Samuel J.M. and Louisa Kaiser Marshall Papers, 1861-1933
| Oberlin College Archives
Administrative/Biographical History
Samuel John Mills Marshall (1836-1886) was born on November 7, 1836 in Painesville, Ohio, the son of Raphael Marshall, a farmer. After studying in the local school, Samuel Marshall entered Oberlin College in the spring term, 1856. While in college, the smallish Samuel was something of an athlete and a person of accomplished musical talent. He played a big double bass in the Second Church choir, coronet in the college band, and sang tenor in a male quartet of college friends. Immediately upon graduation (A.B. 1861), he joined the 7th Ohio Volunteer Infantry as a member of the regiment’s [musical] band in which he played the bass horn. After service at Camp Dennison near Cincinnati and in Washington, D.C., he was honorably discharged from the Union Army on July 5, 1862.
Following his discharge, Samuel Marshall spent part of the following year (1862-1863) as a patient in a Danville, New Jersey hospital, suffering from “general army debility.” Following his recovery in 1864, he entered Charity Medical College in Cleveland and received his medical degree in 1867. After eight years (1867-1875) of general practice in Berea, Kentucky, Dr. Marshall returned to Butler County, Ohio where he practiced medicine (1875-1878) in Charlestown and Paddy’s Run before accepting a government position as a physician on the Chippewa Indian Reservation in Keshena, Wisconsin (1878-1881). He then returned to Lorain, Ohio where he practiced until 1884, when, because of increasing deafness brought on by his earlier military service, he returned to the family farm in Painesville, Ohio.
On April 10, 1868, Samuel Marshall married Louisa Maria Kaiser (1843-1911; Lit. 1867). Louisa, daughter of Martin Kaiser, a farmer, was born in Gnadenhutten, Ohio on February 1, 1843. She entered Oberlin College in June 1862 and completed the Literary course in June 1867. During the spring term of 1867, she taught an algebra course at the college. After graduating, Miss Kaiser engaged in a brief teaching career (1867-1871). Two of Louisa’s brothers also graduated from Oberlin College: Peter Henry Kaiser (A.B. 1867) and William (A.B. 1880).
Samuel and Louisa Marshall, both members of the Congregational Church, had three children: Martin Raphael (A.B. 1892) of Missoula, Montana, Henry Cowles (A.B. 1897) of Clintonville, Ohio, and a child who died in infancy. Samuel John Mills Marshall died in Painesville, Ohio on September 4, 1886 as the result of a spinal injury due to a tree fall. Following his death, Mrs. Marshall moved to Oberlin so that their two sons could attend Oberlin College. After a period of ill health, Mrs. Marshall died of pneumonia in Massillon, Ohio on April 5, 1911.
Sources Consulted
“Kaiser-Marshall, Louisa Maria.” Oberlin College Necrology Records, 1910-11.
Kaiser-Marshall, Louisa Maria. Oberlin College Alumni Questionnaires, 1875, 1905.
Marshall, Henry Cowles. “Can Imagination Recreate? Introductory, The Civil War Diary of Samuel John Mills Marshall during 13 mo. service with The 7th Ohio Volunteer Infantry Band.” Typescript copy, n.p., 1933.
Marshall, Samuel John Mills. Oberlin College Alumni Questionnaire, 1875.
“Samuel John Mills Marshall.” Oberlin College. Semi-Centennial Register, 1833-1883.
Marshall, H[enry] C[owles]. Letter to Mr. Fowler, Oberlin College Librarian, n.d.
Author: Elizabeth Brinkman Administrative InformationOberlin File (RG 21), Series X. Diaries, Scrapbooks, and Albums, B: Diaries.
Oberlin File (RG 21), Series II Letters, B: Letters of Oberlin staff and spouses.
See also "Oberlin and the Civil War" digital collection by the Oberlin College Archives and the Oberlin Heritage Center, 2012.
For more information please see http://www.oberlin.edu/library/digital/civilwar/.
The Samuel J.M. and Louisa Kaiser Marshall papers consist of two small series. Series I includes a Civil War diary of Samuel J.M. Marshall that documents Marshall’s service with the 7th Ohio Volunteer Infantry Band, 1861-62. The typescript version of the diary contains an introduction by Henry Cowles Marshall, and correspondence from him to Julian Fowler, Oberlin College Librarian, concerning family history and Oberlin connections. The series contains the original handwritten diary, the typescript version produced in 1933 by Henry Cowles Marshall, and a photocopy of the typescript version.
Series II consists of an autograph album presented to “Miss Louisa M. Kaiser from the members of the algebra class taught by her during the spring term of Oberlin College, 1867.” Students and friends signed the autograph album.
There are no separate series descriptions for this collection.
INVENTORY
Series I. Samuel J.M. Marshall Civil War Diary,1861-62, 1867-82, 1933
Box 1
Civil War diary, 1861-62, 1867-82 (1 volume)
Typescript of Civil War diary, 1933
Photocopy of typescript
Series II. Louisa Kaiser Marshall Autograph Album,1867-92
Box 1 (cont.)
Autograph album, 1867-92 (1 volume)