Marshall Hall Foundation
Organization
On October 13, 1931 the Thomas Johnson (Baltimore) Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution placed a historical marker on the Marshall Hall mansion that stated: “This mansion was built by William Marshall II about 1690, a half century earlier than Mount Vernon. William Marshall I obtained title to this tract of 200 acres from John Ackelahama, the Emperor of the Piscataway Indians. For six generations Marshall Hall passed from father to son - a period of 176 years. From 1756-1801 Capt. Thomas Hanson Marshall of the American Revolution, a neighbor and lifetime friend of General Washington of Mount Vernon, was master of the mansion.”
Other than the last sentence, which should have read: "From 1759-1801," the majority of the information on the marker was false. How was an organization like the DAR, that prides itself on historical research, led astray? Most of the marker text came from a 1925 book entitled “Marshall Hall” by Minnie Kendall-Lowther, whose previous book “Mount Vernon” was used in the D.C. Public School System. It was later repeated in a study called “Marshall Family Burying Ground at Marshall Hall, MD” published in the National Genealogical Quarterly in 1927 by Herbert P. Gerald. To the DAR’s defense, confirmation of this information by the two surviving daughters of the last Marshall heir, lent further authority to the tale. Sometime later, the marker was removed from the mansion. The Marshall Hall Foundation hopes to generate interest in Marshall Hall, so that an accurate historical marker will be placed there.
Other than the last sentence, which should have read: "From 1759-1801," the majority of the information on the marker was false. How was an organization like the DAR, that prides itself on historical research, led astray? Most of the marker text came from a 1925 book entitled “Marshall Hall” by Minnie Kendall-Lowther, whose previous book “Mount Vernon” was used in the D.C. Public School System. It was later repeated in a study called “Marshall Family Burying Ground at Marshall Hall, MD” published in the National Genealogical Quarterly in 1927 by Herbert P. Gerald. To the DAR’s defense, confirmation of this information by the two surviving daughters of the last Marshall heir, lent further authority to the tale. Sometime later, the marker was removed from the mansion. The Marshall Hall Foundation hopes to generate interest in Marshall Hall, so that an accurate historical marker will be placed there.