John McMartin (September 2, 1858 – April 12, 1918)[1] was a businessman, mining executive and political figure in Ontario, Canada.
[2] McMartin was born at Apple Hill, then part of Charlottenburgh Township, Canada West, and now part of North Glengarry, Ontario, to Allan McMartin and Mary Catherine McDougald (later styled McDonald) (1869 - 1941), daughter of John Angus McDougald (1838-1923), who was Local Registrar of the High Court of Justice, and a son of Major Angus McDougald, a member of the 4th Battalion Glengarry militia on active service during the Rebellions of 1837–1838, and his wife, Annie Chisholm (1843-1917), whose parents were Ranald Chisholm and Catherine McPhee.
[4] In 1883, before entering politics, McMartin was superintendent of construction on the Canadian Pacific Railway where, in 1903, he had allowed the contractor Alfred "Fred" La Rose, a blacksmith, to prospect, along with his railroad work, on the condition that he split any find 50–50 with McMartin who, in turn, would partner with his brother, Duncan (1868 - 1914).
(A fanciful story later developed that La Rose discovered the vein when he threw a hammer at a pesky fox.)
[5] In 1909, the foursome purchased another claim from Benny Hollinger,[6] incorporating Hollinger Mines in 1910, with the addition of a fifth partner, Timmins' ally, the Mattawa, Ontario, lawyer David A. Dunlap, for whom the David Dunlap Observatory is named, after he had shown great value to the enterprise by successfully defending their claim in court.