Page:Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography (1900, volume 4).djvu/261

of the second Thomas, Thomas, soldier, b. in Fauquier county, Va., 27 Oct., 1761; d. in Mason county, Ky., 19 March, 1817, served in the Revolution, and attained the rank of captain. He settled in Kentucky in 1790, and was an active member of the convention that formed the second constitution of the state in 1799. — Another son, James Markham, lawyer, b. in Fauquier county, Va., 12 March, 1764; d. there, 26 April, 1848, was educated at home, and when fifteen years of age entered the Revolutionary army as a private, becoming a lieutenant in Alexander Hamilton's regiment. He went to Kentucky with his father in 1785 and bore a conspicuous part in the discussions concerning the “Spanish conspiracy.” His statement that Gardoqui, the Spanish minister at Washington, had been in communication with John Brown looking to the withdrawal of Kentucky from the United States, was bitterly denounced by James Brown, afterward minister to France, which led to a challenge from Marshall, but the duel was prevented after the parties reached the ground. He returned to Virginia in 1795, and soon afterward married Hester, daughter of Robert Morris, the financier of the Revolution. Mr. Marshall was the commercial agent of New York, Boston, and Charleston in France during the reign of terror, and was employed by Washington as the agent of the United States to negotiate for the release of Lafayette, who was then a prisoner in Austria. While in England he negotiated for the purchase of the Fairfax estates in the northern neck of Virginia, and he and his brother John received all the lands in “Leeds Manor,” where their posterity continue to reside. The last night of the administration of John Adams, Mr. Marshall was appointed one of the “midnight judges,” but was soon legislated out of office by the Republicans. — Another son, Alexander Keith, lawyer, b. in Fauquier county, Va., in 1770; d. in Mason county, Ky., 7 Feb., 1825, received a classical education from private tutors, and became one of the ablest pioneer lawyers of his day. He represented Mason county in the legislature from 1797 till 1800, had an active participation in the discussions of the Burr conspiracy in 1806, was for years clerk of the court of appeals, and in 1818 was appointed reporter of that court. He edited “Decisions of the Court of Appeals of Kentucky, 1817-'21” (3 vols., Washington, 1819-'26). — Another son, Louis, educator, b. in Fauquier county, Va., 7 Oct., 1773; d. in Buckpond, Ky., in April, 1866, was educated at home, studied medicine in Edinburgh, and spent several years in Paris, participating in the attack upon the Bastile. He was arrested during the reign of terror and condemned to death, but was rescued by the intervention of his elder brothers. He attained note as a physician, but his taste for literature and languages caused him to abandon his profession, and he then established an academy at Woodford. He was president of Washington college, Va., in 1838, and afterward of Transylvania university, Ky. Dr. Marshall was regarded by many as superior in native talent to the chief justice, his brother, but his eccentricities limited his influence. — The third Thomas's son, Thomas, soldier, b. in Mason county, Ky., 13 April, 1793; d. in Lewis county, Ky., 28 March, 1853, was well educated. He was severely wounded in a political duel with Charles S. Mitchell in 1812, served as a lieutenant in the war of that year, and was in the legislature several times between 1817 and 1844, serving one term as speaker of that body. He was commissioned by President Polk a brigadier-general of volunteers in the Mexican war, and commanded the Kentucky brigade under Gen. John E. Wool. In consequence of disagreements with that officer, Marshall was left with only a part of his brigade to guard Rineonada pass and to drill raw recruits. He received orders to march for Buena Vista, cut his way through the forces of Gen. Minon, but reached the field after the victory had been won. Gen. Marshall, in conjunction with Gen. Worth, preferred the charges against Gen. Winfield Scott which led to a court of inquiry on that officer's conduct. After his return to Kentucky he was murdered by a tenant at his home in Lewis county. He was originally a Federalist, but became an ardent Democrat. — Another son of the third Thomas, Charles Alexander, soldier, b. in Mason county, Ky., 2 May, 1809, was educated in Woodford by his uncle, Dr. Louis Marshall, and served in the legislature in 1840, 1855, and 1857. He was a determined friend of the Union, recruited the 16th Kentucky infantry in 1861, at the head of that regiment led the advance of Gen. William Nelson in his campaign in eastern Kentucky in the autumn of 1861, and bore the brunt of the fight at the battle of Ivy Creek. — Louis's son, Thomas Francis, lawyer, b. in Frankfort, Ky., 7 June, 1801; d. near Versailles, Ky., 22 Sept., 1864, was educated by private tutors, studied law under John J. Crittenden, and began practice in Versailles. He served in the legislature from 1832 till 1836, and was conspicuous in its debates. In 1833 he removed to Louisville, was defeated as an Independent candidate for congress, returned to Versailles in 1837, and again served in the legislature in 1838-'9, resisting the repeal of the law of 1833 which prohibited the importation of slaves into Kentucky. His reports on the judiciary, reviewing existing defects in that department of state polity and urging its entire independence, and upon banks, are state papers of great ability. He was finally elected to congress as a Whig, serving from 31 May, 1841, till 3 March, 1843, and during his term moved a series of resolutions censuring John Quincy Adams for introducing a petition for the dissolution of the Union. He opposed Clay's U. S. bank bill, and subsequently favored the annexation of Texas and the election of Polk to the presidency. In 1846 he raised a company of cavalry and served in Col. Humphrey Marshall's regiment in the Mexican war. He was a presidential elector in 1852, was defeated as a candidate for the Kentucky constitutional convention, and during its sittings edited the “Old Guard,” which he continued several months. He devoted the latter years of his life to the study of geology and history, and lectured successfully through the northern and eastern states. A collection of his writings and speeches was edited by W. L. Barre (Cincinnati, 1858). — Another son of Louis, Edward Colston, lawyer, b. in Woodford, Ky., in 1820, was educated at Washington college, Va., Central college, and Transylvania, and practised law in Nicholasville and Cincinnati. In 1847 he was made 1st lieutenant of U. S. infantry, served in the Mexican war, and became captain on 6 May, 1848, but was cashiered for duelling on 22 May, 1848, and in 1849 went to California, where he sat in the legislature, and was elected to congress as a Democrat, serving from 1 Dec., 1851, till 3 March, 1853. In 1856 he returned to Kentucky, where he attained note as a lawyer and orator. In 1878 he returned to California and was elected attorney-general of that state. — The second Thomas's great-grandson, Charles, lawyer, b. in Warrenton, Va., 3 Oct., 1830, is the son of Alexander John, a lawyer of Virginia. He was graduated in 1849 at the University of Virginia, was professor of mathematics from 1849 till 1852 in the University of