A number of authors writing during the period knew of his enterprise. An 1882 work described the factory as "One of Mechanicsburg's industries worthy of more than passing notice" and went on to state that "this thriving town (Mechanicsburg) had no industry of more promise of enlargement and growth than this establishment which bids fair to become one of the largest houses of its line of manufacturing to be found in the country."
Ernest Raymond Martin was born April 4, 1916, in Pennsylvania along with his twin, Frank, to their parents, Addison C. Martin and Grace May (Klink) Martin. Addison C. Martin was born in York County, Pennsylvania, in 1879, and Grace May Klink was born in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, in 1882.
In the 1780s, John Duncan and Lewis Foulk both operated nail factories in Carlisle. Cask nails and sprigs of any size, flooring brads, shingle nails, and Double Tens Lathing were all hand wrought at their factories. Duncan advertised that he sought "a few good nailors” and offered them "generous wages. Lewis Foulk also advertised that he wanted a number of nailors who would be paid “generous wages,” and he also wanted a “bred [sic] nailor.”