Ancestor Sketch – FNU Marshall (c. 1816 – c. 1846)

Roberts/Marshall Line

By Don Taylor

The father of Patience Anna (Marshall) Dean Roberts continues to elude me.  I’ve never heard of a wall growing, but the brick wall regarding Patience’s father seems to become more and more solid. I know virtually nothing about him.

Patience was born on 30 Dec 1843, so we can assume his father was alive in March 1843 in order to father Patience.

Patience and her mother are living with Jane’s brother in the 1850 Census. Additionally, a search for anyone with surname Marshall in Jefferson County, Illinois in the 1850 Mortality Schedule, yielded no one with the Marshall surname listed for Jefferson County or the surrounding counties.  This leads me to believe that Patience’s father died before 1 June 1849.

Jane (Lawson) Marshall was about 22 years old when she conceived Patience, so, I’m guessing that her husband was at least 18 and probably under 32 when they were married. That suggests a birthdate somewhere between 1810 and 1822.

Even though the 1850 Census indicates that Patience was born in Tennessee, all other records indicate she was born in Illinois. I believe the Tennessee entry is in error. Patience’s mother was born in Tennessee and Jane’s younger brother Thomas was born in Illinois in 1829, suggesting the Lawson’s moved to Illinois before that. Additionally, it appears that Jane’s father is Jacob Lawson and Jacob appears in the 1840 Census as a family head of household. That suggests Jane lived in Illinois prior to meeting and marrying Patience’s father.

With this in mind, I speculate, Patience’s father was:

• Born: 1810-1822 – Probably Tennessee.
• Marr: 1842-1843 – Probably Illinois – Probably Jackson County.
• Died: 1843-1949 – Probably Illinois – Probably Jackson County.

Research Roberts-Marshall 2018 – Ancestor #34

List of Grandparents

• Grandfather: Bert Allen Roberts (1903-1949)
• 1^st Great-grandfather: Hugh Ellis Roberts (1882-1908)
• 2^nd Great-grandmother: Patience Anna Marshall (1845-1919)
• 3^rd Great-grandfather: FNU Marshall

Newspapers are often a great source for death information. Chronicling America indicates 3 newspapers have been published in Jefferson County, Illinois. The earliest is the Sentinel beginning in 1856. Likewise, Find-a-Grave is an excellent source for death information and clues; There are no entries for anyone with the surname Marshall before 1864.

I’ve also looked closely at The History of Jefferson County, Illinois by William Henry Perrin (1883) and have found nothing relating to the Marshalls of interest in that book.

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Further Actions / Follow-up

• The 1840 Census indicates no families with the Marshall surname in Jefferson County.
• The 1850 Census indicates there were only two households containing individuals with the Marshall surname. First, Jane and Patience were living with Jane’s brother. Second, was a family consisting of seven individuals, apparently Gabriel Marshall, age 45 from Tennessee, his wife, Frances, and five (apparent) children. Based upon the birthplaces of his children, it appears they came to Illinois between 1834 and 1838. This is about the time that Patience’s father may have come to Illinois as well. As such, my next effort with the Marshalls is to attempt to find Gabriel Marshall family and see if Gabriel had a brother that would fit as Patience’s father.
• A visit to the Jefferson County Historical Society may help find additional resources.

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