Isabelle and Franklin Martin

Isabelle Hollister (1863 -1945), daughter of Dr. John H. and Mrs. Hollister, married Franklin H. Martin MD, FACS in 1886. John Hollister was Dr. Martin's Professor of Pathology at the Chicago Medical College and was initially quite reluctant in his support of the match.

However, the records that Isabelle and Franklin Martin left behind show that the Hollisters eventually embraced Franklin into their family and Hollister even gave support to the founding of the journal initiated by Martin, Surgery, Gynecology & Obstetrics (SG&O). The Martins' memoirs, diaries, photo albums and scrapbooks leave no doubt as to Isabelle's intimate interest in and support of the founding and development of the American College of Surgeons (ACS). Her influence was particularly and unmistakably left on the decades of Annual Clinical Congresses she participated in, and the major contribution she made to the social atmosphere of the meetings. Isabelle had inherited SG&O and the Surgical Publishing Company along with its physical plant from her husband when he died in 1935, and she willed it all to the College upon her death, making her a great benefactor to the history of the College and to surgery.

For more information on Isabelle Hollister Martin and her marriage to Dr. Franklin Martin, see Martin's autobiography, The Joy of Living (Doubleday, 1933) and the ACS Archives, Martin Papers.

ACS Archives Highlights is a series showcasing the vibrant history of the American College of Surgeons, its members, and the history of surgery. For further information on our featured highlights, search the Archives Catalog or contact the ACS Archivist.