Martin held bachelor's and master's degrees from the College of New Jersey (then called Princeton), making him one of the most erudite delegates to the Constitutional Convention. After graduating from Princeton, Martin moved to Salisbury, North Carolina. There he worked first as a merchant and later as an attorney. As his legal career took shape, the Regulator Rebellion began. On September 24, 1770, a bevy of angry Regulators took over the Hillsboro Court. When their demonstration spilled onto the streets of Hillsboro, several lawyers, including Martin, who likely was serving as a justice of the peace, were whipped and beaten.