Emerich, Martin, 1846-1922

Martin Emerich (April 27, 1846 – September 25, 1922) was an American businessman and politician. A member of the Democratic Party, he notably served in the Maryland House of Delegates and as a U.S. Representative from Illinois.

Born in Baltimore, Maryland, Emerich attended the public schools there before engaging in the importing business. He was appointed ward commissioner of the poor of Baltimore in 1870 and served as member of the Maryland House of Delegates from 1881 to 1883. He served as aide-de-camp to Governor William T. Hamilton from 1880 to 1884, and Maryland State Senator Elihu E. Jackson from 1884 to 1887. Moving to Chicago, Illinois in 1887, he engaged in mercantile pursuits until 1896 thereafter engaging in the manufacture of bricks. He served as member of the Board of Commissioners of Cook County from 1892 to 1894 and served as assessor of South Chicago in 1897.

Emerich was elected as a Democrat to the Fifty-eighth Congress (March 4, 1903 – March 3, 1905) from Illinois's 1st congressional district. He was not a candidate for renomination in 1904; in 1906, he unsuccessfully ran for the 1st district seat. Emerich retired from his business pursuits in 1907. He died while on a visit in New York City on September 25, 1922, at age 76, and was interred in Rosehill Cemetery in Chicago.