Born in Charleston, South Carolina, to John Ansel who was an immigrant from Wurttemburg in Germany and Fredrika Bowers, also a German immigrant, Martin grew up in the German "colony" of Walhalla, South Carolina. He was admitted to the bar in 1870, first practicing law in Franklin, North Carolina for four years, then in Greenville, South Carolina, where he became involved in politics. He served in the state legislature between 1882 and 1888, then was elected solicitor in the eighth Judicial Circuit, where he stayed until 1901.
He explored a run for governor in 1902, but did not actually run until 1906, when he was elected for a single term.
He was first married to Ophelia Anne Speights, with whom he had two daughters and a son, but who died in 1894, then to Addie Hollingsworth Harris, who died in 1937. One of his daughters, Frederica, christened the battleship USS South Carolina (BB-26) in 1908.