Finding Aid for the F. Oskar Martin papers 0311
Finding aid prepared by Rebecca Hirsch
The processing of this collection and the creation of this finding aid was funded by the generous support of the National
Historic Publications and Records Commission.
USC Libraries Special Collections
July 2010
Doheny Memorial Library 206
3550 Trousdale Parkway
Los Angeles, California, 90089-0189
213-740-5900
specol@usc.edu
Title: F. Oskar Martin papers
Collection number: 0311
Contributing Institution:
USC Libraries Special Collections
Language of Material:
English
Physical Description:
3.1 Linear feet
7 boxes
Date (inclusive): 1891-1947
Language of Materials: Martin's business papers are mostly in English; a few reports from Colombia are in Spanish. His personal correspondence is
in German.
Abstract: This collection contains the papers of Frederick Oskar Martin, a German who moved to the United States in 1891 and worked
as a mining engineer and geologist for a variety of employers over the course of his career. He spent a year working on the
Panama Canal and explored the holdings of Union Oil of California in Panama and Colombia in the 1920s. His papers include
mining reports, correspondence with his fiancé and brother in the late 1890s, and scrapbooks of his travels in South and Central
America.
creator:
Martin, F. O., (Frederick Oskar), 1871-1951
F. O. (Frederick Oskar) Martin was born in Mittweida, Germany in 1871. He came to the United States in 1891 after spending
several years at sea. Upon his arrival in the US, he worked as a mining engineer and geologist in the mines of Alaska, California,
Idaho, and Montana. He studied at George Washington University from 1900-02, worked for the US Departments of Agriculture
(1901-05) and Interior (1909-19), and also spent a year working on the Panama Canal. He married his wife, Agnes Elisabeth
Riese, in Missoula, Montana, in 1908. They had three daughters, Anna Elisabeth, Fritzi, and Margaret (who married Charles
Calvin Hamer).
After leaving the Department of the Interior, Martin worked for Union Oil of California as a geologist. His work for Union
Oil included exploring the company's holdings in Colombia and Panama. In 1927, Martin was involved with the founding of the
German American Savings Bank of Los Angeles. In 1930, he went into private practice in Pasadena, and from 1932-33, Martin
served as the Austrian Honorary Consul at Los Angeles for California, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Nevada, Utah, and Arizona.
In 1933, he again entered the service of the Department of the Interior as a mining engineer. He retired in 1941 and became
a private consultant in South Pasadena. Martin passed away in Pasadena, California, in 1951.
F. O. Martin's business papers and scrapbooks were donated in 1999 by his daughter, Margaret Hamer.
F. O. Martin's personal correspondence was donated by John G. Tomlinson in 2002.
This collection contains F. Oskar Martin's personal correspondence, the minutes of the board meetings of the German American
Savings Bank of Los Angeles, and paper and photograph scrapbooks documenting his career as a geologist and mining engineer
for the United States and for the Union Oil Company. Also included in this collection are clippings documenting his appointment
as Consul for Austria in anticipation of the 1932 Los Angeles Olympics and the honorary medal given to him by Austria upon
the Games' conclusion. Of especial note are the scrapbooks with photographs of his travels in the undeveloped regions of Colombia
and Panama in the 1920s. Please see the Scope and Content notes for individual series for more information.
COLLECTION STORED OFF-SITE. Advance notice required for access.
The collection contains published materials; researchers are reminded of the copyright restrictions imposed by publishers
on reusing their articles and parts of books. It is the responsibility of researchers to acquire permission from publishers
when reusing such materials. The copyright to unpublished materials belongs to the heirs of the writers. Permission to publish,
quote, or reproduce must be secured from the repository and the copyright holder.
[Box/folder# or item name], F. Oskar Martin papers, Collection no. 0311, Special Collections, USC Libraries, University of
Southern California
Subjects and Indexing Terms
German American Savings Bank of Los Angeles. -- Archives
Martin, F. O., (Frederick Oskar), 1871-1951 -- Archives
Martin, F. O., (Frederick Oskar), 1871-1951 -- Correspondence
Olympic Games (10th : 1932 : Los Angeles, Calif.). -- Archives
Union Oil Company of California. -- Archives
Colombia--Discovery and exploration--Archival resources
Correspondence
Geologists--Archival resources
Geologists--California--Archival resources
Geologists--Colombia--Archival resources
Geologists--Idaho--Archival resources
Geologists--Montana--Archival resources
Geologists--Panama--Archival resources
Geology--Colombia--Archival resources
Geology--Panama--Archival resources
Mining engineers--Archival resources
Mining engineers--California--Archival resources
Mining engineers--Idaho--Archival resources
Mining engineers--Montana--Archival resources
Panama Canal (Panama)--History--Archival resources
Panama--Discovery and exploration--Archival resources
Petroleum--Colombia--Archival resources
Photographs
Savings banks--California--Archival resources
Scrapbooks
Personal Correspondence
Series contains Martin's correspondence with his brother Hugo Martin in Dresden from 1891-1898 and his correspondence with
his fiance Elisabeth Riese in Mittweida in 1907 and 1908. Also included with Martin's correspondence with his fiance (and
later wife) is her German bank book from the late 1920s.
Box 1
Correspondence from Hugo Martin
Box 1
Correspondence from Elisabeth Riese
Work & Business Papers
Series contains Martin's business papers, including the minute books from board meetings of the German American Savings Bank
of Los Angeles, Martin's federal appointments, his field notebooks and his reports to the Union Oil Company about his explorations
of the Guyabero River in Colombia. Also included in Union Oil Company sub-series are a few offprints of geology articles and
a few Union Oil Company employee bulletins from the mid-1920s.
Box 1-2
Union Oil Company
Box 2
Federal Appointments
Box 2-3
Field Notebooks
Box 4-5
German American Savings Bank of Los Angeles
Box 6