Marshall, John

(Sept. 24, 1755-July 6, 1835). Third Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court. He was born in Germantown, now Midland, Virginia. Marshall participated in the American Revolution and was part of the Minute Men at the siege of Norfolk. In 1780 he attended a course of lectures on law at William and Mary College, and in August of that year he was admitted to the bar. He began his practice in Fauquier County and then moved to Richmond. Marshall served in the Virginia Assembly, 1782-1791 and 1795-1797, and was a delegate to the state convention which ratified the Federal Constitution in 1788. From Jan. 31, 1801, until his death, he was the third Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. His father, Thomas, was a vestryman; and his grandfather, William Keith, was a clergyman of the Church of England. John Marshall attended Monumental Church, Richmond. He was a delegate to the 1813 General Convention. Marshall's beliefs were primarily Unitarian. He never became a member of the Episcopal Church, which he attended “to set an example.” His daughter, however, wrote in her journal that Marshall was converted late in life to a belief in the divinity by reading a book written by his grandfather. Marshall determined to become a member, but he died before this wish could be realized. He died in Philadelphia.