John Martin (1823-1904) of Bangor undertook in 1864 creating a detailed account of his life and activities so his children would have a record about their family.

Martin and his wife, Clara Cary, bought a house at 130 Center Street in Bangor in 1854. Five of their six children were born there. Besides drawing and explaining the exterior of the house, Martin included a floor plan on page 514 of his journal.

He wrote, "Having described the premises outside for the benefit of my children I give a simple outline & location of the ground floor inside and locate some of the furniture which will be familiar to them perhaps as long as they live." Only two of the Martin children, Ada and John Jr. survived their parents.