John Marsh: Difference between revisions
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|title= Centennial Celebration, and Dedication of Town Hall, Orono, Maine, March 3, 1874 | |title= Centennial Celebration, and Dedication of Town Hall, Orono, Maine, March 3, 1874 | ||
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Revision as of 13:14, 8 January 2025
Biography
John Marsh was likely born in Hopkinton (MA) on July 24, 1751.[1] Not much is known about his early life. By his own account, he "for a number of years resided and hunted with the Penobscot Tribe" and learned to speak Penobscot fluently. In 1774, he may have helped Jeremy Colborn and Joshua Eayres find their way to Orono and to become the area's first permanent settlers. By 1775, however, he was living in Canada along the Chaudière river, before joining Arnold's Army on its way to Québec.[2] In 1777, he returned to the Orono-Old Town area and settled on Arumsunkhungan (now known as Marsh Island) and in 1778, he married Sarah Colburn (1757-1841), a daughter of Jeremiah Colburn, before leaving for the war again.[3] After the war, he returned to Marsh Island and later on claimed to have received a deed for the ownership of all of Marsh Island from the Penobscot Tribe in 1783. This claim was formalized (possibly under duress) by the tribe in 1793 and confirmed by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in 1795. With a deed in hand, John was now able to sell off most of the island for $1100 to a Dr. Elihu Dwight of South Hadley (MA), only retaining roughly the part that is now in Orono for himself. This is when Park Holland drew up his famous map of Marsh Island.[4] John Marsh died at the Marsh Island farm of his son-in-law Phineas Vinal on July 15, 1814.[5] He is buried at Riverside Cemetery.[6] Many of his descendants still live in the Orono-Old Town area.
Military Service
John Marsh himself states that he was compelled to join Arnold's troops on their way to Québec to serve as a "linguister,"[7] but there does not seem to be an official record of his actions in this context. The first records we have of any military service are from Colonel John Allan's private journal for the time that he was laying the groundwork for a possible invasion of the Maritimes (from early 1777 through August 1777).[8] From these notes, it is clear that John Marsh served under Allan throughout this period---mostly as a guide and interpreter. In 1779, Marsh served under Captain John Blunt during the disastrous Penobscot Expedition. A year later, he is listed as serving under Captain Solomon Walker "at the Eastward" (i.e. on the coast). Finally, then, starting on January 27, 1781, Marsh is listed as serving under his father-in-law (then a lieutenant) for a period of just 15 days while the company was detached at Camden.[9] For the time of his last two assignments, his family was likely living with him as various sources claim that his son Benjamin was born in Camden on October 29, 1780.
Notes
- ↑ There is some dispute about his place and date of birth. Washburn 1874, p. 51, for instance, claims Marsh was born in Mendon (MA) in 1749 or 1751 (the obvious typo "1731" here was corrected in the errata) and various other dates and places can be found in the literature. Marsh & Marsh 1888, p. 31 states that John was born in Bellingham (MA) on July 24, 1751 of John and Elizabeth (née Carroll). All of his listed siblings are said to be born in Bellingham (or the adjacent Mendon) as well. No records for any of these births can be found. However, Hopkinton 1911, p. 129 shows a John and Elizabeth Marsh whose children have names and dates of birth that correspond exactly to the ones for John and his siblings as listed in Marsh & Marsh 1888. Could Elizabeth have been dividing her time between Bellingham/Mendon and Hopkinton?
- ↑ Pratt 1890, Hathitrust.
- ↑ Washburn 1874, p. 53.
- ↑ On all this, see Anonymous 1894, Hathitrust
- ↑ Washburn 1874, p. 55.
- ↑ Find-a-Grave, Memorial for Pvt John Marsh.
- ↑ Pratt 1890, p. 237.
- ↑ Kidder & Allan 1867, p. 89, 94, 99, 101, 107, 111, 112, 113, 263.
- ↑ On all this, see MA Soldiers, p. 245
References
- Anonymous (1894). "Old Town--Marsh Island". Maine Historical Magazine: 149–153.
- Pratt, John F. (June 1890). "Petition of John Marsh of Orono, 1793". Maine Historical Magazine: 237.
- Washburn, Israel (1874). Centennial Celebration, and Dedication of Town Hall, Orono, Maine, March 3, 1874.
- Marsh, Lucius B.; Marsh, Dwight W. (1888). The Genealogy of John Marsh of Salem and His Descendants, 1633-1888.
- Kidder, Frederic; Allan, George F. (1867). Military operations in eastern Maine and Nova Scotia during the revolution.
- Massachusetts (1902). Soldiers and Sailors of the Revolutionary War (Vol. 10).
- Hopkinton (1911). Vital Records To The Year 1850.
