Marshall A. Stultz was born c. 1811, probably in Muskingum County, Ohio. Military pension application records by his grandfather, Richard Marshall, help to establish that his mother was a Frances Keziah “Franky” Marshall who married an Adam Stults in Muskingum County in 1809. Since Ohio census records for 1800 and 1810 were mostly destroyed in a fire, it’s difficult to reconstruct where Marshall’s parents lived before and after their marriage.
Marshall’s father Adam fought in the War of 1812 and was killed in action in 1813, probably at the battle of Ft. Meigs. Since Marshall had a sister born in 1813, it seems likely that Adam was in Ohio during most of his brief military service. Although I have not been able to find any records for Marshall’s mother Frances, I believe she died in or shortly before 1818. Records indicate that Marshall and his sister, Elizabeth, began receiving military pension benefits in this year as heirs of their father.
Early census records listed only the name of the head of each household, so it is difficult to identify the other persons enumerated. However, we often can work backwards from later census records and by inference from other records. Records for a military pension application by Richard Marshall indicate that Marshall and Elizabeth were living with their grandparents in 1820. The 1820 Census report for Meigs, Muskingum, OH includes a Richard Marshall household consistent with this.
The 1830 Census report for Meigs, Muskingum suggests that Marshall’s sister Elizabeth is still living with her grandparents, but Marshall is not. However, I have not been able to find any household that seems to fit Marshall Stults, so I’m assuming that he is living apart from this grandparents but in another household — perhaps as a hired worker of some kind.
On June 7, 1832, Marshall married Sarah Peirce, daughter of Lewellen Peirce and Janet (or Jane) Chambers. [1] Sarah was the widow of John Echelberry and had a son named Lewellen and perhaps two other sons; her parents, Lewellen and Janet, lived in Meigs Township. Philina, the first child of Marshal and Sarah, was born 7 months later.
In 1840 we find a name that’s been indexed as “Marshal States” but looks to me like “Marshal Stults.” It’s on the same page as a Richard Marshall whose approximately 80 years old and living with a woman of similar age. This seems to fit with a Marshall having married and established his own household near that of his grandparents.
Sarah Peirce’s first husband, John Eckhelbery may have been related to the Echelberry’s who lived in Blue Rock, Muskingum, OH. There are quite a few Echelberry graves in Blue Rock Baptist Cemetery where Richard Marshall is buried. More information about this family can be found at the memorial page for the grave of Valentine Echelberry at the Find A Grave website.
[1] Ohio, County Marriages, 1789-2013,” database with images,FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:2QHV-LR6), Marshal Stutts and Sarah Eckhelbery, 07 Jun 1832; citing Muskingum, Ohio, United States, reference ; county courthouses, Ohio; FHL microfilm 865,142.