FIRST GENERATION

1. William A. Marquis Sr. was born about 1768 in North Carolina. This is according to the United States Census for 1840 of Smith Township, Posey County, Indiana. This census documents that our ancestor William A. Marquis, Sr. was born in North Carolina. He died before 1860 in Posey County, Indiana. William's death probably occurs before 1860 since he no longer appears in any United States Census records after the census of 1850. To date, it has not been discovered where William and his wife Mary have their final resting place. Research on the cemeteries in the townships of Posey County has yet to reveal where they were buried. He settled 1793 to 1794 in Posey County, Indiana. The location where the Marquis ancestors lived was in southern Indiana. It was right in the very tip of Indiana where the Ohio and the Wabash Rivers converge east of where the Ohio River joins into the mighty Mississippi River at the southern tip of Illinois. Posey County was in the Indiana Territory and was formed in 1814 after Indiana became a state in 1805. Our ancestor William A. Marquis, Sr. lived there at the time of the birth of a state and county.

William A. Marquis, Sr. is listed as William Marcus in the 1790 Census of Halifax District, Warren County in northeastern North Carolina. He is also then listed for the first time in Indiana in the census of 1820 for Posey County. The tracing of William A. Marquis (Marcus) Sr. through the United States Census records revealed the following facts and information:

1850: William (Marquess) was listed as 82 years old in the 1850 census of Posey County, Indiana. In that same census he states his birthplace as North Carolina. His wife Mary is listed and also states her birthplace as North Carolina. In addition, in this census he lives next to his son James C. Marquis and his family.

1840: William is listed as William A. Marcus in the 1840 United States Census of Robinson Township in Posey County, Indiana. William at that time lived near his sons William Jr. and James C. Marquis.

1830: William is recorded as William Marcus, Sr. In the 1830 United States Census of Posey County, Indiana. He, as he did in 1840, lived next to his son William Marcus, Jr., his son James C. Marcus, and also his son Solomon Marcus.

1820: In the United States Census of 1820 for Posey County, Indiana, William Marcus Sr. is recorded as being at least, or over, 45 years old. Since William was 82 in 1850, he would have been 52 years old at this census. The 1820 census information connects to the 1850 census information in spite of the name change or misspelling because of the age identification through those census records.

1793: Between 1790 and 1795 would have been the period of time for the migration of William Marcus and his family to the mid-west. William’s son James C. Marquis was born in Indiana about 1795 and by 1820 James C. was also married in Indiana.

1790: The First Census of the United States in 1790 for the state of North Carolina lists a William Marcus. The census records for Halifax District, Warren County identifies William as a free white male and head of household. A free white female in the same record is his wife Mary. There are no children listed in this record since his sons William Jr. and James C. were not yet born. Warren County is located in the upper northeast area of North Carolina right on the northern border of Virginia. It is approximately 200 miles inland from the eastern coastal area of North Carolina. The following map displays the location in North Carolina where William Marcus is recorded.


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ADD MAP OF NORTH CAROLINA
WHERE WILLIAM MARCUS WAS
RECORDED.
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Conclusion: By following the age categories of the United States Census records, I calculate the William Marcus listed in the 1790 census is the earliest recorded Marquis (Marcus) in the United States. The age calculation trail for William A. Marquis Sr. follows:

1850 - 82 years old (from census record)
1840 - 72 years old
1830 - 62 years old
1820 - 52 years old (validated for 1850 census)
1810 - 42 years old
1800 - 32 years old
1790 - 22 years old (validated for 1820 census)
1780 - 12 years old
1770 - 2 Years old
1768 - Calculated year of birth.

An interesting possibility exists that William's father may have been a Revolutionary War soldier because of the time in which William was born. Research into that possibility continues as of the date of this writing.

In respect to any name changes, Williams Marcus Sr.'s son, James C., was recorded on his marriage license in 1820 as James C. Marquis. James's son, Perry G., seems to be a source of name changes throughout the census records. It appears that wherever Perry lists his last name, William Sr. follows in like fashion.

Another interesting note is that the census records consistently conflict in spelling of the Marquis name with that of locally researched Posey County, Indiana information. The fact of this is actually supported in the 1820 census of Indiana where the introduction to that census enumeration expresses that the census taker for Posey County was German and could speak very little English. The result was a very German spelling of the county inhabitants, the name Marquis/Marcus inclusive. One evidence of this is very clear when William Marcus Sr.'s son, James C., moved from Posey County to Wells County in northeastern Indiana. There, James C. is clearly and consistently listed in the census records as James C. Marquis. This little fact of the German census taker's name spelling approach actually led to the further discovery of James' father, William, and the rest of his family.

But as to William Sr.'s spelling of Marcus in North Carolina, one can only determine that at this time Marquis was pronounced "Mar-kus" and would have been recorded as such. Real evidence in this present day of the Marcus pronunciation was while researching Marquis family records in Hamilton County, Illinois during 1995, the way they pronounced the name Marquis was not "Mar-kwis" but "Mar-kus". An interesting pronunciation that appears to be brought forward from over two hundred years ago.

In respect to the migration of the Marquis family, it is interesting to note in some of the historical records I have researched, many Marquis (Marcus) families claimed origin in Virginia. William A. Marcus Sr. is the only Marquis/Marcus that was found in the first census records in 1790 for North Carolina, yet others exist in the State of Virginia.

A possible theory based on records for William A. Marquis, Sr.'s, grandson Perry G. Marquis, is where Perry states he was from Virginia. This may be from a time when Perry G. lived with his grandfather William and may have been told about his ancestors or relatives from Virginia. In addition to the state of Virginia, Perry G. also claimed his birthplace as North Carolina and Posey County, Indiana. But regardless of Perry G.'s clouding the issue of his birthplace, the possibility exists for further study that the Marquis/Marcus family first came to the colonies through Virginia, then to North Carolina. As to whether they came from France, Germany, or a border thereof is yet to be completely substantiated.

One thing clear in the migration of William A. Marquis Sr. from North Carolina to Indiana, is that he and his family would have taken the long journey through the mountains of North Carolina, Virginia, Tennessee, moving through Kentucky, crossing the vast Ohio River and into southern Indiana. One can only imagine the hardship endured through the beauty and wonder of the American frontier, passing through Indian territories, stopping at trading outposts or military fortifications for supplies to continue the trip.

One can imagine that William drove his family through the Cumberland Gap in the Appalachian Mountains, then through the rugged wilderness paths of Tennessee and Kentucky to come upon the crossing point of the Ohio River with children, belongings, and young wife along in a pioneer move to settle a new land. This migration of William Marcus and his family is what becomes for the present day Marquis family the early settlers, the pioneers from the east, sojourning to the midwest.

In the book "Early Indiana Trails and Surveys" by George R. Wilson, he writes: "Before the treaty of Vincennes, which gave the United States a title to the land between the Vincennes tract and the Ohio river, many persons who had started from Virginia, Tennessee, and the Carolinas, intending to settle in the Northwest Territory, had stopped in Kentucky, all along the southern bank of the Ohio river, and were waiting for an opportunity to enter Indiana, as soon as the government had possession and the surveys began. There is no regular survey in Kentucky, and settlers were never sure of their titles. Frequently all their possessions were lost through an unknown previous title or claim."

"After the treaty, these people entered Indiana over the Blue River, Rome, Yellow Banks, Red Banks, Saline and other trails. It is said that from 1785 to 1812 more than 2,000 men, women and children were carried into captivity from Kentucky and the Northwest Territory, and that not one in ten was ever heard of again."

Wilson further writes: "One of the most conspicuous Indian traces in southern Indiana was known as the 'Red Banks Trail,' running from what is now Henderson, Kentucky, north by way of Evansville and Princeton to Vincennes. It ran almost due north and south, and practically with what are now the Evansville & Terre Haute Railroad and the Traction Line from Evansville to Princeton. It ran about one mile west of the range line between ranges 10 and 11.

Many of the emigrants that settled in the northern part of Vanderburgh County (just east of Posey County) and in the western part of Gibson County came over the Red Banks trail. This old Red Banks trail was patrolled in pioneer days for the protection of settlers coming into Indiana. Henderson, Kentucky was formerly called 'Red Banks.'

The Red Banks trail passed through the environs of Princeton, and a settlement there previous to 1802 caused the Freeman line to be deflected so as to embrace a triangle running from the mouth of White River to a point near the shops of the Southern Railroad, thus including the settlements within white territory.

There was an old Indian trail near the Ohio River, in Posey County. It began in Spencer or Warrick County, and went to the Saline region of Illinois, south of the little Wabash River. The Shawnees, under Chief Setteedown, had villages along this trail, not far from Newburg."

In addition to this American migration, one has to remember that the immigration to the colonies would not have been that long ago from William's perspective. Possibly his father or grandfather sailed from Europe to settle in the new world. It is also possible that William himself made the journey, but in thinking through the concept, the name of William Marcus again becomes significant. William is not a French name nor a German name in origin, but rather English in nature. More than likely, the parents or grandparents of William made the voyage across the sea and then in melting into the dominated English culture of Virginia, named a son William. What a coincidence that the earliest traced Marquis family is a William and Mary, two prominent names taken from the King and Queen of England during the time of Virginia's settlement. So the question of origin for William still remains, is it France, Germany, or possibly via England? To date one can only romanticize the possibilities.

In 1842, William Marcus is recorded in the county tax records to have had thirty-seven acres of land in section 36 of Smith Township. In Smith Township and also in Robinson Township, there are small beautiful communities that were supported by the surrounding farming and river-related industries. There is no question that the Marquis family members would have been able to go to the great Ohio River or the Wabash River for fishing or boating of sorts. In crossing the Wabash River from Indiana to Illinois, the view is spectacular for mid-western states.

The beauty of the area actually inspired one of the first "planned" communities of the country, Harmony, Indiana. This community was constructed as a near perfect environment to raise a family. While researching the Marquis/Marcus family in Posey County, it was in Harmony where I stayed, a beautiful religious community founded on faith in God and a desire to serve Him. This lifestyle spilled over into the surrounding Posey County community of Cynthiana. It was between Harmony and Cynthiana where William Marcus Sr. and his family lived.

He was married to Mary Marquis in 1790 in North Carolina. William and Mary's marriage date is a derived approximation, but is based on a Census record of Smith Township for Posey County, Indiana taken in 1840. Mary Marquis was born about 1770 in North Carolina. This birth year for Mary Marquis was calculated from the census record of Smith Township for Posey County, Indiana taken in 1840. William A. Marquis Sr. and Mary Marquis had the following children:

child+2 i. William Marquis Jr..
child+3 ii. Solomon Marquis.
child+4 iii. James C. Marquis.
child5 iv. Samuel Marquis was born about 1797 in Posey County, Indiana. According to the census record of Smith Township for Posey County, Indiana taken in 1840. A Samuel Marquis is listed as having purchased 60 acres of land on February 8, 1851 in Wells County, Indiana. He owned land at Section 36, Range 12E in Nottingham Township.

In tracing each and every Marquis/Marcus in Indiana for each United States Census, it is interesting to note that this ancestor, Samuel Marquis, was born in Posey County, Indiana and is listed in there in the United States Census of 1840. It may be that Samuel, after the death of his brother James C. Marquis, moved north into Wells County, Indiana and purchased land. This is concluded because there were no other Samuel Marquis's but this one in any other Indiana census record.
child6 v. Thomas Marquis was born about 1805 in Posey County, Indiana. According to the census record of Smith Township for Posey County, Indiana taken in 1840.

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