William Marr (1753-1819)
MSA SC 3520-16783 

Biography:

William Marr, according to some sources, was born in 1753, likely in Patapsco Upper Hundred, Baltimore County. [1]

In April 1776, William Marr enlisted in Baltimore as a private in the Continental Army. Marr and his brother Nicholas became members of Captain Nathaniel Ramsey's company, part of Colonel William Smallwood's Maryland Battalion. They first mustered at Whetstone Point, later called Fort McHenry, but soon after traveled by boat to Elkton and marched north to New York. [2]

Marr and the rest of the Fifth Company served at the Battle of Brooklyn in late August 1776. [3] In the beginning of the battle, Ramsey's company was placed at the front of the lines. Fortunately, "hardly a man [in the company] fell," even though they took the first line of fire from the British. [4] Other companies of the Maryland Line did not fare so well. Years later, Captain Enoch Anderson of the Delaware Regiment wrote about the Battle of Brooklyn, saying

"A little after daylight our Regiment and Colonel Smallwood's Regiment from Maryland, in front of the enemy took possession of a high commanding ground,--our right to the harbour. Cannonading now began in both armies...Colonel Smallwood's Regiment took another course,--they were surrounded but they fought hard. They lost about two hundred men...A hard day this, for us poor Yankees! Superior discipline and numbers had overcome us. A gloomy time it was, but we solaced ourselves that at some other time we should do better." [5]

Just two months later, at the Battle of White Plains, Marr was "severely wounded" and went to a hospital at North Castle, New York. He recovered and rejoined his company at King's Ferry on the Hudson River. [6] Not long after, his brother Nicholas died. [7]

During the summer of 1777, the Fifth Company returned to Baltimore. Marr was honorably discharged in July, ending his 15 months of service with the First Maryland Regiment. [8] However, this was not the end of his military career. In 1781, he served as a member of a Baltimore County militia. [9]

On June 14, 1784, William Marr married Airey Owings in Baltimore County at St. Paul's Parish, with the ceremony conducted by Reverend William West. [10] William and Airey lived in Baltimore County and raised "a family of children," including a son named William, while Marr worked as a reputable farmer. [11] It is possible that Marr's farm was among the 45.6% of Maryland dwellings that were not taxed, explaining its absence from the 1783 tax assessments. [12] Marr's farming work contributed to the economic success of Baltimore County, which had "furnaces, forges, cotton mills, and wollen factories," and was gaining importance as a commercial center. [13]

Marr applied for and received a Federal veteran's pension in 1818. However, he died in Baltimore just one year later, on July 3, 1819, at the age of 66. He did not leave a will. [14] His wife Airey never remarried, and was therefore awarded some of William's pension after his death. [15] She lived until April 1843, when she died at age 79.

- Burkely Hermann, Maryland Society of the Sons of American Revolution Research Fellow, 2016

Notes

[1] "Part I: Brief Resume of Maryland Revolutionary Pensioners," Maryland Revolutionary Records, pp. 37; National Archives, Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty-Land Warrant Application Files, NARA M804, Record Group 15, Roll 1631, William Marr, Pension number W. 3838. courtesy of fold3.com; Peden Jr., Inhabitants of Baltimore County, pp. 81.

[2] National Archives, Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty-Land Warrant Application Files, NARA M804, Record Group 15, Roll 1631, William Marr, Pension number W. 3838. courtesy of fold3.com; Archives of Maryland, vol. 18, page 240.

[3] National Archives, Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty-Land Warrant Application Files, NARA M804, Record Group 15, Roll 1631, William Marr, Pension number W. 3838. courtesy of fold3.com..

[4] "Extract of a letter from New York: Account of the battle on Long Island." American Archives S5 V2 107-108.

[5] Enoch Anderson, Personal Recollections of Captain Enoch Anderson: Eyewitness Accounts of the American Revolution (New York: New York Times & Arno Press, 1971), 21-22.

[6] Order to give back pay of Nicholas Marr.

[7] Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty-Land Warrant Application Files (NARA microfilm publication M804, 2,670 rolls). Records of the Department of Veterans Affairs, Record Group 15. National Archives, Washington, D.C.

[8] Order to give back pay of Nicholas Marr

[9] Archives of Maryland, vol. 45, page 526; Archives of Maryland, vol. 18, page 410; General James Wilkinson's Order Book, December 31, 1796– March 8, 1808. Microfilm publication M654, 3 rolls. Records of the Adjutant General, Record Group 94. National Archives and Records Administration, Washington, D.C.; "Part I: Brief Resume of Maryland Revolutionary Pensioners," Maryland Revolutionary Records, pp. 37; Newman, Maryland Revolutionary Records; "Miscellaneous Maryland Line Papers," Muster Rolls and Other Records of Service of Maryland Troops in the American Revolution, 1775-1783, pp. 410.

[10] National Archives, Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty-Land Warrant Application Files, NARA M804, Record Group 15, Roll 1631, William Marr, Pension number W. 3838. courtesy of fold3.com; Marriage of William Marr and Arrey Owings; "Part IV: Marriages proved through Maryland pension applications," Maryland Revolutionary Records, pp. 118; Bill and Martha Reamy, Records of St. Paul's Parish Vol. 1, xi, 39, 150.

[11] National Archives, Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty-Land Warrant Application Files, NARA M804, Record Group 15, Roll 1631, William Marr, Pension number W. 3838. courtesy of fold3.com.

[12] Shammas, "The Housing Stock of the Early United States: Refinement Meets Migration," 557, 559, 563.

[13] McGrain, From Pig Iron to Cotton Duck: A History of Manufacturing Villages in Baltimore County; Vol. I, 2; Hall, Baltimore: Its History and Its People; Vol. 1, 39, 56; Hollander, The Financial History of Baltimore; Vol. 20, 17.

[14] Index to Selected Final Payment Vouchers, compiled 1818 – 1864, Record Group 217, roll box06_00007, pensioner William Marr, July 3, 1819. courtesy of fold3.com; National Archives, Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty-Land Warrant Application Files, NARA M804, Record Group 15, Roll 1631, William Marr, Pension number W. 3838. courtesy of fold3.com; United States Senate.The Pension Roll of 1835. 4 vols. 1968 Reprint, with index. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Company, 1992; "Persons on the Pension Roll Under the Law of the 18th of March, 1818, Maryland," Pension List of 1820, pp. 547.

[15] National Archives, Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty-Land Warrant Application Files, NARA M804, Record Group 15, Roll 1631, William Marr, Pension number W. 3838. courtesy of fold3.com; Adminstration Docket of William Marr; Archives of Maryland, vol. 214, page 717.

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