"John Marsh, a farmer of Braintree and Hadlyme, was born on October 14, 1702, in the part of Braintree which is now Quincy. His father, John, enjoyed the title of 'Mr.,' and when chosen constable hired a substitute rather than serve. His mother, Sarah, was a daughter of the John Wilson who was a member of the Class of 1678 and distinguished himself as a physician and a justice of the peace. Little John was baptized in the First Church of Braintree and in due time proceeded to Harvard where he led a quiet life even after he had managed to obtain a chamber in a college building at the end of Junior year. The fact that he never took the trouble to apply for his M.A. is indicative of a mental indolence which marked his whole life. … Aside from serving once as surveyor of the highways, Marsh took no part in town affairs. With his brother-in-law, Gregory Baxter (A.B. 1725), an equally indolent man, he voted in town meeting as if he were sensitive to taxation. About 1750 he removed to a farm in Hadlyme Parish, which included parts of East Haddam and Lyme, Connecticut. Grindall Rawson (A.B. 1728) was the minister of the parish, but Marsh never joined his church. He died on November 7, 1755, and was buried in Hadlyme Churchyard in East Haddam. His children grew up in Connecticut and had no Harvard connections."
