Levis Pennock Marshall

Levis Pennock Marshall was born at the family farm in Pocopson Township on November 7th 1850^[2]. He was the second child and first son of Joshua Marshall and Mary Cranston Marshall. His birth was recorded in the minutes of the Kennett Monthly Meeting, where his family were members of the Hicksite branch of the Society of Friends.

Upon the death of his father in 1855, his mother moved the young family into the Borough of West Chester where she ran a boarding house^[3]. Mary Marshall transferred the family’s membership from Kennett to Birmingham Meeting^[4]. Levis and his sister Sarah attended the High Street Friends School in West Chester; this was the Hicksite Friends private school, kindergarten through the eighth grade. He also attended the Taylor Academy in Coatesville^[5].

Levis desired to see the world and he achieved this by becoming a sailor. His seafaring voyage took him around the world, rounding Cape Horn he sailed across the Pacific Ocean. When the vessel came to port in San Francisco, California, he left the ship and got a taste of the west on his way back east ^[6].

Once back home, he needed a new career path. In 1874, Marshall worked as a photographer in partnership with I.N. Kelly at 9 South Eighth Street, Philadelphia under the name of Kelly & Marshall^[7].

Levis Marshall married 16-year-old Clara Smith on May 5, 1875, under the care of Philadelphia Monthly Meeting^[8]. The couple’s daughter, Mary Cranston Marshall was born on March 5, 1876, according to membership records of the Arch Street Friends Meeting^[9].

The young family did not stay together for long, Marshall again answered the call of the west, leaving his wife and daughter behind. The 1880 Census records Levis P. Marshall age 31 with the occupation of photographer living in San Joaquin, California. Strangely, he is listed as being single. He was living with a German farmer named Henry Beckman in this farming community. Many couples in that era, instead of divorcing simply went their separate ways, often starting anew in another town or state.

A voter registration list for San Joaquin records a Pennsylvania born, 32-year-old “Lewis P. Marshall” as bartender, registering on October 7, 1882. However, Marshall did return east by 1883.

Marshall is listed in the Wilmington City Directory for 1883 as working as a photographer for J. G. Holland at 307 Market Street. He is not listed in the 1884 and subsequent directories for that city according to William McKay’s A Directory of Delaware Photographers, 1839-1900 and Beyond.

From 1888 to 1900, Marshall operated his own studio in Philadelphia at 1833 Ridge Road^[10].

It was on June 9, 1899, that an article in the Daily Local News announced that Levis Marshall had rented the former photograph gallery of Thomas W. Taylor at 10 West Gay Street and would relocate to the Borough very soon. He moved into a house at 227 East Washington Street, built by his brother-in-law, William P. Sharpless and owned by his now remarried mother Mary C. M. Beck.

Levis Marshall opened his studio in West Chester at an opportune time, just as the Borough was celebrating its centennial. This was a perfect time to introduce his photographic skills to the public, by taking extensive photographs of the parades and events during the week-long Centennial Celebration in October of 1899. In the Chester County History Center photo archives collection, is a 16 x 20 mounted print of the parade as well as a series of 5 x 7 views. The mounts are marked: “Marshall, 10 West Gay St., West Chester, PA.”

Since he only identified himself as “Marshall” it is easy to confuse his work with that of Edward S. Marshall upon first glance. But Levis Marshall always used silver gelatin based photographic paper, while E. S. Marshall always used albumen paper of an earlier era. Edward S. Marshall was in business between 1876 and 1887 in West Chester but left for Colorado in the summer of that year.

The first time Levis Marshall is listed in the Boyd’s Directory of Chester County and the West Chester tax lists is in 1900. The United States census taken that year finds his family living at 227 E. Washington Street along with his Mother-in-law, Eliza Smith^[11].

Marshall was in business offering portraits, outdoor views, etc. The last time he was listed in Boyd’s West Chester Directory as a photographer, was in the 1913-1914 edition. Published in 1913, the Directory listed the studio address at 10 W. Gay St and his home address as 227 East Washington Street^[12].

In 1917 Levis Marshall died at home suffering from bulbar palsy and exhaustion on August 29^[13]. His funeral was held at his home in the manner of Friends; there were many speakers from the High Street Friends Meeting in attendance^[14]. He was buried in the Rosedale Friends Cemetery on the south west end of the Borough^[15].

©Pamela C. Powell, 2019