Roll of Honor
Incident
Superintendent Joseph Martin died after falling down a flight of stairs in the Rahway Reformatory's superintendent's quarters on November 1st, 1908.
He was attempting to free a gas valve which had been stuck in the on position for several days and needed to be cleaned. He lost his footing while working on the valve and fell down a flight of stairs. His leg suffered two fractures as a result of the fall and the injury caused his health to quickly deteriorate until his death on November 13th, 1908.
Superintendent Martin was a Union Army veteran of the Civil War and had served as the superintendent of the Rahway Reformatory for seven years. He was survived by his wife and four sons. One of his sons, who had served as assistant superintendent, was appointed to replace him as superintendent.
Survivors
He was survived by his wife and four sons.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-NJ-9D089857- Stewardship
- Maintained by NeuraWeb Global Inc.
- Added to badge.nw
- April 2, 2026
- Last updated
- July 23, 2026
Honored here by 1 sentinel - 1 tribute.
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Tributes
I served 1985 to 1993. You served too, before the badge - different uniform, same idea. You go where you are sent and you do not get to pick the call.
Superintendent Martin gave the New Jersey Department of Corrections 7 years.
Thank you for your service to the people of New Jersey. Thank you for your service before it. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, brother.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Military Service
Joseph W. Martin served in the United States military before joining law enforcement. Full service record available on salute.nw.
Superintendent Joseph W. Martin is one of 10,088 officers lost to accidents in the line of duty across the full record of this memorial — 31% of all 32,508 officers honored here.
In NJ, 258 of 646 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 39.9% of this state's fallen. That is 8.9 percentage points above the national rate of 31%.
At New Jersey Department of Corrections, 3 of 32 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 9.4% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Joseph W. Martin's cause is highlighted.
How Joseph W. Martin Compares
When Accident Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. Joseph W. Martin is highlighted in Nov.
Incident Location
Others Who Wore This Badge
31 officers from New Jersey Department of Corrections are honored on badge.nw. Showing the 16 most recent.
