Mareen Duvall

Summary

Mareen Duvall (1625–1694)[1] was a French Huguenot and an early American settler.

Mareen Duvall
Coat of arms of Mareen Duvall
Born
Marin Duval

1625
Nantes,
Province of Brittany,
Kingdom of France
Died1694 (aged 69)
NationalityFrench
Spouses
  • Susanna Marie Brashears
  • Marie Bouth
  • Mary Stanton
ChildrenMareen "Maruis" the Elder
John
Eleanor
Samuel
Susannah
Lewis
Mareen the Younger
Catherine
Mary
Elizabeth Roberts
Johanna Poole
Benjamin

Background edit

Mareen Duvall was born in 1625, in Nantes, France and was originally named Marin Duval. On August 28, 1650, Duvall emigrated as an Indentured Servant (a contracted slave for seven years) to the English colony of Maryland.

Eventually, he acquired a patent for La Val from the Calvert family who were the first proprietors of colonial Maryland. It was possible that he named the family estate after the county of Laval, an independent county created in the 15th century. This property was on the south side the South River in Anne Arundel County, Maryland.[2] He became quite prosperous and his Middle Plantation in Davidsonville, Maryland and La Val were "as luxurious and courtly as any of the manors of the English gentry."[3]

He died in 1694 and left his substantial estate (which included at least 18 slaves[4]) to Mary Stanton, his third and final wife.[2][5] Then, she administrated said estate. Duvall had purchased sizeable tracts of land, including Catton which was later known as Belair,[6] as well as the Middle Plantation in Davidsonville, Maryland. Combined, he owned several thousand acres in the counties of Anne Arundel and Prince George.[2] Scholars believed that the location of the original house of Middle Plantation was somewhere along the Rutland Road.

In 1705, his son, John Duvall and his wife Mary deeded land to Queen Anne Parish to construct St. Barnabas Church.[2] Mareen Duvall's widow, Mary went on to marry Henry Ridgley (1635-1710). After Ridgley's death, she married Jacob Henderson.[6]

Genealogy edit

Genealogies often refer to him as "the Emigrant" to distinguish him from several descendants also named Mareen Duvall.[7] His notable descendants include Harry S. Truman, Barack Obama, Dick Cheney,[7][8] Wallis Simpson, and Robert Duvall.[7]

Other descendants include Warren Buffett, Tanya Davey, former Associate Justice Gabriel Duvall, Confederate General Bradley Tyler Johnson[9] and spy Betty Duvall.[10][unreliable source?]

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ Baltz, Shirley Vlasak (1984). A Chronicle of Belair. Bowie, Maryland: Bowie Heritage Committee. p. 5. LCCN 85165028.
  2. ^ a b c d Williams, T. J. C.; Folger McKinsey (1979) [1910]. History of Frederick County, Maryland, Vol 2. L.R. Titsworth & Co./Clearfield Co. p. 948. ISBN 0-8063-8012-8.
  3. ^ Richardson, Hester Dorsey (1903). Side-lights on Maryland History: With Sketches of Early Maryland Families. Baltimore, Maryland: Williams and Wilkins Company. pp. 96. ISBN 0-8063-0296-8. Anne Tasker Samuel Ogle.
  4. ^ Nitkin, David; Merritt, Henry (2 March 2007). "A new twist to an intriguing family history". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved 9 October 2020. The inventory of his estate in 1694 names 18 slaves, according to a family history published in 1952.
  5. ^ Warfield, Joshua Dorsey (July 1905). The Founders of Anne Arundel And Howard Counties, Maryland. Baltimore, Maryland: Kohn & Pollock. pp. 106. ISBN 0-8063-7971-5. Mareen Duvall Mary Stanton.
  6. ^ a b Baltz, Shirley Vlasak (1984). A Chronicle of Belair. Bowie, Maryland: Bowie Heritage Committee. pp. 1–8. LCCN 85165028.
  7. ^ a b c Vickers, Hugo (2011). Behind Closed Doors: The Tragic, Untold, Story of the Duchess of Windsor. London: Hutchinson. p. 377. ISBN 978-0-09-193155-1.
  8. ^ "Obama and Cheney, Making Connections". The Washington Post. October 17, 2007. p. A06.
  9. ^ Joshua Dorsey Warfield. The founders of Anne Arundel and Howard Counties, Maryland. p. 105.
  10. ^ "Notable Descendants of Mareen Duvall".

Further reading edit

  • William P. Doepkins, Excavations at Mareen Duvall's Middle Plantation of South River Hundred (Baltimore: Gateway Press, 1991)

External links edit

  • Duvall Society
  • A Partial Listing of Descendants of Mareen Duvall "the Emigrant"
  • Duvall family tree, by Ron Ulrich.
  • Mareen Duvall's Genealogy Page
  • Family Group Sheet for Mareen DUVALL
  • Cheney, Obama 'distant cousins', BBC, 17 October 2007