Martineau family

Martineau family
The Blue Plaque

The Martineau Family was a political dynasty from Birmingham, England. Several of them were prominent Unitarians, to the extent that a room in Essex Hall, the headquarters building of the British Unitarians, was named after them.

Mayors of Birmingham

Members included five generations, father to son, of Birmingham (Lord) Mayors:[1][2]

  • Robert Martineau (1798–1870), Mayor of Birmingham, 1846-7
  • Thomas Martineau (1828–1893), Mayor of Birmingham, 1884–85
  • Ernest Martineau (1861–1952), Lord Mayor of Birmingham, 1912–1914
  • Wilfrid Martineau (1889–1964), Lord Mayor of Birmingham, 1940–41
  • Denis Martineau (1920–1999), Lord Mayor of Birmingham, 1986–87

A blue plaque, erected in 2008 by the Birmingham Civic Society, in Birmingham Council House commemorates all five.

Family

  • Thomas Martineau, a manufacturer of staples, married Elizabeth Rankin (8 October 1772 - 26 August 1848). Living in Norwich they had eight children. The first Martineau had settled in Norwich in 1688.[3] One of his descendents is The Duchess of Cambridge.[4]

The family name continues within the Birmingham and London law firm by the name of Martineau, which was founded by, and whose partners over the last nearly two hundred years have included many, members of the Martineau family.[citation needed]

References

  1. ^ Birmingham City Council, List of Birmingham Mayors et seq
  2. ^ The Blue Plaque itself
  3. ^ Autobiography, Harriet Martineau, ed. Linda H. Peterson.
  4. ^ Telegraph
  5. ^ a b c d Official Guide to the Birmingham General Cemetery, E. H. Manning, Hudson & Son, Livery Street, Birmingham, 1915. Birmingham Public Libraries (Reference, Local Studies, B.Coll 45.5)