Gen. Shevrier was through all the campaigns of that great commander from Egypt to Waterloo. Her father, Pierre Shevrier, the son of the general, was in the campaign in Russia, and, at the age of twenty, Page 135 took part in the battle of Waterloo as a captain in Napoleon's army. The old general was very wealthy, and, after the close of the Napoleonic wars, father and son lived together in Paris, but a quarrel arose between them over an attempt of the old general to force his son to marry a girl that he dislike. As a result of this quarrel, the general disinherited his son Pierre. Pierre resented this by renouncing the name Shevrier, and assuming that of his mother's family, Bourgoin, and at once taking ship for San Domingo, to live with a maternal uncle there. He was shipwrecked on the voyage, off the coast of Brazil, cast ashore in an uninhabited portion of that country, and, after many hardships was taken to Cuba. There he learned from Charles Girard, a refugee from San Domingo, and a friend of his uncle, of the general slave uprising in San Domingo and the massacre of his uncle, and how the few spared ones had sought in Cuba and New Orleans. Pierre remained in Cuba, for some time, where he married Angeline Girard, a daughter of Charles Girard. Pierre Martineau's mother was born in Cuba, and when a year old was taken by her parents to France, her father being called to France by the old general to endeavor to effect a reconciliation between father and son. Instead of reconciliation being affected, however, the quarrel became more bitter, and the son, under the name of Pierre Bourgoin, left France forever, and came to Green Bay with his family, that city then being considered a French settlement. A short time after that the old general died, and his large estates went to other members of the family, because of the son's refusal to comply with the terms imposed by the old general's will, as conditions by which the son could inherit the estate. Pierre Martineau was born in Oconto, Wisconsin, June 6th, 1865. He attended the Oconto public schools and the Oconto high school until he reached the age of fifteen years. His grandmother, the wife of Pierre Shevrier, being then a member of his family, constantly [PIERRE MARTINEAU.] recounted to the boy Pierre the stories of Napoleon's campaigns, as told to her by her husband, which filled him with such military ardor, that at the age of sixteen, he, without leave, left the paternal roof and went to Fort Lincoln, Dakota, and Fort Assiniboine, Montana, for the purpose of enlisting in the United States army, and, if possible, becoming a military hero; but there, some officer, taking pity on him, showed him the life of a soldier in the far west as it really was, and he did not enlist. Returning home, with all his dreams of military glory dispelled, he resumed his studies. He attended the University at Notre Dame, Indiana, during the scholastic years of 1886 and 1887. In 1888 he continued his studies in Latin and French literature, under Pere Valliant, an eminent French scholar in Oconto, Wisconsin. In 1889 he attended the Wisconsin university, and in 1890 was admitted to the bar upon an examination by the state board of examiners, but continued his studies, and in 1891 was graduated from the Wisconsin university law school. In the spring of 1891 he formed a partnership for the practice of law, with W. H. Webster of Page 136 Oconto, and was elected district attorney of Oconto county in 1892, on the Republican ticket, notwithstanding the fact that the county went Democratic by over four hundred majority. He was re-elected in 1894, running four hundred ahead of his ticket. In the spring of 1895, he resigned the office to go to St. Louis to practice law. He formed a partnership there with Eugene McQuillin, a lawyer who had won considerable distinction as the author of McQuillin's "Pleadings and Practice," and other legal publications. He practiced law in St. Louis a year and a half, and during that time was engaged in the defense of the Creese counterfeiters, who were implicated with the Broderick gang, the Poole murder case, and became associated with Mr. McQuillin in several civil cases of importance. The heat during the summer season in St. Louis made life unendurable to himself and family; his health began to fail, and, unable to shake off the longing to return to Wisconsin, he turned his face again to the Badger state, locating in Marinette in the fall of 1896. Immediately after his return, he was engaged by Oconto county to prosecute the Swanson murder case. That case was very peculiar because Swanson, the defendant, had, after killing his victim, Jacob Leshak, burned the body. All that the state had, on which to secure a conviction, was a human tooth and a few splinters of bones, one of the pieces of bone being recognized by the doctors as the head of the radius, and a shirt button found in the ashes with these bones, which was identified as a button upon the clothes of Leshak when last seen. The circumstantial evidence in the case, however, was strong, and the jury was forced to the conclusion that the defendant was guilty of murder in the first degree, and such was their verdict. Immediately after that, he was retained as leading counsel in the celebrated McDougal murder case in Marinette county. Kate McDougal, the defendant in the case, a young girl of twenty years, was tried for the murder of her husband. The case was vigorously prosecuted by the E. C. Eastman, the district attorney for Marinette county. Public sentiment ran high against the defendant, because of the reputation that she bore, but the defense succeeded in convincing the jury that she should only be considered as one of the victims in a terrible tragedy. Some of the most dramatic scenes ever witnessed in a court room took place at this trial. The jury and audience were alike affected, and the climax in the case was reached when Kate McDougal fainted and was carried out of the court room unconscious, from the terrible picture painted by her counsel, Pierre Martineau, who closed the case for the defense, of what her life would be in the penitentiary under a sentence for murder in the first degree. The jury brought in a verdict for manslaughter in the fourth degree, which was accidental killing. Public indignation over the verdict was freely and forcibly expressed, because everybody believed she was guilty of deliberate murder; but the people have since become reconciled to giving her the benefit of the doubt. Immediately after this trial, a partnership was formed between E. C. Eastman of Marinette and Mr. Martineau, under the name of Eastman & Martineau, for the practice of law in Marinette. Mr. Eastman had already established a large and lucrative practice in northern Wisconsin and Michigan, and had been long recognized as one of the leading lawyers in the state. The firm of Eastman & Martineau has one of the largest law libraries in northern Wisconsin, and is recognized as one of the leading law firms in the state. Mr. Martineau has always been a Republican, was elected district attorney as a Republican, and in every campaign has spoken with vigor and effect for the success of the party. He is at present a member of the Marquette club, the Officemen's club, and the Legion of Honor of the city of St. Louis, all being social clubs. In 1890, Mr. Martineau was married to Ella Bird, a daughter of James Duane Bird, whose Page 137 father was one of the first settlers in Dane county, and a direct descendant of the English Major Burgoyne of revolutionary fame. James Duane Bird was the first white child born in Dane county. Miss Bird had spent most of her time in Florida with her mother, since 1876, when her father died. Mr. Martineau has three children, Eugene Bird Martineau, Paul Martineau and Marie Lenore Martineau. Mr. Martineau has succeeded in winning a reputation as a "verdict getter" before juries. He makes no effort at flowery oratory, but endeavors, as much as possible, to have the jury forget him, and think only of the facts that are to be considered by them. By this, method he has won nearly every jury case that he has tried. He is an extensive reader of miscellaneous literature, and has a large private library. Many of his book are rare French works published in the eighteenth century.
Education - College/University	Wisconsin University Law School
Reference Number	3237
Died	Yes, date unknown
Person ID	I309124	1FamilyTree
Last Modified	2 Sep 2018

Family Bird, Ella, b. Bef 1872, d. Yes, date unknown

Married Abt 1890

Children

	1. Martineau, Paul, b. Aft 1890, d. Yes, date unknown
	2. Martineau, Marie Lenore, b. Aft 1890, d. Yes, date unknown
	3. Martineau, Eugene Bird, b. Aft 1890, d. Yes, date unknown

Last Modified 26 Sep 2016

Family ID F203569 Group Sheet | Family Chart