JOHN MARLIN
John Marlin, b October 17, 1792 in Madison County,
Alabama, d March 12, 1847 in Bucksnort, then Limestone County, Texas and now
Falls County ‑ was a son of William Marlin, b ca 1760 in Rowan County, North
Carolina, d 1805 in Rutherford County, Tennessee (his estate inventory presented
to the April 1805 Court); and his wife, Rachel (maiden name unknown) Marlin, b
1765 in North Carolina, d after writing a brief Will on December 16, 1852, in
Falls County, Texas, in the of a daughter, Jane (Marlin) Covington.
On April 3, 1817 in Rutherford Countv. Tennessee,
John Marlin married Mrs. Mary Celia (Menefee) Dean, b ca 1800 in Tennessee, d
February 6, 1845 at Bucksnort ‑ a daughter of Nimrod Perry and Jemima (Ingram)
Menefee.
John and Mary Marlin were the parents of seven
children ‑ the first six born in Tennessee, and their youngest in Texas.
John Marlin brought his family to Texas when it was
still Mexico, in 1832, and was among those fami‑
lies
brought by Sterling Clack Robertson who had to wait until the battle between
Stephen F. Austin and Sterling Clack Robertson was settled by Mexican Governor
of the State of Coahuila, Augustin de Viesca, in Robertson's favor. On February
2, 1835, as one of the original members of Robertson's Colony, John Marlin
received a grant for a league of land (4,428 acres), which land was located on
the Brazos River of what is now Falls County. His was originally at Viesca
- Robertson's Colony seat of government ‑ but after participating in the
"Runaway Scrape" of 1836, he established his home, upon the family's return
after Texas had won her Independence from Mexico, on the East side of the Brazos
River, about one mile south of Bucksnort ‑ known as "Fort Marlin." The old
colony community of Sarahville de Viesca, on the West side of the Brazos River,
faded into history. Many early settlers and newcomers in the area found refuge
and protection within the walls of John Marlin's home, Fort Marlin, in the early
1840's.
John Marlin served as a Texas Ranger under Captain
Sterling Clack Robertson, first enlisting January 17, 1836, as a Private and
discharged December 1, 1837 as a Corporal in Company F, 1st Regiment of
Infantry ‑ although he had been a part of the Guard and Indian Fighters
since coming to Texas. In 1837, he provided blankets to the government
government of The Republic of Texas, and in 1839, he provided 100 bushels of
corn, 900 bushels of fodder, and 500 pounds of bacon to Captain Benjamin
Bryant's Company of Volunteers. Archives documents also reveal that in 1841, he
provided a "yoke of oxen" for the Santa Fe Expedi
tion.
John Marlin was a Commissioner of Precinct 5 at
Bucksnort in 1838, which was then in Robertson County, Texas ‑ becoming
Limestone County in 1846, and Falls County in 1850. As a Justice of the Peace,
he performed several marriages that are on record in Robertson County. Although
he handled mail at Bucksnort for several years (brought in by stage coach), it
was not until Texas joined the United States as the 28th State that Alto Springs
became a U.S. Post Office.
Commissioner Court Minutes of Robertson County
indicate that John Marlin was absent from the January 10, 1839 meeting, and
history has proved the reason for his absence. The George Morgan family massacre
had taken place on January 1, 1839, and Marlin's home, Fort Marlin, was attacked
by Indians "ten days later" (January 10‑11, 1839). In repelling the attack,
seven Indian warriors were killed. Captain Benjamin Bryant organized a group of
48 men, took up the trail, and on the morning of January 16, 1839, near Morgan's
Point, the pursuers encountered Chief Jose Maria and his surviving warriors. The
Texans won the first battle, but the Indians finally routed the settlers. Later,
Captain Bryant and Chief Maria signed a treaty. John Marlin's son, William
Nimrod Perry Marlin, was one of the injured in this battle on January 16th ‑
receiving a wound in the thigh.
Pioneer cemeteries in Falls County have been
destroyed, and the burial sites of the Marlins, and other early pioneers, have
not been located.
John and Mary C. (Menefee) Marlin were the parents of
seven children ‑ all who came to Texas with their parents, except the one who
was born in Texas:
John Menefee Marlin, b February 3, 1818 in Tennessee,
d November 4, 1836 in Texas. He was not married.
William Nimrod Perry Marlin, b February 22, 1820 in
Tennessee, d January 1, 1871 in Hood County, Texas and buried in Barnard
Cemetery there. He married January 23, 1846 in Robertson County, Texas to
Rebecca Jane Sutton, b April 12, 1826 in Tennessee, d
May 1, 1888 in Hood County, Texas ‑ a daughter of Jesse and Frances (Clement)
Sutton, whose sister, Mary Ann Sutton, married her brother‑in‑law, Ashley
Stephen Marlin.
Louisa A. Marlin, b May 2, 1823 in Tennessee married
May 19, 1841 in Robertson County, Texas to Samuel A. Blain, b ca 1817 in
Tennessee.
Rufus Anderson Marlin, b January 9, 1824 in
Tennessee, d 1866 in Falls County, Texas ‑ married 1855 to Martha L. Gentry, b
June 10, 1838, d May 30, 1909 in Falls County, Texas ‑ a daughter of Samuel and
Emeline (Payne) Gentry. After Rufus died, Martha (Gentry) Marlin married second
to Thomas Jefferson Pruitt.
Ashley Stephen Marlin, b January 2, 1827 in Tennessee, d September 30, 1885 in
Stephens County, Texas and buried in South Prairie Cemetery there. In 1848 in
Limestone County, Texas, Ashley married Mary Ann Sutton, b February 13, 1828 in
Tennessee, d after 1870 in Johnson County, Texas in the part which became Hood
County ‑ a daughter of Jesse and Frances (Clement) Sutton, and a sister of
Rebecca Jane (Sutton) Marlin‑wife of William N. P. Marlin.
Oakley Dean Marlin, b October 8, 1830 in Tennessee, d
before July 25, 1853 in Falls County, Texas. He was not married; and when his
estate was recorded for record on July 25, 1853, his brother‑in‑law, Samuel A.
Blain was the administrator. The 1/6th of the land of his father, was sold to
Churchill Jones.
Emily O. Marlin, b May 7,1833 in Texas, d in 1851 in
Falls County, Texas. In 1848 in Limestone County, Texas, Emily was married to
James Wimberley, and they had one son, Rufus Henry Wimberley. Emily's
brother‑in‑law, Samuel A. Blain, was granted guardianship of Emily's son, and
sold the child's inheritance of land to Churchill Jones. No further information
on Rufus Henry Wimberley.
The John Marlin family were involved in every aspect
of the settlement and establishment of government in the area now known as Falls
County, Texas. When the establishment of Falls County in 1850 out of parts of
Limestone and Milam Counties, the settlement previously known as "Adams" and
"Adams Springs," was changed to "Marlin," in honor of the late John Marlin, and
this town became the County Seat of the new Falls County.
At the present time, no descendants by the name of
"Marlin" are found in Falls County, although there are descendants of other
surnames of John and Mary Celia (Menefee) Marlin, and their son, Rufus Anderson
Marlin.
Copyright Permission
granted to Theresa Carhart and her volunteers for printing the biographies of
these Falls County Families to this web page. “Families of Falls County”,
compiled and Edited by the Falls County Historical Department, p. 299-301
