William Marshall (1767–1816), attorney and federal court clerk, was a native of Fauquier County and the younger brother of John Marshall, fourth chief justice of the United States. He moved to Richmond and served as the clerk of the United States Circuit Court for the fifth circuit from its establishment in 1790 until his death in that city. He also opened a law practice, served as commonwealth’s deputy attorney by 1792 and subsequently as commonwealth’s attorney, and sat on the vestry of Monumental Church. At the time of his death Marshall owned a house and numerous lots in Richmond, a plantation in Frederick County, land in Kanawha County (now West Virginia), and tracts in Kentucky. His personal estate included at least twenty-four slaves and was valued in excess of $14,500 (Frances Norton Mason, My dearest Polly: Letters of Chief Justice John Marshall to His Wife … 1779–1831 [1961], 26, 350; PTJ, 15:647, 29:196–7; CVSP, 5:622–3; Richmond Enquirer, 19 Apr. 1805, 20 Feb. 1810; TJ to Marshall, 7 Feb. 1816; Richmond Enquirer, 29 May 1816; Richmond City Hustings Court Will Book, 2:58–9, 118–20, 130–8, 154–7).
