Samuel Taylor Marshall (February 6, 1812 – June 13, 1895) was an American attorney, government official, and fraternity founder. He was one of the founders of Beta Theta Pi, a college fraternity founded at Miami University in 1839. Marshall served as the sergeant-at-arms of the Iowa legislature.
Early life
Marshall was born February 6, 1812, in Oxford, Ohio.[1] His parents were Mary Hueston and Gilbert Marshall, a farmer.[2] He was one of ten children and completed his primary education in local county schools.[2]
Marshall attended Miami University, graduating with an A.B. degree in 1840.[3][4] While at Miami, he was one of the eight founders of Beta Theta Pi fraternity.[3][5][6] He wrote the fraternity's constitution and its by-laws.[4][6][2] Initially, the group operated sub rose because of faculty objections to Greek letter organizations.[7] However, once Marshall had recruited ten members, they wore a fraternity pin in public.[7] As the oldest member of the fraternity, he was regarded as its "father".[3][4][6]
Marshall joined the Patriots and fought in the Patriot War as a Lieutenant Colonel.[2][1] He was captured by the Canadians and imprisoned from July 1841 to February 1842.[2][1] When he was captured, he ate the official documents in his possession, rather than letting them be seen by the Canadians.[1][2] He was found guilty of invasion and was sentenced to transportation to Van Diemen's Land, now Tasmania, but managed to elude deportation until he was released.[4][1][6][2]
After his release, Marshall studied law with Timonty Walker in Cincinnati.[2] He then continued his law studies in LaFayette, Indiana and with Pettit & Orth.[2]
Marshall was an editor of the Nip and Tuck, a daily newspaper in Keokuk.[1][2]
Honors
Marshall was the guest of honor for the Beta Theta Pi Founders' Day celebration on May 24, 1895.[9][10] In 1898, the fraternity erected a memorial to Marshall and its other founders at Miami University.[11] Beta Theta Pi named its Samuel Tayor Marshall Memorial Scholarship in his honor.[12]
Personal life
Marshall married Louisa Davis Patterson, a native of Kentucky, in West Point on February 26, 1846.[2] She was the daughter of Col. William Patterson who was a member of Iowa's first territorial legislature and was the mayor and postmaster of Keokuk.[2][1] The couple had ten children, including Robert M. Marshall, W. P. Marshall, A. Tom Marshall, Sabret T. Mashall, C. H. Marshall, Maude M. Marshall, and Sabet T. Marshall.[2] Tom practice law with his father and Robert became the county attorney of Lee County.[2] Sabret studied law under his father and brother and became a lawyer and member of the Iowa legislature.[1][2]
In October 1945, Marshall was a member of the Anti-Morman League in Lee County; he served on a committee to select candidates for office.[13] He was also a member of the Masons.[2]
On June 13, 1895, Marshall died of heart problems in Keokuk at the age of 85 years.[4][5][6] He was buried in the Oakland Cemetery in Keokuk. Beta Theta Pi held a memorial service for Marshall at its annual convention in Chicago on July 26, 1895.[14]
His daughter, Maude, bequeathed $5,000 ($56,870 in today's money) to the Miami University chapter of Beta Theta Pi in 1955.[15]
