Sunday, March 2, 2014

52 Ancestors: #9 - Lucy Walker JOLLETT MARSH

Amy Johnson Crow of No Story Too Small has issued a challenge:  write one blog post each week devoted to a specific ancestor.  It can be a story, a biography, a photograph, an outline of a research problem – anything that focuses on one ancestor.



One of the silly games I sometimes play is “Which ancestor has the most researchers?”  Thanks to my former Geocities website, my blog, message boards, and family trees posted online, I have “met” a number of cousins who share my desire to figure out this whole Jollett puzzle.  Winning the race by a LARGE margin is the family of today’s subject. 

The oldest daughter of James and Nancy Walker JOLLETT was Lucy Walker.  On March 24, 1806, James gave his consent and provided surety for his 14-year old daughter to marry Peter Marsh, who was nearly twice her age.  They were joined in marriage by William Douglass, a Methodist minister. 

Peter and Lucy wasted no time starting their very large family.  While I have 8 children listed, the 1820 Orange County, Virginia census indicates there could have been more that Marsh researchers have not confirmed.  However, it is also possible Peter and Lucy shared their home with another family. 

Summary of 1820 Orange County, Virginia census


Petition to form Greene County
1838


For some reason, I’ve always viewed Peter Marsh as one of the “movers and shakers” of his day.  Maybe this impression is due in part to the large land holdings he inherited in 1818 when his father died.  Thomas Marsh named his son Peter as the executor of his estate which included a farm in Northumberland County on the Northern Neck of Virginia.  There is still a large Marsh presence there today.

Like his father-in-law, Peter Marsh signed the 1838 petition to form Greene County, ensuring the citizens of the western portion of Orange County would have easier access to a court. 

By 1850, all the Marsh children were grown and gone.  Some moved to neighboring counties, primarily Rockingham, Madison or Albemarle.  Others left the state altogether heading to Tennessee, Texas, and South Carolina. 

Peter must have died between 1850 and 1860 since he was no longer listed in a census.  Lucy Walker Jollett Marsh, however, appeared in both 1860 and 1870 living with her daughter Amanda and son-in-law George Sampson.  Lucy could neither read nor write. 

Lucy died October 25, 1870, in Stanardsville, the county seat of Greene, the county her husband, son, and father helped form by signing the petition.


THREE GENERATIONS:

Lucy Walker JOLLETT (1792 in Orange, Virginia - 25 Oct 1870 Stanardsville, Greene, Virginia) & Peter MARSH (Abt 1779 - Before 1860)  married 24 Mar 1806 Orange Co, Virginia

1. Hiram MARSH (1812 Orange County, Virginia - 21 Aug 1882 Albemarle Co, Virginia) & Peachy SAMPSON (1818 - 04 Jan 1890 Albemarle Co, Virginia)
  • Sarah J. MARSH (1838 Greene Co, Virginia - )
  • William Franklin MARSH (25 Sep 1840 Greene Co, Virginia – 18 May 1912) & m1) 06 Jan 1866 to Susan Frances GARRISON (1844 – 3 Jun 1881 Albemarle Co, Virginia) and m2) 10 Sep 1882 Albemarle Co, Virginia to Mary Cornelia BURGESS (24 Aug 1859 – 2 Jun 1947)   
  • Mary F. MARSH (1841 Greene Co, Virginia - )
  • Virginia A. MARSH (1843 Greene Co, Virginia - )
  • Cornelia Mattie MARSH (Jun 1846 Greene Co, Virginia - ) & Robert J. MARSH (May 1852 - ) 20 Jun 1873 Albemarle, Virginia
  • Ophelia E. MARSH (1849 Greene Co, Virginia – 31 Jan 1911 Powhatan, Virgiinia ) & John VEST  1865
 2. Thomas J. MARSH  (1816 - 18 May 1898 McGaheysville, Rockingham, Virginia) & Columbia Ann KING (1825 – After 1902) 07 Feb 1852 in Greene Co, Virginia
  • Elves or Elliott S. MARSH  (29 Mar 1860 - Before 1900)
 3. Layton MARSH  (1819 - Before 1900) & Peachy LAMB (1824 - ) 18 Mar 1845 Greene Co, Virginia
  • John William MARSH (1846 - ) & m1) Margaret JACKSON (1848 - ) on 2 Oct 1868 Madison Co, Virginia; & m2) Frances Dottie “Fannie” DELPH RICHARDS (Mar 1860 – 1921)
  • Robert T. MARSH (Jun 1847 - 12 Dec 1918 Logan, West Virginia) & Frances Ella HUNLEY (18 May 1858 – After 1920 ) 27 Jan 1875 Madison Co, Virginia
  • Mary J. MARSH (1848 - ) & William H. JACKSON
  • Lucretia MARSH (1849 - ) & Francis M. SAMPSON (1859 Greene Co, Virginia  - )
  • James Henry MARSH (4 Jun 1853 - 14 Aug 1926 Madison Co, Virginia) & Annie E. HUFFMAN (14 Feb 1855 – 3 Dec 1932 Madison Co, Virginia ) married 27 May 1874 Madison Co, Virgina
  • Elizabeth A. “Betty” MARSH (1 Feb 1854 - ) & Thomas Abraham BREEDEN (26 Jan 1849 - ) 17 Nov 1870 Madison County, Virginia
  • Catherine Fannie MARSH (1857 - ) & Michael O'NEAL (1854 - ) 23 Nov 1876 Madison County, Virginia  
  • Montgomery MARSH (4 Jul 1857 Greene Co, Virginia  - Before 1860)
  • George Harvey MARSH (1860 – 1931) & m1) Virginia B. YOWELL ( - 3 Dec 1917) 8 Jun 1882 Madison County, Virginia ; & m2) Eleanora T. UNKNOWN ( 1867 - )
  • Benjamin Franklin MARSH (Oct 1862 Madison County, Virginia – 1933 Madison County, Virginia)  & Alice Odessa SALISBURY (May 1876 Orange Co, Virginia - 1 Aug 1937 Madison Co, Virginia) 
4. William Mansfield MARSH (1822 - ) & Diannah LEY (1824 - ) 15 Oct 1846 Greene Co, Virginia
  • James W. MARSH (1848 Greene Co, Virginia - )
  • Isabella MARSH (1850 Greene Co, Virginia - )
  • Robert  J. MARSH (May 1852 Greene Co, Virginia - ) & Cornelia Mattie MARSH (Jun 1846 Greene Co, Virginia) 20 Jun 1873 Albemarle, Virginia
5. Alexander MARSH (1825 - ) & Ann Elizabeth LEE (1825 - ) 19 Nov 1846 Orange County, Virginia
  • Mary J. MARSH (1847 Orange Co, Virginia  – 1924 Greene Co, Tennessee) & m1) Moses CUTSHALL (26 May 1848 Greene Co, Tennessee – 27 Mar 1877 Greene Co, Tennessee)  2 Jan 1866 Greene Co, Tennessee; & m2) James H. CUTSHALL (1860 – 4 May 1921 Greene Co, Tennessee) 18 Dec 1883 Greene Co, Tennessee
  • Jane W. MARSH (Sep 1848 Orange Co, Virginia – 29 Jul 1937 Lamar, Texas) & John VanBuren HANEY (10 Nov 1843 Tennessee – 27 Sep 1906 Lamar, Texas) 21 Aug 1865 Greene Co, Tennessee
  • Sarah Ann MARSH (1850 Orange Co, Virginia – 1920 Grady, Oklahoma) & Rufus HOLT (11 Mar 1839 Tennessee – 18 May 1896 Lamar, Texas) 2 Jan 1865 Greene Co, Tennessee
  • William Robert MARSH (22 Sep 1853 – 24 Feb 1901 Gaffney, South Carolina) & m1) Martha Jane WILLWOOD (26 Dec 1857 – 22 Sep 1895 Gaffney, South Carolina) Oct 1878; & m2) Mary E. Molly KIRBY (3 Jan 1862  - 26 Apr 1935 Gaffney, South Carolina) 1898
  • Alexander MARSH Jr. (1855 Orange Co, Virginia - )
  • Thomas Frederick MARSH (Jan 1856 Orange Co, Virginia – 1928 Grady, Oklahoma) & Margaret KING (27 Oct 1870 - 1960) 6 Aug 1890
  • Eliza L. MARSH (1864 Greene Co, Tennessee - )
6. James Madison MARSH (1828 – 1890) & Agnes MCDANIEL (1830 – 1896) 23 Dec 1846 Greene Co, Virginia
  • Harriet Ann MARSH (19 Feb 1849 - 23 Jul 1917 Albemarle County, Virginia) & Robert Burress WOOD (Feb 1842 – 29 May 1899 Albemarle Co, Virginia) 22 Sep 1872 Albemarle Co, Virginia
  • Isabel MARSH (1851 - ) & John WOOD (1850 - ) 21 Dec 1877 Albemarle Co, Virginia
  • James Franklin MARSH (1853 - ) & Catherine GARTON 6 Mar 1873
  • William L. MARSH (1865 - ) & Lillian MADISON (1883 - )  Dec 1904 Greene Co, Virginia 
7. Amanda Melvina MARSH (1831 - Before 1878) &  George W. SAMPSON (1828 - ) 28 Jan 1848 Greene Co, Virginia
  • John A. SAMPSON (1848 Greene Co, Virginia - )
  • George W. SAMPSON (1850 Greene Co, Virginia - )
  • M. F. SAMPSON (1851 Greene Co, Virginia - )
  • Elizabeth Virginia SAMPSON (1853 Greene Co, Virginia - ) & Andrew Jackson SNOW (1848 Green Co, Virginia - ) about 1870
  • U. D. SAMPSON (1854 -  )
  • Eugenia SAMPSON (1857 Greene Co, Virginia - )
  • A. L. SAMPSON (1857 - )
  • Francis M. SAMPSON (1859 Greene Co, Virginia - ) & Lucretia MARSH (1849 - )
  • Richard E. SAMPSON (1861 Greene Co, Virginia - )
  • Daniel B. SAMPSON (1863 Greene Co, Virginia - )
  • Robert B. SAMPSON (1866 Greene Co, Virginia – 24 Aug 1938 Rockingham County, Virginia)& m1) Annie KNIGHTING ( - Before 1910) 28 Dec 1886 Rockingham County, Virginia; & m2) Daisy WILLIAMS (16 Dec 1883 – 18 Jan 1968) 21 May 1914 Rockingham County, Virginia
  • Henry SAMPSON (1866 Greene Co, Virginia - )
  • James A. SAMPSON (Jul 1873 Greene Co, Virginia – 1937) & Virginia Belle JENKINS (10 Jul 1874 – 29 Oct 1945 Charlottesville, Virginia) 15 Jun 1893 Page County, Virginia

8. John C. MARSH (1835 – After 1910) & Louisa M. SAMPSON (1839 – After 1910)  Mar 1859 Greene Co, Virginia
  • Mary A. MARSH (22 May 1858 - ) & James O. BARNETT (9 Dec 1862 - 1898 Charlottesville, Virginia) 25 May 1882 Albemarle Co, Virginia
  • Jeremiah MARSH (1861 - )
  • William Franklin MARSH (1863 - ) & Annie OLIVER 11 Aug 1889 Greene Co, Virginia
  • Martha Susan MARSH  (1865 - )
  • John Jackson MARSH (Apr 1868 - ) & Emma Alice VIA (1878 - ) About 1897
  • Elizabeth MARSH (1869 - )
  • Charles MARSH (1871 - ) & Callie UNKNOWN (1884 - ) About 1897
  • Fannie MARSH (1873 - )
  • Robert MARSH (1875 - )
  • Thomas Jefferson MARSH (8 Oct 1875 Albemarle Co, Virginia - Before 1930) & Cora Ethel BIRCKHEAD (7apr 1883 – 2 Mar 1939 Earlysville, Virginia) About 1903 Albemarle County, Virginia


© 2014, Wendy Mathias.  All rights reserved.

17 comments:

  1. What an amazing piece of history to find your family involved in, Wendy.

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  2. I can't imagine giving permission for my 14 year old to get married. Times do change!

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    1. Isn't that something! Just a baby! Were they really more mature then or just blindly obedient and unquestioning?

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  3. Wow, what a discovery! Your family is so worth the search. I am planning on posting this week ahead too!

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  4. Very interesting piece of state and county history for your Family Research. Thankfully it was happened in a documented court system part of the county. It's amazing how many times a 'Family' name will appear in court records and or newspaper articles when they are well known names in the area. Not terribly uncommon for 14 year olds to marry in those days...although a shock to our 21st Century ideals. Good job on the research and presentation.

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    1. I hardly ever think about those marriage dates until I start calculating ages. It does cause me to say, "Sheesh" even though I know it was common to marry young.

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  5. What an interesting story! About getting married young: I agree with Colleen. Times do change!

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    1. When it comes to marrying age, I'm glad times have changed.

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  6. I see Hiram and Layton both married girls with the name Peachy. I wonder what made that such a popular name? I hope both girls were peachy.

    Great research Miss girl.

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    1. I wonder too. Clarissa had a daughter and granddaughter named Peachy too. Sallie had a granddaughter named Peachy. There are 6 gals named Peachy in my database.

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  7. I am still stuck on the 14 year old bride part...although my husband's grandmother married at 14...and she was born in 1913. She had 7 children....you just did that when you had a farm to run.
    Happy Monday!

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    1. Oh I know. The first time I heard about a great-great grandfather marrying a 13-yr old, I thought he was a horrible man. Now I realize it was just how it was. Still, it feels part sad and part creepy.

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  8. Wow! She was so young when she got married! Perhaps things were just different back then. My own great-grandmother married when she was quite young as well.

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