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As far as I can tell, there are three distinct Marks family trees originating in colonial Virgina. One, my ancestors, originated (or spread to) the Northern Neck area Middlesex County and Richmond County (old Rappahannock County) and may have originated with [William Marks, of Rich. Co.] and [Patience Marks] (Barrett). William may have immigrated from Wales or Ireland as an indentured servant, while Patience was possibly born in Virginia The second, originated in southern Virginia and had a large concentration in Prince George County and nearby locations. I have had a conversation with someone who says that the first and second sets are really the same family, having first arrived in south east Virginia and later spread to Rappahannock County. The third appears to have immigrated directly to Goochland County in the area that became Albemarle County and is associated with President Thomas Jefferson's sister, [Anne Scott Marks]. The Richmond county Marks family is also associated with Goochland County in the part that became Fluvanna county and the part that remained Goochland. There could be others in the more western part of the state, although some members of these 3 families moved further west over time as well. The objective of this project is to associate members of the Marks family with the correct tree.
It is clear that the family name can be misspelled as :
- Macks
- Marcks
- Mark
- Markes
- Mack
- Marx
- Moss (possibly)
The family may have pre-1800 migrants to Kentucky, West Virginia, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Maryland, North Carolina and possibly other states. Most of the family seems to have migrated along the Potomac or Rappahannock Rivers with some having migrated along the James River and Kanawha Canal. Southside Virginia migrants are difficult to distinguish from the Pr. George branch. There is probably some confusion in my records with the Albemarle County branch, which might account for some descendants north of Albemarle.
In all this search I have been looking for the immediate ancestor of Vincent Marks of Nelson/Amherst. Because he married a member of the Bragg family, I have treated him as a member of the Richmond County Marks family (which married with that family at least 3 other times). There is also the curious (but possibly coincidental) fact that some of his descendants lived in Stonewall, Appomattox County while his (assumed) ancestors lived in Stonewall, Richmond (or Rappahannock) Virginia. The primary rationale for his linkage to the Albemarle family would be: (1) One of his probable sons has a name that might be a homonym for Hastings, which is clearly an Albemarle County family name. (2) The obvious proximity of Nelson to Albemarle, although the Amherst side is not very close to Albemarle and Amherst boarders on the James River and Kanawha Canal. It is relatively clear that some descendants of the Richmond County Marks lived in Columbia, Fluvanna County, which is on the James River & Kanawha Canal.
I am aware that at least 3 Marks descendants including my 2x Great Grandfather opened general stores along the Kanawha Canal.