John Erskine Marr (1694 - 1750)

Born 6 Mar 1694 in Hilston Park, Monmouthshire, Wales

Husband of Katherine (Surplus) Marr — married 16 Jul 1719 in Kittery, York, Massachusetts Bay

Descendants

Died Apr 1750 at age 56 in Barnstable, Massachusetts Bay Colony

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Biography

John was born in Hilston Park, Monmouthshire, England (now Wales) on 6 Mar 1694. He was the son of John Erskine and Jane Unknown.^[1] John Married Catherine Surplus (aka Katherine, Katrine) on 16 Jul 1719 in Kittery, York, Massachusetts Bay (now Maine).^[2][3]He died of exposure after being shipwrecked off Barnstable, Cape Cod in 1750.

Research Notes

John was a mariner and a family legend claims he was a descendant of the noble house of Marr whose name he assumed upon coming to America in 1717. He was first known as John de Mar, but then changed his name to John Marr.^[4]

Additional Research Notes

There are other sources that name Edward Erskine Edward Erskine (1675-1723) as his father. ^[5][6]

This belief prompted a number of John's descendants (mostly descendants of Dennis) to form an organization to recover the Mar estates and wealth in Scotland thinking they were dealing with an estate worth $80 million. On 24 Apr. 1833 they all signed a document giving their lawyer Arthur McArthur $20,000 to begin the legal chase. Over the next 40 years they spent an additional $50,000 to try to prove their claim and all of this in 19th century dollars! Unfortunately they lost their case due to misconceptions, poor home work and bad advise. All of this activity alerted the Erskine heirs in Scotland who were fighting among themselves for the title. The birth of John Erskine alias Marr was recorded in Llangattock-vivon-Abel near Hilston Park and the village of Newcastle, but during the 1840's the records of this parish mysteriously disappeared. John Marr of Rochester, NY, a lifetime student of Marr genealogy wrote in 1903 that: "I have never heard in all my eighty years of life any doubt expressed that John of Kittery was other than the son of John Erskine, Earl of Mar."^[7]

Yves Drolet, University of Montreal, 2015:

"Henrietta’s mother, Mary Parker Marr, belonged to a family which claimed that their forebear John Marr, who came to America in 1717, was the son of John Erskine, Earl of Mar (1675 - 1732), a descendant of the Stuart kings of Scotland who fled to France after leading the failed Jacobite [20] uprising of 1715 against the House of Hanover that had just acceded to the British throne . From 1833 onward, the family spent a fortune trying to press their claims on the Mar estates in Scotland; unsurprisingly, they ultimately lost their case which was only based on a similarity of surnames [21].

The two sons of Frederick and Henrietta, christened Frederick Gilman and Thomas Scott, thus grew up being told they had royal and Jacobite ancestry , which gave them a sense of belonging to an aristocracy. There was a strong French flavour to that ancestry, as the Stuart dynasty originated from Brittany , and the Jacobites were sheltered and supported by the Bourbon kings between the English Revolution of 1688 and the French Revolution of 1789. The Jewett family too claimed French, and more precisely Norman origin. [22] (page 9) "From 1878 until his death in 1925, [ Frederick Gilman ] published more than 30 books and articles in which he speaks at length about the Aryan Order and the College of Arms... Studies reveal that [he] advocated a monarchist, antidemocratic and racist-tinged ideology that underlied all his actions, both in the United States and Canada... The same blend of wild imagination and absolute disregard for consistency pervades the whole works of Forsyth de Fronsac, whether he revisits his life, the story of his family, or the history of North America..." (page 8) ^[8]

John's arms were "chequy Or and Argent, a fess Gules".

Discussion of potential link between John of Kittery and Sir John Erskine: The Descendants of John and Catherine Marr of Kittery by James F. Jamison.

Dodavah Curtis of Kittery, yeoman, his wife Elizabeth and Withers Berry of Kittery, yeoman sold for £10 to John Marr of Kittery, Mariner, one acre of land in Kittery "beginning at North West Corner of the sd Mars own land & runs West South West to the Country Road... comes in a Little Gore a Little below sd Mars House..."

On 7 Nov. 1724 William and Elizabeth Godsoe of Kittery gave to his son-in-law John Marr and Catherine his wife 256 pole of land on the road from Woodman's Ferry in Kittery.^[9] On 13 Aug. 1721 William deeded additional land to John and Catherine. John and Catherine sold their home to John Jr. 24 Dec. 1740.

I William Godsoe of Kittery… Husbandman for the love and affection that I beare unto my Son in Law John Marr & Catherine his Wife have given… unto them… a CertainTract of Land lying in… Kittery fronting to and towards the road that leads from Woodmans Ferry in Kittery to Traftons Ferry in York & Contains two hundred & fifty six pole… bounded… by ye Road and my Fence… Reserving unto my self all the Wood & Timber that is standing… this Seventh day of Novr One Thousand seven Hundred & Twenty Four…
William Godsoe
In psence of us…
Mary Worster
her X mark
Elizabeth Elwell
her X Mark ^[10]

John died of exposure after being ship wrecked off Cape Cod in 1750. "Widow Katrine Marr" was listed on the 1760 tax list "for that Part of The Town Called the Middle Parish in Kittery the first Day of Sep". ^[11]

"... I Surplus Marr of Berwick... in consideration of forty eight shillings lawful money... paid by Thomas Rogers of Kittery... I do hereby... convey and confirm unto him the said Thomas Rogers all my title and interest which I have or ever may have in or to the land in said Kittery which was owned and possessed by my Honored Father John Marr of said Kittery deceased with my right and title to the Dwelling House... and I Rachel the wife of the above named Surplus Marr do hereby asign all my right of dower or power of thirds in or to the above granted premises. In Witness whereof we have hereunto set our hands andseals this twenty sixth day of March in the year of our Lord one thousand seven Hundred and ninety one.... Surplus Marrs, Rachel X Marrs

Signed sealed and delivered in presence of us attest James Marrs, Moses Bennett..."^[12]

An interesting read on John Marr and Marr Island, ^[13]

Biography of John's purported father John Erskine (Earl of Mar) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Erskine,_Earl_of_Mar_(1675%E2%80%931732)

Another interesting biography of John's purported father John Erskine (Earl of Mar) https://theodora.com/encyclopedia/m/john_erskine_6th_or_11th_earl_of_mar.html

Sources

1. ↑ Citing the 19th century genealogy record prepared by William Marr about 1870 (photo on this page).
2. ↑ Name: John Mars Event Type: Marriage Notice Event Date:'27 Jun 1719 Event Place: Kittery, York, Maine, United States Event Place (Original): Kittery, York, Maine, United States Gender: Male Father's Name: Mars Spouse's Name: Katherine Surplue Spouse's Gender: Female Other information in the record of John Mars Name: John Mars Event Type: Marriage Notice Event Date: 27 Jun 1719 Event Place: Kittery, York, Maine, United States Event Place (Original): Kittery, York, Maine, United States Gender: Male Father's Name: Mars Spouse's Name: Katherine Surplue Spouse's Gender: Female Reference ID: p 119 GS Film Number: 11322 Digital Folder Number: 007595724 Image Number: 00075 Indexing Project (Batch) Number: I00600-7 System Origin: EASY Record Number: 292 Citing this Record "Maine Marriages, 1771-1907", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:F48F-P93 : 14 January 2020), Mars in entry for John Mars, 1719.
3. ↑ Name: John Mary Marr Birth Date: Birthplace: Age: Spouse's Name: Katherine Surplus Spouse's Birth Date: Spouse's Birthplace: Spouse's Age: Event Date: 16 Jul 1719 Event Place: Kittery, York, Maine, United States Father's Name: Mary Marr Mother's Name: Spouse's Father's Name: Spouse's Mother's Name: Race: Marital Status: Previous Wife's Name: Spouse's Race: Spouse's Marital Status: Spouse's Previous Husband's Name: Indexing Project (Batch) Number: I00600-7 System Origin: Maine-ODM GS Film number: 11322 Reference ID: Citing this Record: "Maine Marriages, 1771-1907," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:F4FX-FJ5 : 10 February 2018), John Mary and Katherine Surplus, 16 Jul 1719; citing Kittery, York, Maine, United States, reference ; FHL microfilm 11,322 View document https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QSQ-G9NW-H67?i=36
4. ↑ The Descendants of John and Catherine Marr of Kittery- James F. Jamison, Zelienople, PA, 1985- p.242
5. ↑ "Old Kittery and Her Families by Everett S. Stackpole, Lewiston Journal, 1903- pp.604-5 https://archive.org/details/oldkitteryherfam00staciala/page/604 This source gives his father as Hon Edward Erskine Edward Erskine (1675-1723)
6. ↑ "Unsourced Marr family tree handed down to Faylene Bailey Bailey-6428" also gives his father as Edward Erskine of Gateshead-on-Tyne.
7. ↑ The Descendants of John and Catherine Marr of Kittery- James F. Jamison, Zelienople, PA, 1985- p.241
8. ↑ The Aryan Order of America and the College of Arms of Canada 1880-1937, by Yves Drolet; Montreal, Canada; 2015, pp. 8, 9, 11, 25, 45, 73.
9. ↑ York Co. Registry of Deeds- Vol. XIV, fol.190
10. ↑ York Co. Registry of Deeds- Vol. XIV, fol.190
11. ↑ Perfecting or Valuation Lists of Kittery, Maine, 1760- Collections of the Maine Historical Society- Third Series, Vol. II, pp.210,212
12. ↑ York Co. Registry of Deeds- Vol. 69, fol.185
13. ↑ Recommended Citation Booth, Anthony M., "Life on Marr's; Historical Archaeology on Marr's Island, Georgetown, Maine" (2006). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 969. https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/etd/969

• Saco Valley Settlements- Gideon T. Ridlon, Portland, 1895- p.904
• John Marr Founded Maine Branch of Family- William Mountain, Downeast Ancestry, Vol.2, No.4 (Dec. 1978), p.20 American Ancestry- Vol. VII, p.186
• Source: The Descendants of John & Catherine Marr of Kittery, by James F. Jamison, starting p 241. This was not uploaded to wiki due to uncertainty of copyright. At beginning of text document were references to 2 letters from author but no details of letters. https://www.familysearch.org/library/books/records/item/426189-the-descendants-of-john-and-catherine-marr (accessibility-public--view inside)