Moving to Portland in 1874, he entered the food service industry, becoming a restaurant manager in 1890 and marrying fellow Austrian immigrant Lucretia Mary around the same time as he purchased the J.D.

[1] Selling his restaurant in 1911, during the first world war Martin served as a food administrator, commissioned an apartment complex, and lived in his self-titled house until the death of Lucretia in 1919.

[1] Slated for demolition by then-owner Danielle Isenhart, a permit was filed in the spring of 2018 and approved May 4 by city officials, with a 120-day delay to allow for potential alternatives to the destruction of the house to arise.

The house was then slated to be moved on January 27, 2019, and turned "into a place for art and history that celebrates the black community in Portland and the Eliot neighborhood", according to Oregon Public Broadcasting.

Soon to become part of Cleo Davis's proposed ARTchives,[7] the Mayo House now sits at 236 NE Sacramento Street, Portland, OR, 97212.

[2] To prevent the demolition of the historic building, the city sought a buyer who would be willing to relocate the house to another lot in order to save it.