Biography:Fidel Martin

Fidel Martin

Given name:	Fidel
Middle name:
Family name:	Martin
Place of birth:	Rogersville, New Brunswick
Place of death:	Colebrook, New Hampshire
Year of birth:	1891
Year of death:	1976
Profile:	Musician
Source of information:	https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/168679112/fidel-martin and http://www.acadianfiddle.com/artists2/2021/fidel-martin

Biographical notes

FIDEL MARTIN (1891-1976) was born in the Rogersville, New Brunswick, area in 1891, the son of Calixte and Emilienne Chavarie Martin. In 1966 folklorist and collector Art Rosenbaum happened upon Fidel, along with the Riendeau family, after making some casual inquiries in a working class neighborhood in Berlin, where many people of French-Canadian origin were living and working in the mills of that northern New Hampshire city. Rosenberg returned the next year to tape more of Fidel's fiddling.

In 1912 Fidel moved to Island Falls, Maine, where he worked in the woods trades, then worked in a mill for the Great Northern Paper Company. He moved to Berlin in 1917 to work for the Brown Company and in 1918 he enlisted in the army when America became involved in World War I. When he returned from service he went back to Berlin and his job with the Brown Company, where he worked until 1930. In 1918 he enlisted in the armed services and served overseas. During the depression it was hard to find work, but Fidel managed to secure a public works job and was employed as a truck driver for the Berlin Public Works Dept. for thirty years, and was a member of Local 1444 until he retired in 1956.

Fidel married Marie Louise Morneau, who predeceased him in July of 1956. He was survived by four sons and three daughters (all of whom lived in New Hampshire) and extended family in New Brunswick, Quebec and Ontario. Fidel was a member of St. Anne Parish in Berlin. He was also the founder of the White Mt. Beagle Club. As a veteran he was a founding member of his local Veteran of Foreign Wars post.

Martin learned to fiddle at age 12 in New Brunswick, growing up in a musical household where his father, siblings, extended family and neighbors all played instruments, including fiddles, piano, and accordion. Fidel was self-taught, absorbing his skill from his musical household. He remembered there was playing and dancing at his house almost daily, and noted it was the "old style" square dancing i.e. where the figures were known and were danced without the aide of a prompter or caller, as was the style in much of Canada. He remembered fiddle contests in the 1920's in the Berlin, N.H., area, but said (in 1966) "We don't have them anymore." His present repertoire is a mix of "Down East," Acadian, Irish, French-Canadian (Québécois) and American tunes. However, on the tapes he accompanies himself with a steady podorhythmie (percussive foot-tapping), a characteristic trait of Acadian and some Quebecois fiddling (esp. in modern times), which strongly supporting that he learned to play at an early age in New Brunswick. According to Rosenbaum, Fidel Martin was friendly and seemed to enjoy getting out his fiddle and being recorded by interested strangers, although he often did not remember the names of tunes.

One of his favorite exclamations after playing a vigorous tune was ‘Jesus Christ, that’s a hot one!’

Hear Fidel Martin's field recordings at the University of Georgia's Walter J. Brown Media Archives and Peabody Awards Collection:
https://bmac.libs.uga.edu/pawtucket2/index.php/Detail/objects/331630
https://bmac.libs.uga.edu/pawtucket2/index.php/Detail/objects/331506
https://bmac.libs.uga.edu/pawtucket2/index.php/Detail/objects/331538 (A Side)

He did not record commercially but a few of his field recordings were issued on Art Rosenbaum's field recording anthologies "The Art of Field Recording vol. 1" and "The Art of Field Recording vol 2" (2006, various artists).
https://dusttodigital.bandcamp.com/album/art-of-field-recording-volume-i
https://dusttodigital.bandcamp.com/album/art-of-field-recording-volume-ii