David Marvel Sr. (abt. 1729 - abt. 1796)

Born about 5 Jan 1729 in Baltimore Hundred, Somerset, English Province of Maryland

Ancestors

Husband of Comfort (Prettyman) Marvel — married 1754 (to before 1789) in Sussex Co., Delaware

Husband of Sarah (Prettyman) Dazey — married 5 Jan 1789 in Lewes Presb. Church, Sussex Co., DE

Descendants

Died about 9 Feb 1796 at about age 67 in Sussex, Delaware, United States

Problems/Questions Profile managers: Chet Snow [send private message] and Ruth Montgomery [send private message]

Biography

David Marvel Senior was a rich colonial landowner, planter and horse-breeder. He was born in the Baltimore Hundred, Somerset County, Maryland.^[1], the eldest of the four sons of Thomas and Elizabeth (Huggins) Marvel.

David was born in Somerset County, Maryland, January 5, 1721 on land that was later assigned to Sussex County, Delaware.

David Marvel Senior grew to manhood on his father Thomas' plantation. Peach growing was the main industry in that area of the Delmarva Peninsula, and the Marvels gave much care and attention to their orchards. The Marvels made exceptional brandy, and a decanter of peach brandy always graced the Marvel table.

Another vocation that merited much care and attention among the Marvels was the raising of fine horses. Of Thomas II's four sons it was said that David was the most devotee those steeds. When he went courting as a young man, no young man in the county rode finer horses than David.

David Sr.'s eldest son, Prettyman Marvel, inherited Thomas' love of horses, and Prettyman was widely known as the finest horseman in Delaware as a young man.

British Sympathies and Family Discord

David Marvel Sr. was a Tory (British) sympathizer in the years leading up to the American Revolution. That sentiment was apparently not shared by his first wife, Comfort, and her children. The political conflict was most keen between David and teenaged son Prettyman Marvel, who was born in 1763.

Politics may have been what split the family up during those revolutionary times, though disputes between David Marvel Senior's first and second families certainly deepened the rift. (Later, his will shattered any remaining linkages.)

Despite his royalist sympathies, David Marvel Sr. managed to hold onto his lands and livelihood, so he must not have acted openly on his political opinions.

David Marvel Senior lived on the Delmarva Peninsula, in an area where the Maryland/Delaware state borders were repeated disputed. That argument went back to the Penn–Calvert boundary dispute (also known as Penn vs. Baltimore), a long-running legal conflict between William Penn and his heirs on one side, and Charles Calvert, 3rd Baron Baltimore and his heirs on the other side^[2].

Both because of politics and economy, Delaware has been called the most northern of the southern states, and the most southern of the northern states. Just prior to the American Revolution in 1776, Delaware held the first public assemblies to "separate" itself from King George III, and even though it was first state to ratify the US Constitution in 1787, Delaware was bitterly divided over the grievances that led to American independence. Those fissures remained until the War of 1812.

Marriages to Two Prettyman Women

David, who lived about 70 years, had two families. That resulted from him marrying two different Prettyman ladies, quite disparate in age, at different times in his life.

The two women were first cousins (or possibly sisters). Comfort, who was born around 1733, was 25-plus years older than Sarah, aka "Sallie", aka "Sallah", who was born in 1760.

Comfort Prettyman was likely the daughter of William Prettyman and Elizabeth Burton Prettyman.

Sarah "Sallah" Prettyman was the daughter of Thomas Prettyman II and Elizabeth (Enloe) Prettyman. ^[3]

Marriage & Children with Comfort Prettyman

David Marvel first married Comfort Sarah Prettyman, around 1754. They had two daughters and a son:

• Prudence Marvel (Knowles) born 21 Jan 1758 in Worcester Co., Maryland (the land became Dagsboro Hundred, Sussex County, Delaware in 1767); she married James Knowles in 1778.
• Patience Marvel (Knowles) born 31 Jan 1758 - died 5 May 1817; she married Richard Knowles in 1775
• Prettyman Marvel born 29 Jan. 1763 - died 1 Oct 1856; he married Lavina Rogers in 1788

All of these siblings left Delaware within a year of David Senior's death and never returned. David Senior's will created a local scandal and family animosity that prompted son Prettyman Marvel and the Knowles to relocate permanently in the Midwest. (David Marvel is the ancestor of Marvels living in Indiana, Illinois, and other western states.)^[4]

Marriage & Children with Sarah Prettyman

Five years after the American Revolution ended, in 1789, David Marvel Senior, separated from his first wife and three grown children.

He then married the much-younger Sarah or "Sallie" Prettyman, tying the knot on January 5 at the Lewes Presbyterian Church, apparently after divorcing his first Prettyman wife, Comfort.^[5]

From this marriage, David had a daughter and two sons:

• Elizabeth "Betsey" Marvel born on October 25, 1789 the year of her mother's marriage to David Marvel^[6]
• David Marvel Jr. born circa 1791
• Burton Marvel born circa 1792

(NOTE: Sources that list birthdates for Betsey, David and Burton Marvel as being between 1765 and 1769 are simply wrong; see Research Notes below.)

In 1803-04, David Marvel Junior and Burton Marvel were listed in the Sussex County tax list along with a guardian, Eli Pepper. (Eli was likely the husband of Sarah's sister Elizabeth.) Since a guardian was required, the two boys were presumably still under-age. ^[7].

Nothing further is known about David Marvel, Jr. He was orphaned by both his parents before he was 13. He died at around 30 years old.

David Senior's Will

David Marvel Senior, made his Last Will & Testament on January 4, 1796, and it was proven February 9, 1796, indicating he died in late January or early February 1796.^[8]. The will identifies David Marvel Senior's occupation as "planter".

In this will, David Marvel Senior essentially disinherited his older children (Prudence, Patience and Prettyman) naming only the three younger ones. The younger three (Elizabeth, David Junior and Burton) were the fruit of David's marrage to his second, much-younger, wife, Sarah/Sallie/Salla -- as his heirs.

The family split became so bitter that David Marvel's nephew Robert Marvel, named as executor by his uncle, refused to execute the will in open court.

David's will was probated 9 February 1796. In it,^[9] he bequeathed all his lands and livelihood to his wife, 'Salla', to be at her disposal during her life or widowhood. At her decease or remarriage, his land was to be divided between his younger sons David and Burton.

• To his eldest daughter, Elizabeth, he left one cupboard, one dozen pewter plates and one spinning wheel.
• To son, Prettyman Marvel, he bequeathed one shilling sterling and thirty-five dollars. That money was due Prettyman for his part of said land. (In the estate inventory Prettyman received an amount of thirteen pounds, four shillings and six pence.)
• To his daughter, Patience Knowles, he bequeathed one shilling sterling.
• Daughter Prudence is assumed to have already passed away as she is not mentioned
• To "daughter-in-law, Polly Prettyman" he bequeathed one feather bed and furniture, one spinning wheel, one chest and pewter dish, four pewter plates, six pewter spoons, two chairs, one earthen pan and one basin. (See Research Notes in regard to this daugher-in-law.)

After paying funeral charges and other expenses, the rest of David Marvel Senior's estate was to be divided among the three youngest children, Elizabeth, David Jr. and Burton. The inventory of the estate of David Marvel (except the land) amounted to 98 pounds, 16 shillings and 6 pence.

David Marvel Senior's Lands

As noted above, David Marvel Senior was a wealthy planter, and colonial records trace his land transactions.^[10]

As stated in "A Brief History of the Marvel Family", Robert... and his three brothers owned real estate as evidenced in the record of land transations recorded in the deed books in the Hall of Records at Dover, Delaware^[11]. There is a deed dated march 16, 1756 from "David Marvil" of Somerset County, Maryland to Joseph Rawle for 100 acres, part of two tracts called "Hardship" and "Gladstone"^[12]. (These transactions, as well as his marriage records, all lend credence to a birthdate of around 1729 for David Marvel Senior.)

• 10 March 1753 - David Marvel sold to Joseph Rawle his 100 acres of Hardship and Gladstones Adventure^[13]. This deed also refers to the gift as of 10 March 1753.

• 7 Mar 1776 - David Marvel had surveyed for him a tract in Indian River Hundred called Venture, on the south side of a road leading from Blackfoot (or Blackford) to the Iron Works on Deep Creek, adjoining lands of William Rodney and Zachariah Jones^[14]. (NOTE: Venture is visible on the plat attached to this profile.)

• 1782, Marvel, David - Dagsboro Hundred #102 Assessment 5 ^[15]

• 179,7 Marvel - David dec'd Petn for counter security vs his Executrix 1797 Libro 300 F^[16]

Remarriage of Widowed Wife Sally

After David Sr.'s death, his widow Sarah/Salla married Moses Dazey^[17]

• Salla and Moses had one son: Prettyman Marvel Dazey, born on 5 December 1797^[18].

Sarah (Prettyman) Marvel Daisy died in 1801 in Sussex county, Delaware.

Research Notes

David Marvel Senior's Parents: David Marvel is the oldest son of Thomas and Elizabeth (Huggins) Marvel and was born in Sussex County, Delaware, January 5, 1721. Some records gave conflicting dates of 1727 and 1729. It seems that 1721 is the most plausible, and is the date used in this account. David's sweetheart, Sarah (Sally) Prettyman, was the daughter of Thomas, Jr. and Elizabeth (Enloes) Prettyman. Thomas Prettyman descended from the John Pratyman who held land at Bacton, England in 1361 and whose descendant John Prettyman I, born Dec. 1609 in Branston, Lincolnshire, England, emigrated to colonial England. John Prettyman I, born about 1609, claimed land in Accomack, Virginia and became the patriarch of the American Prettyman family. By July 1643, the Prettyman family had migrated to Northampton County, Virginia. They owned extensive tracts of land in Northampton and Accomac County. Later, their descendants went to Delaware and became wealthy land owners.

Birth date for David Marvel Sr. of 1729. The real estate transactions ^[19] above in the section entitled "David Marvel Senior's Lands" lend credence to a 1729 birthdate. Those transactions:

• 16 Mar 1756 - David Marvel sold to Joseph Rawle his 100 acres of Hardship and Gladstones Adventure.
• 7 March 1776 David Marvel surveyed a tract in Indian River Hundred called Venture

NOTE - Birth dates of first set of children: Please note that the many Family Trees that list David Marvel Jr., and his full-siblings Elizabeth & Burton Marvel as being born between 1765 and 1769 are simply wrong. Their parents only married in 1789 and the boys were still under-age (under 21 years) in 1803/04.

(Note entered by Chet Snow): More likely David Marvel Senior's first wife was Comfort Prettyman. There is much confusion of dates here. For details, obtain records referred to in other notes as well as extracts of emails to genforum.com noted below:

• John Maya: Prettyman Marvel was born 1763, but his parents David and Sara Marvel married on Jan 5, 1789 at Lewes and Coolspring Presbyterian Church per Ed Wright's Vital Records p 132. How could Sara Rogers Marvel have a child before she married the father?
• John Maya: I do not understand how David Marvel Jr could have married in 1789 when he was still a minor in 1803-4 per Sussex Co., Delaware Orphans Court Records. Certainly below accounts based on legal records is more accurate:
• Family genealogist D. Mitchell Jones stated: "John Maya, you are entirely correct. David Marvel Jr could not have married Sara Prettyman as he would have married his mother, and plus he was still a minor in 1803-4. The records are very clear on the family of David Marvel. It has been commonly accepted that the mother of Prettyman Marvel was Sara Prettyman daughter of Thomas Prettyman. This, in spite of the fact that Prettyman Marvel was born 29 Jan 1763, and his father, David Marvel did not marry Sara Prettyman until 5 Jan 1789." (F. Ed Wright, Vital Records of Kent and Sussex Co., DE p 132 and abstracted from records of Lewes & Coolspring Presbyterian Church).

Source for identity of first wife, Comfort Prettyman: Levin Wilson, the first historian of the Knowles and Marvel families, stated that David Marvel Sr.'s [first] wife was Comfort Prettyman. She was Wilson's great-grandmother. His grandfather, James Knowles, was still alive when he was growing up, so his information is reliable. Wilson did not know of the existence of the three younger children, calling Prettyman Marvel, David Senior's "only son". A death date for David Junior is given as 1721^[20].

• Pauline Batchelder editor of "A Somerset Sampler, and also writer of section on Marvels states: "There is some confusion regarding wife of David Marvel: most Marvel accounts state that she was Sarah Prettyman, but Levin Wilson of Gibson Co., Ind., a great-grandson of David Marvel, stated in 1896 that she was Comfort Prettyman and that his mother, Comfort Marvel (Knowles) Wilson, was named for her; he also stated that David and Comfort's family was composed of daughters and only one son, Prettyman -- as if he had been unaware of the three youngest children.

Batchelder continues: "It is true that records of Lewes and Coolspring Presbyterian Church, Lewes, Del., state David's will names wife Sally; and Thomas Prettyman's will names daughter Sarah Marvel; but these records were all made after the three oldest children were grown. David Marvel married first Comfort Prettyman and had issue:

• (a) Prudence, b: 1755;
• (b) Patience (31 Jan 1758 - 5 May 1817);
• (c) Prettyman (29 Jan. 1763 - 1Oct 1856).

"David Marvel married, probably second, 5 Jan. 1789 Sarah Prettyman (d. 1801), daughter of Thomas Prettyman and Elizabeth (Enloe) Prettyman...David Marvel had issue:

• (d) Elizabeth
• (e) David
• (f) Burton."

Sarah/Salla's Birthdate: (Note by Chet Snow) One record gives Sarah Prettyman's birth date as 1725 and the date of her marriage to David Marvel as 1744. Although both dates seem questionable, 1754 is the more-likely marriage date. David and Sarah (Prettyman) Marvel were the parents of six children: Prudence, Patience, Prettyman, Elizabeth, David Jr. and Burton. [sic: David Marvel had two wives, both from the Prettyman family; first, Comfort Sarah Prettyman (born 1726)...and her first cousin (born 1760) who was mother of the latter three children, circa 1790.

• Orphans Court: Moses Daizy and wife Sally (late Sally Marvel) 'exhibited on account' of estate as of 13 Sep 1797 ...After Sally married Moses Daizy, Philip Marvel petitioned the Orphans Court to assure that the minor children received a just income from the property. Betsey, David, and Burton are listed as minors^[21]

Daughter-in-Law Polly: A puzzle is that David Marvel named in his will his daughter-in-law Polly Prettyman:

MARVEL, David. Will made 4 Jan 1796. Probated 9 Feb 1796. Beneficiaries: wife, Sally; sons David, Burton, Prettyman; daughters, Elizabeth Marvel, Patience Knowles; daughter-in-law Polly Prettyman. Executors, wife and Robert Marvel. Witnesses, Thomas Rodney, John Rodney.

The term "daughter-in-law" frequently meant stepdaughter. Whichever she was, her origin is obscure. ("Marvels on the Eastern Shore, A Documented Chronology," by Pauline Manning Batchelder).

Sources

1. ↑ Family history as compiled by Prof. CA Bonine in the 1940-50s from family members; as told to Chet B. Snow. Some genealogies put his birth in 1727 or 1721. He is known to have married in about 1754 so any of these dates is possible. See: Knoche Family Plus Genealogy on RootsWeb - David Marvel for a discussion.
2. ↑ Penn–Calvert boundary dispute, Wikipedia
3. ↑ See The Prettyman Family
4. ↑ Biography added by Chet Snow, June 3, 2014; based on many family sources and "The Marvel & Wesley Family Tree," available at: http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=dcwesley&id=I52
5. ↑ F. Ed Wright, Vital Records of Kent and Sussex Co., Del., p. 132 and abstracted from records of Lewes & Coolspring Presbyterian Church.
6. ↑ The records of St. George's Church, Indian River, state that Betsy, daughter of David and Sarah Marvel, was born 25 October 1789.
7. ↑ Janet Wilkins, Sussex County, Delaware, 1804 Tax Assessment Records, 1992, p. 46;... De Valinger, Leon, Jr. Compiled. "Calendar of Sussex County Delaware Probate Records 1680-1800". Page 103. Public Archives Commission, Dover, DE, 1964.
8. ↑ David's will, dated 4 January 1796, is recorded in the Hall of Records in Dover, Delaware. His brothers' wills are recorded there also.
9. ↑ Sources: American Compendium Vol 4; Hall of Records, Dover, Delaware; Marvel History pg 9-10; 1790 Delaware census; Prettyman Letter by Ethel Prettyman; Prettyman Genealogy; Joan Knowles, correspondent.
10. ↑ (Davis, Maryln Jean. "Marvel Family and Adjoining Lines"., 1982.)
11. ↑ From "A Brief History of the Marvel Family"
12. ↑ Gladstone Adventure, 150 acres, and Hardship, 200 acres, were purchased by David's father, Thomas Marvel in 1723 and 1725.
13. ↑ Somerset County L.R., transcribed Book B, p. 129.
14. ↑ (Sussex Co. L.R., Shankland Warrants and Surveys 1, p. 41).
15. ↑ AIS & Census & Tax Lists, 1782 Sussex Co., DE
16. ↑ Sussex County Delaware Court House Orphan's Docket Index.
17. ↑ De Valinger, Sussex County, Delaware, Probate Records, p. 267
18. ↑ Wright, Vital Records of Kent and Sussex County, Delaware, p. 158
19. ↑ Davis, Maryln Jean. "Marvel Family and Adjoining Lines"., 1982
20. ↑ Davis, Marylyn Jean. "Marvel Family and Adjoining Lines"., 1982
21. ↑ de Valinger, Leon, Jr. Compiled. "Calendar of Sussex County Delaware Probate Records 1680-1800". Page 103. Public Archives Commission, Dover, DE 1964.

See also:

• "The Marvel Family" or "Marvel research" by Jimmie Howard, 2007 = reprint, Privately distributed, 2000. Address: P. O. Box 1043, Canyon, TX 79015 - This is a Research narrative summarizing Jimmie Howard's research on the Marvel Family descending from David Marvel through Prettyman Marvel into Gibson and Posey counties in Indiana.

• Penn–Calvert boundary dispute, Wikipedia: [[1]]

• Marvel Family Chart or Marvel family chart notes from Pamela McFarland Walsh, 9140 Powderhorn Lane, Indianapolis, Indiana 46256; Publication: July 1992

• Marvel GEDCOM from hartmont [AT] cqc.com - Publication: 1 June 2000

• The Marvel Family History - "Marvelicious" website - Publication: 27 March 2000

• Marvel Family Linage or Marvel linage notes from Gloria M. Cox; Photocopy of typed pages of Marvel family descendents of Prettyman Marvel Sr., listsing names and some vital dates. Mailed by Gloria Cox to William Marvel about 1983.

• Prettyman Notes or Prettyman research notes from D Mitchell Jones - Publication: July 2001. (Original website has been removed from the internet but replaced on Wikitree at Prettyman Files.

• 1789 David Marvel's marriage to Sara Prettyman, 5 Jan 1789, "Vital Record of Kent & Sussex Counties 1686 - 1800 by F. E. Wright

• Source: S-2123192789 Repository: #R-2145107955 Family trees submitted by Ancestry members. [2] - Repository: R-2145107955 Ancestry.com

• David Marvel's WILL on membership site Ancestry: Sussex: Wills, books E-F, image 41

• Will copy received from Debbie Thomas, 1995, source unknown. Copy shows: "To dau. Elizabeth Marvel 1 cupboard, 1 doz. plates and 1 spinning wheel. To dau.-in-law Polly Prettyman furniture, dishes, spoons, etc. To dau. Patience Knowles 1 shilling. To son Prettyman Marvel 1 shilling and $35 that is due him from his part of sold Ld. The rem to be equally div. between chdn. Elizabeth Marvel, David and Burton. My w. and Robert Marvel Exec. Tex. Thomas Rodney, John Rodney. David X Marvel. Pro. Feb. 9th 1796."

Acknowledgments

* WikiTree profile Marvel-12 was created by Tom Knowles, on May 16, 2011, from firsthand knowledge. Thank you to Chris Varney for creating WikiTree profile Marvel-44 through the import of My-Family-28-Jun-2013.ged on Jun 28, 2013. Click to the Changes page for the details of edits by Tom, Chris and others. Thanks to Chet Snow for his erudite commentary and notes, and to Nicolette Slusser Toussaint for editing and formatting this profile in Feb. 2023. See the Changes page for the details of edits by Tom, Chris, Chet, Nicolette and others.