Joshua Marshall (1823-1859)

The will of Richard F. Marshall establishes that Joshua was his eldest living son. This and other records indicate that Richard's wife, Sarah “Sally” Hall, was Richard's mother. Census records indicate that Joshua was born in June or July of 1823. ¹⁾. Joshua's parents were probably living in Bedford Township, Meigs County, Ohio at the time of Joshua's birth. ²⁾

What we know of Joshua's life is based on sparse records and conjecture. Beginning in 1790, the United States has taken a census every 10 years, enumerating persons by household. Before 1850, however, the census takers only recorded the name of the head of each household and the number of persons in a set of age and gender brackets. The presumed 1830 census record for Joshua's father shows a household that includes a male age 5-9, and the 1840 record shows a male age 15-19. We take these to be Joshua based on converging evidence, the most important being Richard Marshall's will.

In 1830, Joshua would have been been 6-7 years old. Federal Census records for that year indicate that Joshua's family was living in Athens Township of Athens County. However, other records show that Joshua's father continued to acquire land in Bedford Township into the 1830s, so the family may have spent time farming there.

When Joshua was 16-17 years old, his family was living in Scioto Township of Jackson County, and they were probably farming land that Joshua's father gained full title of in 1843 (after completing installment payments to the General Land office), by which time Joshua was 19-20 years old. Just two years after, when Joshua was 21-22 years old, his father died.

On 10.Aug.1846, Joshua married Narcissus (or Narcissa) Throckmorton in 1846. The marriage took place in Jackson County, OH and the ceremony was performed by James B. Johnson, Elder. ³⁾

In 1849, the U.S. government land office granted to Joshua Marshall a patent (title) for 33.24 acres of land in Clay Township, Scioto County, Ohio. The location of this land is described as the SW quarter of the SE quarter of Section 27, Township 2, Range 21. BLM coordinates and Google Mapping tools indicate that this land is east and slightly north from the town center of Rosemount (which is north of Portsmouth). The area is hilly and wooded, so Joshua may have purchased this land in order to harvest timber. This would be consistent with the 1850 census listing of his occupation as Laborer (Industry Not Reported) rather than farmer.

Joshua's estate included approximately 84 acres of land in Scioto County, OH. In July 1862, this land was auctioned by estate administrator Foster Throckmorton (brother of Joshua's widow Narcissus). The metes and bounds description of this land makes it difficult to determine the specific location, but it is described as being ön the waters of McCulloch's creek.“ Present day McColloch/McCoullough Creek runs along CR 44 almost to CR 116, then heads south and east to flow into Scioto Brush Creek. This places the land in Union Township, which is where the 1860 census record lists the household of Narcissus.

A letter dated 31.Jan.1859 ⁴⁾ written by Elijah Piles, who lived in nearby Pike County, describes some difficulties:

Poor harvests and consequent hard times were a common problem during this era. While the shortage of corn described in the above letter from January of 1959 may have been a limited, local problem, the Great June Frost of 1859 destroyed crops and orchards over a wide area, including many parts of Ohio. Although the cause of Joshua's death at age 37 is given as “consumption,” we cannot but wonder whether hard times were a contributing cause.

The only known record of Joshua's death is the 1860 census mortality schedule, indicating death in July 1859, due to consumption, after an illness of 6 days. However, there was a sale of property from Joshua's estate in 1862 by order of the probate court. There may be probate records that could provide additional information, including the specific date of Joshua's death. This could lead to further discoveries, such as the location of Joshua's grave site.

Joshua Marshall + Narcissus Throckmorton

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