History

Thomas Marshall, born in Westmoreland County, Virginia, April 2, 1730, was, at age 29, made a justice of Fauquier. His father, John Marshall 'of the forest', was a small planter, who in 1727, acquired 200 acres of very poor (depleted) land on Appomattox Creek originally granted to 'Jno. Washington & Thomas Pope, gents -- -- -- & by them lost for want of seating'. Thomas Marshall inherited this property from his father but soon abandoned it for Fauquier County. By the time of the first court for Fauquier, he was living on Licking Run near Germantown, on land on which he had settled about 1754. In 1754, he married Mary Randolph Keith, daughter of the Rev. James Keith. The first of their 15 children, John , born on Licking Run, September 24, 1755, would later become Chief Justice of the United States.

In 1765, he leased 330 acres of land on Goose Creek known as "The Hollow", where he lived until 1773, when he purchased a tract of 1,700 acres on the Fredericksburg-Winchester road next to Little Cobbler Mountain. On his new land to the East, he built his next house, "Oak Hill".

By this time, he was the leading man of Fauquier. He sat in the House of Burgesses from 1761 to 1767, when he was appointed sheriff of the county. He was made a vestryman of Leeds on the creation of that parish in 1769 and again represented Fauquier in the Assembly from 1769 to 1773. He also sat as a member in 1775 and supported Patrick Henry in the Convention of that year.

He had some military training in the Indian wars and served successively as ensign, lieutenant and captain of the militia. When the Culpeper Minute Men were formed and mustered on September 1, 1775, Marshall, representing Fauquier, was made major. When his battalion was discharged after the battle of Great Bridge, he was transferred to the 3rd Virginia Line and marched north to join Washington. He was made lieutenant colonel on August 13, 1776, and on Christmas night of that year took part in the battle of Trenton. Promoted to colonel on February 21, 1777, he took command of this regiment and fought with the greatest gallantry at the battle of Brandywine, having two horses shot under him. A few months later, he was elected colonel of the Virginia State Regiment of Artillery.

After the war, Thomas Marshall sold 1000 acres of his Oak Hill estate and moved his family to Fayette County, Kentucky region, to pursue land warrants he and his family had earned as Revolutionary soldiers. Once there, he was appointed the Virginia government commissioner to settle disputed land claims and Kentucky agent for his close friend and military comrade George Washington. Washington, after being elected President, appointed Thomas Marshall federal whiskey tax collector.

Thomas Marshall died in Kentucky in 1802.

There are probably more than 10,000 Marshall descendants that can trace their lineage back to Thomas Marshall and Mary Randolph Keith Marshall and their modest frame house known as The Hollow. To determine if you or a relative are a descendant of Thomas and Mary Marshall, or of John Marshall "of the forest" you should consult "The Marshall Family" by W.M. Paxton, Robert Clark & Company, Cincinnati, 1885 (reprinted by Gateway Press, Inc., Baltimore, 1970)(LCCN 77-128573). You will need to know the name of your Marshall ancestor who was alive in 1880 or so because the book only covers the period ending then.

Thomas and Mary Keith Marshall's oldest son, John, is well known to American historians. He came to The Hollow with his parents and four younger siblings before 1765 and before his tenth birthday. There he lived and matured until, in 1773, he moved with his family to Oak Hill, a larger dwelling on land his father had purchased. Later, in 1790, he built a house in the Court End neighborhood of Richmond that is beautifully preserved and maintained.

Included here is text of a letter written by Chief Justice John Marshall to Justice Story at Justice Story's request. It is considered to be the most important document written by Marshall about himself and is, therefore, an outstanding primary source document. Although Marshall himself did not date the letter, at the top of the letter, Justice Story wrote: "Written in 1827."

In 1827, Justice Story was writing a review of Marshall's A History of the Colonies planted by the English on the Continent of North America, from their Settlement, to the Commencement of that War, which terminated in their Independence, and requested a summary of biographical data from Marshall for this effort. Justice Story passed the letter on to his son, William W. Story, who kept it and passed it on to his son, Waldo Story. After the death of Waldo Story's widow in 1932, the letter was sold to Professor Marco F. Liberma of Rome. Later, the letter was purchased by the William L. Clements Library and finally published in 1937.

The letter depicted in the image and transcribed here is exactly the text written by Marshall. Two words are in brackets because of holes in the original manuscript.

In 2003, The Virginia State Review Board voted unanimously to approve the National Register Nomination of The Hollow for both its architectural significance and its connection to Thomas Marshall, father of Chief Justice John Marshall. At the same meeting, the Virginia Board of Historic Resources voted unanimously to include The Hollow on the Virginia Landmarks Register. See the Richmond Times-Dispatch article and the Fauquier Times-Democrat article for more information. In 2004, The Hollow was added to the National Register of Historic Places, a list maintained by the U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service.