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Part of an old map of the San Jacinto area from the Texas Revolution

Veteran Bio

Texian Location:  Harrisburg

The Kemp Sketch

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MARSHALL, JOSEPH TAYLOR - Born September 28, 1815 in what is now the state of Illinois. He came to Texas in 1829 and settled in what is now Brazos County. He was a brother of John Marshall who participated in the Battle of San Jacinto. Joseph enlisted in Company E, Captain Gibson Kuykendall, and on page 42 of the army rolls in the General Land Office his is shown as having been detailed to guard the baggage at the camp opposite Harrisburg, April 21, 1836. He was issued Bounty Certificate No. 3205 for 320 acres of land, May 5, 1838 for having served in the army from March 20 to July 20, 1836. Mr. Marshall was living in Austin County in 1840. In 1860 he moved to Navarro County where he died March 28, 1892, while a member of the Texas Veterans Association. (Texas 1829 H. R. No. 43 1/3 League Austin County)

Mr. Marshall was married in 1845 to Mrs. Elvira (Wingfield) Wallace, second wife of Caleb Wallace, one of the “Old Three Hundred” of Austin’s Colonists, who settled near Groce’s Retreat in what is now Grimes County. Mrs. Wallace was a daughter of Owen and Sarah Wingfield, who came to Texas in 1824, and settled at Old Caney, in what is now Wharton County. Mrs. Marshall was born January 30, 1818, and died February 14, 1913. Mr. and Mrs. Marshall are buried in marked graves in the Marshall cemetery ten miles west of Corsicana in Navarro County.

Mr. Marshall was a member of the Somerville Expedition in 1842. He was wounded by a comrade, on the Rio Grande, who mistook him for a bear, while on a foraging expedition. Due to his wounds he did not join the Mier Expedition. He was married in Grimes County where he lived until 1860, when he moved to Nararro County, where he lived until he died. During the Civil War he was in the Confederate Army, stationed at Galveston.

Children of Mr. and Mrs. Marshall were Louisa Texanna, who married Samuel L. Campbell; Amanda, who married Winston T. Martin; Leah, who married Joshua Melvin Weaver; Matilda Angelina, who married William J. Weeks; Mary Emily, who married James Theodore Jackson, now living at 6120 Prospect Avenue, Dallas, Texas; and Joseph Lewis Marshall who married Ellen Weaver, now living in Corsicana, Texas.

None of the children of Joseph Taylor Marshall are now living, but his grandchildren, great-grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren with a few exceptions, live at and near Corsicana, in Navarro County, Texas.

Written by Louis W. Kemp, between 1930 and 1952. Please note that typographical and factual errors have not been corrected from the original sketches. The biographies have been scanned from the original typescripts, a process that sometimes allows for mistakes in the new text. Researchers should verify the accuracy of the texts' contents through other sources before quoting in publications. Additional information on the veteran may be available in the Herzstein Library.


Battle Statistics

  • Died in Battle: No
  • Rank: Private
  • Company: Capt. Gibson Kuykendall

Personal Statistics

  • Date of Birth: 1815 Sept 28
  • Birthplace: Illinois
  • Came to Texas: 1829
  • Date of Death: 1892 Mar 28
  • Burial Place: Marshall cemetery, Navarro County, Texas
  • Comments: Somervell Expedition, Civil War, Confederate Army
  • Bounty Certificate: 3205
  • Wife: Elvira Wingfield Wallace
  • Children: Louisa Texanna Marshall Campbell; Amanda Marshall Martin; Leah Marshall Weaver; Matilda Angelina Marshall Weeks; Mary Emily Marshall Jackson; Joseph Lewis Marshall
  • Family at San Jacinto: Brother John Ligett Marshall at San Jacinto