Representative Martin Franklin Conway

Martin Franklin Conway (November 19, 1827 – February 15, 1882) was a U.S. congressman, consul to France, abolitionist, and prominent advocate of the Free-State movement in Kansas. Born in Harford County, Maryland, he grew up in a slaveholding border state at a time of intensifying national conflict over slavery. His early exposure to the institution of slavery and the political controversies surrounding it helped shape the strong antislavery convictions that would define his public life.

Conway received a common-school education in Maryland and, while still a young man, studied law. He was admitted to the bar and began his legal career in Baltimore. During this period he became increasingly involved in political and reform circles, gravitating toward antislavery activism. The combination of his legal training and his moral opposition to slavery led him to seek opportunities on the American frontier, where the future status of new territories was being fiercely contested.

Drawn by the national struggle over whether Kansas would enter the Union as a free or slave state, Conway moved to Kansas Territory in the 1850s. There he quickly emerged as an ardent supporter of the Free-State cause, aligning himself with those who opposed the extension of slavery into the territory. He took part in the political organization of the Free-State movement and became known as an effective advocate for Kansas’s admission as a free state. His work in Kansas during this volatile period helped establish his reputation as a principled abolitionist and a capable political leader.

With the rise of the Republican Party as the principal national vehicle for antislavery politics, Conway joined its ranks and entered electoral politics. As a member of the Republican Party representing Kansas, Martin Franklin Conway contributed to the legislative process during two terms in office. After Kansas was admitted to the Union in 1861, he was elected as the first U.S. Representative from the state, serving in the Thirty-seventh and Thirty-eighth Congresses from 1861 to 1865. His service in Congress occurred during a significant period in American history, encompassing much of the Civil War. In the House of Representatives he participated in the democratic process and represented the interests of his Kansas constituents, supporting measures aligned with the Union war effort and the restriction and eventual abolition of slavery.

Following his congressional service, Conway continued his involvement in public affairs and diplomacy. He was appointed consul to France, a post that reflected both his standing within the Republican Party and the importance of maintaining strong international relationships in the post–Civil War era. As a U.S. consul, he represented American commercial and political interests abroad, drawing on his legislative experience and his long-standing engagement with national policy questions.

In his later years, Conway remained identified with the principles that had guided his earlier career, particularly his opposition to slavery and his support for the political and civil reordering that followed the Civil War. Although he did not again hold national elective office after leaving Congress, his work as a lawyer, public advocate, and former diplomat kept him connected to the broader currents of Reconstruction and postwar American politics. Martin Franklin Conway died on February 15, 1882, leaving a legacy as one of the early political leaders of Kansas and as a committed abolitionist who helped shape the state’s free-state identity during one of the most turbulent eras in United States history.