Thursday, September 11, 2014

The Prominent Ancestors of Mary Marshall Ogden

Thus far, we know the women who lived at Veblen House primarily by the men in their lives and in their pasts. Elizabeth Richardson Veblen was sister of Owen Willans Richardson, who won the Nobel Prize in 1928. Her sister, Lillian, married one of Owen's students at Princeton, Clinton Davisson, who won the Nobel Prize in 1937.

Mary Marshall Ogden, who with husband JP Whiton-Stuart moved the (prefab) house to Princeton and lived in it for a time in the 1930s before selling to the Veblens, appears to have been a direct descendant of John Marshall, the fourth chief justice of the United States. At least, that's what the Nov. 16, 1964 Tucson Daily Citizen says in an obituary:
"Private funeral services for Mrs. Mary Stuart, 89, a Tucson resident for 13 years and a direct descendant of a chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, were held at noon today at her home, 2710 E. Mabel St. She died at her home Saturday. A descendant of Chief Justice John Marshall, she was the daughter of the late John R. Ogden and the late Mary Marshall Ogden of Natchez, Miss. Mrs. Stuart was the sister of the late Mrs. Pierpont Davis of Tucson. She was the mother of the late Mrs. Nelson Olcott, formerly of Tucson. She is survived by a son, Robert W. Stuart of Palm Beach, Fla., and three grandchildren."
And so another intriguing connection is made to the Veblen House. Here is a snippet on John Marshall, for those like me who are not up on that era:
John Marshall, (born Sept. 24, 1755, near Germantown [now Midland], Va.—died July 6, 1835, Philadelphia, Pa.), fourth chief justice of the United States and principal founder of the U.S. system of constitutional law. As perhaps the Supreme Court’s most influential chief justice, Marshall was responsible for constructing and defending both the foundation of judicial power and the principles of American federalism.
By uncanny coincidence, a colleague of my father shows up in a news story just above the news about Mary Stuart:
"To Speak At Dinner--Meet Dr. Gerard Kuiper, director of the Lunar and Planetary Laboratory at the University of Arizona, will speak Sunday at the annual Compact Day dinner meeting of the Society of Mayflower Descendants in the State of Arizona."
An earlier post suggested that the Ogden name dates back to the Pilgrims, so the juxtaposition of Mary (Marshall Ogden) Stuart's obituary with news about the Society of Mayflower Descendants may have been intentional. Not all Pilgrims came over on the Mayflower, though. John Ogden, referred to in this article as The Wandering Pilgrim Who Helped to Settle New Jersey, came over in 1641, 20 years after the Mayflower made its voyage. This post on a genealogy forum says that no Ogdens were on the Mayflower passenger list. I'm guessing that Mary's ancestry was close enough for jazz, and for the Mayflower society.

Update: Mary turns out to be a direct 8th generation descendant of pilgrim John Ogden.

Another tidbit: According to History.com,
"The Mayflower Compact, signed by 41 English colonists on the ship Mayflower on November 11, 1620, was the first written framework of government established in what is now the United States"
Actually, the Iroquoi Nation might take exception to that statement, but lots of interesting threads here nonetheless. Now, if only we can learn something of the (later to be known as) Veblen House's voyage to Princeton, skippered by the Whiton-Stuarts!