John Marshall married once and had ten children

Family tradition holds that Marshall fell in love with Mary soon after meeting her. After spending time with her at dances, Marshall asked Mary to marry him in 1782. She was 16; he was 27. Becoming flustered, she refused. John was disappointed and quickly left her house. She soon realized her error and sent a cousin riding after Marshall to give him a lock of her hair. He returned the lock of hair, entwined with a lock of his own encased in a gold locket. Mary married John Marshall on January 3, 1783, after a short courtship. Throughout nearly 49 years of marriage, Mary wore that locket around her neck. Marshall called Mary my dearest Polly, and shared many of his concerns about the shaping of the nation with his wife and respected her opinion on many issues. His letters to her help to build an understanding of Marshall’s character and concerns.

John and Mary had ten children, but only six survived to adulthood – five boys and one girl. The tragedies of her children’s deaths weakened Mary, whose health was never strong. She became sickly and reclusive. During the last 25 years of her life, she usually stayed at home, often in the master bedroom. Her frailty and illness, however, did not diminish the deep love she and John had for each other. On the morning of her death, Polly tried to remove the locket from around her neck. She was so weak that John had to help her; she wanted to see him put the keepsake around his neck. John wore the locket with their hair inside it until his death. The locket was kept by one of Marshall’s children and eventually returned to the John Marshall House in Richmond, where it is today.