Richard F. Marshall (1798-1845)

While there are number of unresolved questions about Richard F. Marshall, we do know that he is buried in Waverly, Pike County, Ohio. Several of Richard's descendants have visited the gravesite, and a picture of the gravestone can be seen via the Find-A-Grave website. This gravestone indicates that Richard was born on 12.April.1798, and that date is consistent with other known records.

It is primarily from the discovery of Richard's will by his descendant REM, that we can identify Richard F. Marshall and his wife Sarah (“Sally”) Hall as ancestors for the Marshall families of this wiki. That will provides the names of Richard's wife and children. Putting this together with other records, lets us know something about Richard and Sarah, and helps us construct a family tree of their descendants.

There are census records for 1820, 1830 and 1840 that are assumed to be for Richard's household. In these years the census recorded only the name of the head of household, so all we have for other members of the household are counts of males and females by age brackets.

Richard's Birthplace?

A number of family trees show New Jersey as Richard's birthplace. To see why we consider this uncertain, you need to understand a few things about census records, since these are the only known documents with information about the birthplace of Richard and his wife Sarah.

Census records prior to 1850 included only the name of the head of household and the numbers of males and females within age brackets; these records do not include information about birthplace. In 1850 and 1860, census takers asked about the birthplace of each household member. In 1870, census questions for each household member included whether father and mother were foreign born, and in 1880 included the birthplace of father and mother.

As the table below shows, all but one of the records for Sarah (Richard's wife) show her birthplace as Maryland, and the 1880 census also shows her parents' birthplace as Maryland. This suggests that Sarah actually was born in Maryland. However, census records for Richard's children provide inconsistent information about the birthplace of both of their parents. What are we to make of this?

Table of Census Birthplace Reports

Click to show/hide

Census takers presumably asked their questions of one or more members of the household being enumerated, but there is no record of who provided the information. At least in some cases, the person talking to the census taker may not have known where Richard and Sarah were born. However, it appears that census takers for these records did not leave fields blank or write in “unknown,” so they may have pressed for a “best guess.” Another possibility is that census takers were deliberately given false information. This certainly seems likely in the case of the 1880 census record for the household that included only Elizabeth Jane and her mother Sarah, both of whom would be expected to know that Elizabeth Jane was born in Ohio rather than in Indiana! 1) Yet we weren't there and we don't know what really happened.

In the end, given the limited and contradictory information available, it is difficult to draw any firm conclusions about where Richard F. Marshall was born.

Early Life

In spite of much research, Richard's parents remain unknown, as do the parents of his wife Sarah Hall. We do know, however, that about 90% of the workforce in the USA was engaged in farming in 1790 and around 75% in 1820. 2) 3) 4) Some regions had higher proportion of people engaged in commerce and skilled trades such as ship building, and we don't know where Richard grew up. However, odds are that Richard spent at least part of his childhood on a farm.

Marriage, Work and Family

1818 - Sutton, Gallia, OH

Old tax records for Gallia County, OH show that a Richard Marshall of Sutton Township paid a chattel tax for ownership of a horse in 1818. It seems reasonable to assume that this is the Richard Marshall who is shown in Federal Census for 1820-1840 to be living in the same area and matching what we know from other records. According to a history of that period, the cost of a horse was around $50 and a settler without capital would need to work for wages for a year or more to be able to afford one. 5) So Richard's ownership of a horse at age 20 seems somewhat unusual.

Sutton Township lies within the large tract of land purchased by the Ohio Company of Associates. All this land was initially part of one large county, i.e. Washington County. Over time, this county was subdivided to form new counties. In 1818, Sutton Township was part of the Gallia County and continued as such until it became part of the newly formed Meigs County in 1819. Sutton Township is bordered on the west by the Ohio River, which formed the boundary there between Ohio and a part of Virginia that is now West Virginia.

1820 - Harrison, Gallia, OH

The 1820 census record for Harrison Township, Gallia County, Ohio includes the household of Richard Marshall, with 1 male 16-25, 1 female 16-25, and 1 female under 10. This is consistent with a household that includes Richard (age 22), wife Sarah (age 18) and daughter Elizabeth J. (age >1). According to the census, Richard is engaged in agriculture, but the record doesn't show whether he was an independent farmer or worked for someone else.

According to the National Archives, the 1820 census count was to be based on the status quo as of August 7, 1820. It took about six months for the census to be completed, and some infants who were born after August 7 may have been mistakenly included in the count. The exact birthdate of Elizabeth Jane is unknown, but it was likely prior to August 7, 1820. This suggests that Richard and Sarah were married in or prior to 1819.

1820s - Bedford, Meigs, OH

Records of land transactions indicate that, sometime between 1820 and 1823, Richard became a resident of Meigs County and continued as such until at least 1825: 6) 7)

  • A record dated 24.April.1823 documents the sale by John and Sally Newell to Richard Marshall 50 acres of land in Bedford Township of Meigs County for $58. The handwritten record appears to state that the actual sale took place on 15.Mar.1820. It may be that the land was purchased prior to the 1820 census, but household didn't move to Meigs County until sometime later. At any rate, the land record indicates that Richard was considered a resident of Meigs County in 1823.
  • On 23.Jan.1825 Richard and Sally Marshall sold the land described above to Joseph Sloan for the same price of $58.

These two transactions may not be the only land bought or sold by Richard Marshall during the 1820s. Finding records of land transactions in this part of Ohio involves visiting county courthouses in person and going through old record books. Another thing to keep in mind is that people did not always live on the land they farmed.

1830 - Athens, Athen, OH

The 1830 census record for Athens Township, Athens County, Ohio includes the household of Richard Marshel with 1 male 30-39, one female 20-29, one female 10-14, 1 male 10-14, 1 male 5-9, and 2 females under 5. This is consistent with the family Richard (32), wife Sarah (~28), and children Elizabeth Jane (~10), Joshua (~6), Louisa Lucy (~4), and Sarah Ann (~1) – with the addition of 1 male age 10-14, whose identify is unknown. This census did not ask about occupation.

1830s - Bedford, Meigs, OH

Although the 1830 census places Richard's household in Athens Township (Athens County), other records show he continued to purchase land in Bedford Township (Meigs County):

  • A record dated 18.Sep.1835 documents the sale by John and Sarah Story to Richard F. Marshall of 131 acres of land in Bedford Township for $100.8)
  • On 20.Feb.1836, Richard F. Marshall purchased 65 1/2 acres of land in Bedford Township from Diadamia Fish for $81.9)
  • On 29.October.1836 Richard F. Marshall purchased 25 acres of land in Bedford Township from Truman and Martha Hicox for $25.10)

These documents describe Richard as a resident of Bedford Township, Meigs County, Ohio. It may be that Richard farmed land in Meigs County (perhaps with the help of hired labor) and also had a residence in Athens County.

1840s

The 1840 census record for Scioto Township, Jackson County, Ohio includes the household of Richard F Marshall with 1 male 40-49, 1 female 30-39, 1 female 20-29, 1 male 15-19, 1 female 10-14, 3 males 5-9, 1 female 5-9, and 2 females under 5. This is consistent with the family of Richard (43), Sarah (~30), Joshua (~16), Louisa Lucy (~14), Sarah Ann (~11), John Benjamin (~7), Richard Jr. (~5), Lucretia (~3), Jerusha (>1), with the addition of 1 female 20-29 and 1 male 5-9 — possibly widowed Elizabeth Jane and her young son. 11)

On 10.Apr.1843 by Richard F. Marshall completed full payment to the General Land Office of the United States for 70 acres of land in Jackson County, Ohio. This land was in Scioto Township, and it is likely that Richard and his family occupied or worked this land for some years prior to 1843. The usual terms for purchases from the General Land Office in this period required a downpayment of 25% and provided a four year period for full payment. While the known records do not give the price Richard paid, it was probably $1.25/acre (i.e. $87.50).

Richard Marshall - Preacher

Several pieces of evidence indicate that Richard F. Marshall was a preacher. The most significant of these is the following inscription on his grave marker:

What though the arm of conq'ring death
It does gods own church invade
What though the prophet and the priest
Be numbered with the dead

Though richard marshall dwells in dust
And must the instructive tongue
His preaching lives in hearts of Just
And goes with old and young

In addition, marriage records for Jackson County, OH compiled by a chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution show that Richard Marshall officiated at marriages and probably had the title of “Elder,” which a term used by certain religious organizations (e.g. Methodists) to designate an ordained minister who served as pastor for a congregation and engaged in preaching, teaching, and the celebration of sacraments.

Death, Gravesite and Probate

Richard died at age 47 on 6.Jun.1845. His grave is in Howard Cemetery, which is located north of the town of Waverly in Pike County, Ohio. This is about 15-20 miles from the area in Scioto Township (Jackson County) where Richard owned land.

Probate for Richard's estate was in Jackson County, Ohio. Probate records provide the first name of Richard's wife, the first names of all his children, a notation of which children were minors, and the husband's surname for Richard's two married daughters. They also indicate that a petition for the sale of real estate was made in 1846.

Children

Richard F. Marshall + Sarah “Sally” Hall

1) In the Iowa State Census of 1895, Elizabeth Jane's reported birthplace is Vermont.
2) ThoughtCo article: History of American Agriculture
3) Lebergott, Stanley (1966) Labor Force and Employment, 1800–1960. In Output, Employment, and Productivity in the United States after 1800, Dorothy S. Brady, ed. Cambridge, MA: National Bureau of Economic Research. View online at NBER website.
4) Weiss, Thomas. (1987). The Farm Labor Force by Region, 1820-1860: Revised Estimates and Implications for Growth. View online at ResearchGate.
5) Hurt, R. Douglas (1996) The Ohio Frontier : Crucible of the Old Northwest 1720-1830. Bloomington: Indiana University Press.
6) Digital images of these land records have been provided by REM
7) In addition to being difficult to read, the handwritten records of early land transactions use descriptions of the land that require some interpretation. The 1823 and 1825 documents describe land as being a part of the south end of the west half of Section 13, Township 3, Range 13 of the Ohio Company Purchase “lying in the Township of Bedford in the county aforsaid consisting of 50 acres lying at the south end of the west half of section thriteen and thriteenth rang taking it the whool width of the south end of the west half aforsaid starting from the south line of said section runing from thence fiftey rodes north (and closing by parallel lines), being the same more of less.” Translating, this would be a strip of land 160 x 50 rods (i.e. approximately 880 x 275 yards) in the southwestern part of Bedford Township, Meigs County, Ohio.
8) Land description: “a parcel of land lying and being in Township No. 3 R 13 and Section 23 in the Ohio Company Purchase to begin at the North west corner of said Section thence South one hundred and thirty one rods to the Southwest corner of said Section thence East one hundred and sixty rods thence North one hundred and thirty one rod to the North line of the Section thence West on the said line one hundred and sixty rods to the place of beginning To contain one hundred and thirty one acres more or less.” NOTE: The document also references a deed dated 21.Nov.1830, but it is not clear from the text whether this refers the actual date of sale to Richard or to the earlier purchase of the land by John Story.
9) Land description: “sixty five acres & one half of land It being in the Section Number 17 Seventeen Township No three Range Thirteen in the Ohio Company Purchase to commence at the Northwest corner of said Section Running South sixty five and one half rods or half way across said section then East one hundred and sixty five rods thence North sixty five and one half rods to the Section line thence West to the place of beginning to contain sixty five acres and one half be it the same more or less.” NOTE: Diadamia Fish, who was born in Wales, appears to have been a widow at the time, having survived a first husband with surname Jones and a second husband Nathaniel Fish. She is listed as a head of household in the 1830 and 1840 census records for Bedford, Meigs, OH – though these and other records mangle her name.
10) Land description: “a parcel of land lying and being in Township Number 3 Range No. thirteen in the Ohio Company Purchase and bounded as follows To begin at the North east corner of the North west quart of Section Number sixteen in said Township thence South to the Creek thence up the meanders in said Creek to Orville Jones line thence North on said line to the North line of said Section then on easerly to the place of beginning to contain five acres be it the same more or less. Also a ?? in Section Number Seventeen in said Township to begin on the North line of Section sixteen Where Orville Jones line from the Creek crosses said Section lin thence North Eighty rods, thence Ease to the Center line of Section Seventeen thence Sourth Eighty rods to the line of Section thence West to the place of beginning to contain twenty Acres Be it the same more of less.” NOTE: Diadamia Fish had a son Orville Jones, b. 1805.
11) Elizabeth Jane married Noah Miles in 1837 and had a son Zachariah in 1838. Although the 1840 census record for Lodi, Athens, OH includes the household of a Noah Miles, that household includes a female >5 rather than a male, which fits with later records for a Noah Miles who married Matilda Pierce and had a daughter Ann Eliza (who later married Benjamin J. Cooley). So it may be that Elizabeth Jane's husband Noah Miles died prior to 1840 and that she is the 1 female 20-29; her son Zachariah Miles would have been only ~3 years old at the time, but he might have been incorrectly included in the 5-9 age bracket.