The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 20, July 1916 - April, 1917 Page: 132

The Southwestern Historical Quarterly

COLONEL JOHN MARSHALL
W. S. OLDHAM
The following sketch is not written entirely from my personal
recollections of Colonel Marshall. When I knew him I was merely
a gawk of a boy, while he was a mature man. I was often in his
office and listened to his conversations with friends on the political
and other topics of the day, and I recognized that he was a very
entertaining talker, but I did not fully appreciate his scholarly
attainments, his erudition and his great mental endowments. I
obtained my data, principally from various conversations that I
had in years gone by with three of his personal friends and polit-
ical associates, towit: James P. Henderson, of Houston, and
Francis R. Lubbock, and William M. Walton, of Austin. All
three were capable, reliable, prominent, intellectual gentlemen.
The first two were governors of the State; the third, Colonel
Walton, now living in Austin, was attorney general of the State
and has long been recognized as one of the most learned lawyers
and polished orators of Texas.--Author's note, Austin, Texas,
March 24, 1913.
Colonel John Marshall was born in Virginia, where he grew
to manhood, then he concluded to make his home in and grow up
with the young State of Mississippi. He married Miss Ani P.
Newman in 1850, daughter of a wealthy cotton planter of Jef-
ferson County, Mississippi. They had three children; two of them
survived their parents. The daughter, Clara, became the wife of
this writer in 1873. The son, Hudson B. Marshall, is now a
citizen of Austin, and has a picturesque mountain farm near the
city, and is a recognized authority on Angora goats and bee culture.
Little is known about Colonel Marshall's life prior to his mov-
ing to Mississippi. He was a silent man concerning matters which
touched him personally, and his private affairs or early life history
was known only to those who were his most intimate and con-
fidential friends.
Before coming to Texas he lived at Jackson, Mississippi, and
edited The Mississippian. He was the friend and compeer of
Jefferson Davis, John A. Quitman, the Yergers, Guions, Sharkies,
George and other noted men of that day and time.
In 1852 he determined to make Texas his future home. He

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