Martin, François Xavier

Martin, François Xavier (fräNswä` zävyā` märtăN`), 1762–1846, American jurist, b. Marseilles, France. He emigrated to the United States (c.1786) and was admitted to the North Carolina bar in 1789. He held federal positions as judge for Mississippi Territory (1809) and for Louisiana Territory (1810). In the government of the state of Louisiana he was attorney general (1813), justice of the state supreme court (1815), and chief justice (1836). His wide learning did much to harmonize the strands of English, Spanish, and French law in the legal system of Louisiana. Besides digests of Louisiana cases, Martin wrote A History of Louisiana (1827) and A History of North Carolina (1829).