MARSHALL, JAMES. 1720-1803. Manuscript on paper, being a Maryland plantation journal of James Marshall, owner of Arcadia, Wett Work, and Locust Level, in Monocacy, covering all aspects of the management over 7 years, 70 pp, plus an additional 12 pp in later hands, primarily genealogy of the Marshall-Harding-Bantz line, some in pencil, with roughly 40 pp of blanks in the middle, beginning July 12th, 1796, and continuing through April 15, 1803, contemporary calf-backed paper boards with decorative stamping in black, rear hinge started, some moisture staining, portions of blanks excised.
Provenance: James Marshall (from the journal); his daughter, Eleanor (Marshall) and James L. Harding (from the journal); Norman Bruce Harding.

A DETAILED PLANTATION JOURNAL FROM A PROMINENT FAMILY, capturing the day-to-day operations including plantings and harvests, folk recipes, husbandry, and family history. Also a number of slavery-related entries, including births, deaths, contract-related details, and wage information, in some cases. James Marshall was a Scottish immigrant who began working in the Monocacy region for David Dulany and Jonathan Glassford, before earning a small fortune in real estate and by operating the "Middle Ferry" on the Monocacy. Cf. Reed & Wallace, Monocacy National Battlefield: Cultural Resources Study, Washington, DC, 2004.