Peter Edmund Martin was an early employee and later executive of the Ford Motor Company. His career at Ford Motor Company spanned from 1903 as a worker in the experimental room until his retirement in 1941 as the vice president and director of the company. Known as P. E. Martin in Ford Motor Company records, he was more commonly referred to as "Pete" or "Ed." Born on April 17, 1882 in Wallaceburg Ontario, Martin was ten years old when his family moved to Detroit. At the age of twelve he began work in a box factory and on December 15, 1903, he was hired by the Ford Motor Company to work in the experimental room at the Piquette Avenue plant. In October of 1906 Martin became assistant to Thomas Walburn, then in charge of all Ford manufacturing plants. In 1908, Charles Sorensen became Martin's assistant and the professional careers of the two would be linked for the next thirty years. Martin was an integral part of the early success of the Ford Motor Company and its domination of the world automobile market through his management of the launch of the Model T at the Piquette plant and his assistance with the development of the first moving assembly line at Highland Park. Martin became the general superintendent of production in 1919 and the first vice president of manufacturing in 1924. P. E. Martin and his wife Rose Louise had fourteen children, ten of whom survived to adulthood. Martin resigned his position as vice president and director of the Ford Motor Company on July 17, 1941, and died at his home in Detroit on October 8, 1944.
From the description of P. E. Martin Papers, 1880-1943. (The Henry Ford). WorldCat record id: 185041834
