William Marsh (Amos (3), Reverend Thomas (2), William(1)) was born 17 April 1764 in Mansfield, Connecticut, son of Amos and Abigail (Dimmck) Marsh. He died in the epidemic (peripneumony) 4 April 1813 at Shrewsbury, Rutland, Vermont, just short of his 49th birthday. He is buried in the Finney Cemetery in Shrewsbury:
"William Marsh Esq. died April 23*, 1813 in his 49th year."
*Note the discrepancy in date - since Nathan Finney died on 29 March 1813, and his daughter came from New York soon after, 4 April must be the correct date. She stated William Marsh had died but had not been buried yet, when she arrived.
William married Hannah _______ (probably Hannah Squire) born 15 Oct 1766 at Cornwall, Connecticut, daughter of Daniel and Hannah (Abbott) Squire - (note his brother, Israel Marsh, married her sister, Phebe Squire). Hannah Marsh died at Shrewsbury 30 March 1810 aged 44 years (see 11 April 1810 Rutland Herald ). No doubt she was buried at Finney Cemetery, but no gravestone marks the site. Possibly William had not yet erected a gravestone or it is under the sod.
William married (2nd) Amy (Waldo) Allen, a widow, on 16 December 1810 at Tinmouth, Vermont. She was the daughter of Beulah and Amy (Bingham) Waldo of Tinmouth and widow of Waldo Allen. Waldo was born 27 March 1778 at Bridgewater, Massachusetts, son of Ezra Allen and Phebe Cary. Waldo was living alone at Tinmouth in the 1800 census. He died 6 November 1807 in his 30th year and is buried in the Old Cemetery at Benson, Vermont.
After William Marsh's death, Amy married (3rd) Samuel Buck 8 November 1818 at Shrewsbury. The 17 November Rutland Herald states that on 14 November 1818, Samuel Buck of Bridport married Mrs. Ama Marsh of Shrewsbury at Whiting (Addison County). The ceremony was performed by Otis Walker, Esq. Note that James "Otis" Walker was married to Daniel Marsh's daughter, Eunice (Daniel being the nephew of Amos). Samuel Buck was residing at Bridport, Addison, Vermont in the 1810 Census. (Note: this is the same town where Daniel Squire lived. Is it possible Samuel Buck had some connection to William Marsh's first wife?) By 1820 Amy and Samuel had removed to Bridport. In 1825 Samuel Buck of Bridport was named guardian of Allen Marsh, Amy's son. Amy Buck died 22 May 1836 at Bridport, no age given.
William Marsh moved to Clarendon in 1770 with his family. His father, Amos, signed a petition, December 1770, which stated he had 6 children. William's life in Clarendon was a time of turmoil and uncertainty. His family lived in the northern part of Clarendon that was once called Socialborough. This land was in dispute between the people who had purchased their land under the New Hampshire grants and those that held title under New York. Ethan Allen and his men were often in Clarendon doing battle with the Yorkers. When William was about 10 years old (c.1774) his uncle, Jacob Marsh, and family, left Clarendon for Saratoga, New York due to this land controversy.
Then came the Revolutionary War. Clarendon was a hot bed of Tories (those who chose to side with the British). When Burgoyne's army came through Rutland County after routing the Americans at the Battle of Hubbardton, Vermont in July 1777, men were forced to choose sides. William's father, Amos, and his brother, Shubal, joined the Queen's Loyalist Rangers that summer. Most likely Amos journeyed to Skenesborough (now Whitehall), New York in July 1777 to obtain protection papers from the British which allowed the residents to stay on their farms. These British officials were urging these men to join the Queen's Loyalist Rangers. Amos and Shubal likely joined at this time, Whether they ever fought in a battle or merely returned to their farm is unknown. If Amos did serve, he must have soon deserted the British cause because he was in Clarendon in April 1778. At that time, he and his neighbor to the north, Samuel Place, who had also joined the Rangers, were paid by the Vermont Confiscation officials for caring for Tory families. A yoke of oxen was taken by the Americans from Amos during this time. However, both Amos and Samuel Place retained titles to their farms - unlike most Tories who had their lands confiscated.
According to his probate record, Amos Marsh, late of Clarendon, died 15 September 1778. His farm, lot #6 on the Socialborough map, was divided between his wife and children (note son Shubal had died or his whereabouts were unknown as he did not receive any property). William was to inherit 18 acres of the farm. Unfortunately, sometime in the early 1780's, William's step-father, Ebenezer Howard, sold the whole farm to Reuben Pitcher. Since the children did not receive their inheritance, their cousin, Daniel Marsh, petitioned the Vermont Legislature on behalf of the heirs. The petition was approved in 1791 and most of the heirs sold their portion to Daniel Marsh. William deeded his 13 acres to Daniel for ten pounds in 1795 while residing at Shrewsbury.
William made his first land purchase in Shrewsbury in 1784. He located on the Shunpike Road (1869 map - J. Riley). The Vermont 1790 Federal Census was taken sometime after March 1791, when Vermont joined the Union as the 14th State.
1790 Census Shrewsbury: William Marsh 1 male over 16, 2 males under 16, 2 females. (Perhaps his brothers, sister, and widowed mother were living with him.) In 1798 and 1799 and possibly other years, he was elected Shrewsbury's Representative to the Vermont Legislature. After his death in 1813, his property was probated. Judging from his extensive inventory, he was a livestock dealer as well as a successful farmer. He owned 400 acres of land in Shrewsbury and Mount Holly valued at $4,000, personal estate $2,857 and a pew in the Shrewsbury Meeting House (Universalist). His widow, Amy, and his son-in-law, William Green, were appointed administrators.
On 17 Jun 1813, William Marsh's neighbor, Calvin Robinson, was named guardian of William, Dimmick and Allen Marsh aged about 18, 15, and 2 years respectively. It is interesting to note that William's mother, Abigail Howard, was still alive as she put in a claim against his estate for $28.50 that was due on a note. His last sickness and funeral cost $55. The epidemic of peripneumony (lung fever), which started with the American soldiers stationed on Lake Champlain during the War of 1812, soon spread throughout New England and New York. It hit Shrewsbury between February and April 1813, causing the death of about 30 residents. Six thousand people, one in every forty, died in Vermont. The symptoms of the disease were chills, extreme cold in the extremities, pain in the head and chest, and rapid respiration accompanied by a weak, fast pulse. Victims often died within 24 hours. Bloodletting and herbal remedies were the usual treatment.
Lydia (Finney) Meech wrote
about losing her father, Nathan Finney, on 29 March 1813 and her brother-in-law, Dr. Holton, on 16 March 1813 to the epidemic:
"Esq. Marsh,
another townsman used to be at my father's often, but I did not know the family much, or do not remember it now, but Esq. Marsh was a part of the
respectability of the town,,, He was dead but not buried, when I came home for my father's funeral...When we arrived it was a terrible time in
Shrewsbury; many heads of the families had died____ and all the town was in sorrow. How we sat down and talked about it and wept!"
Their probable children were:
A gravestone in Laurel Glen Cemetery at Cuttingsviille bears the names and dates for William and Polly and their children.
At the end of the list, there is the following:
Amy Buck and Waldo Allen had a son, Waldo Beulah Allen, who was born 28 September 1805 at Benson, Vermont and died 11 August 1875 Wallingford, Vermont. He married Orpha Ashley 15 September 1824 at Shrewsbury. She was born 3 September 1805 at Shrewsbury, daughter of Martin and Theodosia (Kilburn) Ashley and died 30 November 1871 at Mt. Holly. Both are buried in Laurel Glen Cemetery near the William Marsh Jr. family in Cuttingsville (Shrewsbury), Vermont. Waldo married (2) Betsy R._____. She died 3 December 1884, aged 62 years. She was buried in Maple Grove Cemetery at East Wallingford, Vermont as wife of "Deacon" Waldo B. Allen.
In 1860 the Allens were living with their son, Austin C. Allen, at Winchendon, Massachusetts. Two other Allens, likely Waldo's children, were buried near Waldo: Asahel Allen died 4 February 1871 aged 37, and Elizabeth F. Allen, wife of Merrit H. Dickerman, 22 August 1879 aged 54.
Amy Buck sold her dower rights from William's property to her son, Waldo B. Allen. Later the property was sold to William Marsh Jr. and then to his brother, Allen Squires Marsh. The 1869 map shows J. Riley, probably a relative of Adeline Riley Marsh.
It is interesting to note that Waldo B. Allen's wife, Orpha Ashley, had an older sister, Dosha/Theodosia Ashley, who married 10 January 1809, James Riley of Boston, at Shrewsbury. Their daughter, Adeline Riley, born 1810, married Allen Squires Marsh - so Waldo's half brother, Allen Marsh, married Waldo's neice.
Another child for Amy Buck and Waldo Allen was discovered in the probate records of Addison County, Vermont where William Marsh was made their guardian. The child's name was Phebe Allen.
Daniel Squire was born 26 December 1738 at Cornwall, Connecticut, son of Reuben and Hannah (Mallory) Squire, and died 12 March 1813 at Addison, Vermont, also in the epidemic. He married Hannah Abbott 19 February 1761 at Cornwall. In November 1773, while residing in Jericho, Massachusetts, he bought land in Rutland and moved by the following year. During the Revolution, he served in several Rutland militia companies. His home farm extended from the intersection of Cold River Road West and Cold River Road, south to the Clarendon line. In 1789 he sold his farm to the McConnells and relocated in Addison. (This Daniel Squire, who lived in the southern section of town, is not to be confused with the Daniel Squire who lived in the northern part of Rutland.)