Marshall Duncan, Sr.

Not a child of William Duncan - DNA conflicts

Marshall Duncan was the elder, born 1700-1710, married Mary Ann before 1739 in Prince William County, VA (Fauguier Co.), VA 1739; in Rowan Co. (later Surry Co.), NC 1764 until death in 1777.

Disputed Origins

From the profile for William Duncan "the Elder"

“Because several "genealogists" who would create family trees to make you related to whoever you wanted to be preyed on the Duncan family in the 1800's, I'm very skeptical of much of the information that is published on the internet. For instance many people will swear up and down and all over the place that William Duncan the Elder's wife's maiden name was Rawley, while citing only these fraudulent genealogies of the 19th century as proof. While they did have a son named Rawley, so did several other people, including another ancestor, Charles Duncan (died in Daviess Co., KY in 1820), who couldn't possibly be a descendant of William Duncan the Elder. A Marshall Duncan, who also lived in Prince William and Culpeper Cos. also had a son named Rawley. DNA evidence seems to indicate that William and Marshall's lines are not even closely related! The internet has really done a disservice to those of us who are researching the Duncan family, because has propagated the spread of false information, and made finding accurate information even harder to do.”

Estate

Surry County Will of Marshall Duncan Dated Aug 26 1776 ; Probated May, 1777

From Ancestry tree

ESTATE RECORDS

• Surry Co. NC Will Devisor & Devisee index A-Z 1771-1963 (FHL film 344,609) Devisee index - only Marshall Duncan, and 1963 Duncan not copied
• Surry Co. NC Index to Inventories 1794-1963 (FHL film 347,726 item 1) Pg.75, Duncans 1933 & later, not copied
• Surry Co. NC Wills (FHL film 19,957-1) Original copies of wills, alphabetic order, folded, outside of each marked "copy - will of ..."; no Duncan. Surry Co. NC Wills (FHL film 19,971 and 19,972) 1-73/74:
• IN THE NAME OF GOD AMEN I Marshal Duncan Senr . of Surry County in N. Carolina being weak and sick in Body but of sound mind and disposing memory - calling to mind my mortality that it is appointed for man to die do make and ordain this my last will and testament in manner and form following first I resign my soul into the hands of God my maker through the merits and mediation of Jesus Christ my redeemer and my body to the dust to be buried in a decent manner at the discretion of my executors and as to things of this world which it hath pleased Almighty God to lend unto me I dispose of them in the manner following Imprimis -
• I will that all my debts and funeral charges be paid and discharged by my executors hereinafter named ---
• Item - I give unto beloved wife Maryann Duncan the third part of all my estate to her own proper use and behoof and to be at her free disposal at her death to such of my children as she shall think proper ---
• Item - my will and desire is that the other two thirds of my estate be at my death equally divided among my eleven children Viz. John Duncan, Maryann Duncan, Wm. Duncan, Ann Duncan, Marshal Duncan, Thomas Duncan, Rice Duncan, Charles Duncan, Joseph Duncan, Robert Duncan, James Duncan or to the surviving among them ---
• Lastly I do constitute and appoint my son John Duncan and William Hill executors to this my last will & testament Signed with my hand and sealed with my seal this twenty six day of August one thousand seven hundred and seventy six.
• Signed sealed published and declared to be the last will & testament of Marshal Duncan in presence of John Duncan, Charles Duncan , William Hill.
• /s/ Marshal +Duncan (seal)

References

• “Assessing Duncan Stories” http://www.clandonnachaidhdna.org/wp-content/uploads/Duncanstories.pdf
• https://www.familytreedna.com/public/ClanDonnachaidh?iframe=yresults subgroup B
• ”Marshall Duncan the Elder and his Descendants” by Mary Ann (Duncan) Dobson. The Genealogy Bug, October 28, 2003 link “This is an attempt to list the known descendants of Marshall Duncan the Elder. There are many researchers working on these lines, but it seems that an overall summary of what has been found so far would be helpful. Marshall Duncan is referred to as "the Elder" because he is the first of that name in this country.” ... “He was mentioned in the records of the Moravians in 1772, "As the Tannery cannot well do without lime and Marshal Duncan will not burn anymore, Br. Herbst will see whether Duncan will not let him burn lime there." (Extracts From Minutes of the Aufsdher Collegeum, 1772, pg. 701, Saturday 1st Aug, from Vol. II, "Records of Moravian Archives" by Adelaide Fries; from Alice Duncan.)”
• https://www.familysearch.org/photos/artifacts/47228346 “The Duncans are of Scotch descent. Marshall Duncan was probably born c 1700/1710, Dumphries, Prince William County ...”
• https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Duncan-2210 “DNA Results: evidence seems to indicate that (Rev William and Ruth) and the Marshall Duncan lines are not closely related.”

  ---

  
  

Marshall Duncan the Elder was probably born about 1700-1710 in Prince William Co. VA; in 1739 Daniel Marr leased 100 acres of land to Marshall Duncan, his wife Ann, and his son John. The land was described as at the Marsh and running to the old John Hopper line (Prince William Co. VA Deed Book D, pg. 251). The Elk Marsh area was included in Fauquier Co. when that county was formed from Prince William in 1759 ("Fauquier During the Proprietorship" by H.C. Groome, pg. 88-91). Marshall Duncan was listed as a voter in the Election of Burgesses for the County of Prince William in 1741, in the territory which covered the present counties of Prince William, Fairfax, Loudoun, and Fauquier; it extended along the Potomac to the Blue Ridge ("Gleanings of VA History" by Wm. Fletcher Boogher, pg. 116-120).

Marshall Duncan was on an undated tax list as "Marshall Doncom, 2" (tithables) and on the next line, "John (blank), 0" tithables, in North Carolina on the Dan River from County line Creek & upwards in Thos. Lovelattey's Dist." in the files for Granville Co. NC (NC State Archives, Raleigh); the list was probably before 1751. He also was on the dated 1751 list on the Dan River, as "Marshall Doncom, John Doncom, 2". This area actually may have been in what was Rowan Co. NC by 1753, but Rowan Co. is said to have been formed from Anson Co. rather than Granville. Marshall was in Rowan Co. NC (later Surry Co. then Stokes Co.) as early as 1764 or 1765 when he was bondsman for the marriage of his son Marshall Jr. (Sr.). By 1768, he was on a tax list in Rowan Co. NC in the Townfork and Upper Dan River district, on the list of Jacob Laesch as "Marshal Dunckam Sen & sons Willm, Thom, Reis, Charls & Joseph, 6" (tithables); and separate listings for "John Dunkam Constable - but for Nathan Carther, 1"; and for "Marshal Dunkam jun, 1" ("NC Genealogical Society Journal" Vol. XI #4, Nov. 1983, pg. 195; from Lenox Baker). He was on the tax lists in Surry Co. NC in 1771, 1772, and 1774 ("Surry and Wilkes Cos. NC Taxables, 1771-1800; Volume 1, 1771-1777", by William Perry Johnson, 1974). He was mentioned in the records of the Moravians in 1772, "As the Tannery cannot well do without lime and Marshal Duncan will not burn anymore, Br. Herbst will see whether Duncan will not let him burn lime there." (Extracts From Minutes of the Aufsdher Collegeum, 1772, pg. 701, Saturday 1st Aug, from Vol. II, "Records of Moravian Archives" by Adelaide Fries; from Alice Duncan.)

He died in 1777 in Surry Co. NC (Surry Co. Will Book 1, pg. 74; original will at the NC State Archives, Raleigh). His will dated 26 Aug. 1776 and probated May, 1777, named his wife Mary Ann and his eleven children: John Duncan, Mary Ann Duncan, Wm. Duncan, Ann Duncan, Marshall Duncan, Thomas Duncan, Rice Duncan, Charles Duncan, Joseph Duncan, Robert Duncan, and James Duncan. He named his son John Duncan and William Hill as executors; the will was witnessed by John Duncan, Charles Duncan, and William Hill. Marshall Duncan signed by mark "+" but the three witnesses all wrote their names. (Research in possession of Mrs. Bobbie McDowell is source for much of the data on Marshall Duncan; see also "Marshall Duncan I and Some of His Descendants" by the late George O. Duncan, uncle of Mrs. Bobbie McDowell, in the Los Angeles Public Library.)

• https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/145456345/marshall-duncan