POLIN, Martin

History of Northern Wisconsin. Chicago: Western Historical, 1881, p 164

Martin POLIN, merchant, Alma [Buffalo County, Wisconsin], was born 13 
February 1840 in Switzerland. In 1857 he came to Alma and clerked for a man 
named GEETER [DeGEETER?] for a short time. He then went to Stillwater 
[Washington County], Minnesota, and clerked for Benjamin & Gray. In 1863 he 
enlisted in Company F, Fifty-fifth Regiment, New York Infantry, and was 
discharged in 1865. In 1865 he came back to Alma, and was in various 
businesses until he purchased the store of Tester & Polin, in 1873. [For 
additional information on Mr. TESTER, see the Buffalo County, Wisconsin, 
biography of John A. TESTER.]

In 1872 he [Martin POLIN] married Magdalena POLIN, a native of Switzerland. 
They have seven children: Annie, Joshua, Elizabeth, Rosa, Oscar, Olga, and 
an infant. [The POLIN family is enumerated in the 1880 census of Alma, 
Buffalo County, Wisconsin: Martin, age forty, merchant, born in Switzerland 
(about 1840 from his census age, which agrees with the year of birth given in 
the biography), to parents also born in Switzerland; his wife Magdalena, 
thirty-eight, born in Switzerland (about 1842) to parents also born there; 
and six children: (1) Anna M., sixteen, born about 1866; (2) Joseph P., 
age twelve, born about 1868; Elsbeth, six, born about 1874; Rosa L., age 
four, born about 1876; Oscar, one year old, born about 1879; and Olga, also 
one (twin of Oscar?) and thus born about 1879. Since the census contains six 
instead of seven children, it is likely the infant mentioned in the biography 
was born between the 1880 enumeration and the date in 1881 when the text 
went to press. Submitter did not seek this family in later census records. 
Bracketed material added by submitter (who is not researching these surnames) 
to support and clarify information given in the biography and to raise 
questions.]

Submitted by Cathy Kubly