William was employed by the Scribner Publishing Company for many years. In the 1870 Census of Chicago, he lists his occupation as "Agent for Publishing House." In 1880, he was "Writing Books." In the 1900 Census (before which he had retired), he claims to be a "Capitalist." He and Iza lived at 5338 Washington Avenue in Chicago.
The search for William Marshall Scribner's life story has raised more questions than answers. To begin with, his birth (March 1824 in Waterborough, Maine) is not recorded anywhere. The only known historical documents that attest to his birthplace is his Death Certificate [op.cit.] and the 1900 Census of Chicago [op.cit.].
The second seemingly unanswerable question is "Who were his parents?" There are only two real possibilities. The first is Rowell and Ruth Coffin Scribner, who were married 2 May 1819 in Waterborough (Waterborough Vital Records, Vol. 1, 1787-1925 [op.cit.], 3). The second is Samuel and Sarah Powers Scribner, who were married 12 March 1822 in Bridgton (Bridgton Vital Records, Record of Marriages 1794-1865, Book 1 [op.cit.], 9).
In letters that he wrote around 1900 to relatives in Maine, William speaks of his "own grandmother" (referring to Sarah Marshall Scribner [wife of John], the mother of both Rowell and Samuel), and his great-grandmother Scribner (referring to Sarah Bucknell Scribner [wife of Samuel Scribner, Sr.] the paternal grandmother of both Rowell and Samuel). This information, and other references to the Scribner family of Waterborough, leads us to the unmistakable conclusion that William was, indeed, the grandson of John and Sarah Marshall Scribner, and the great-grandson of Samuel and Sarah Bucknell Scribner. But, was he the son of Rowell, or Samuel?
Further complicating the matter is the fact that Samuel and Sarah Harmon Scribner had five children, all of whom died young. Two died at age 1, two died at age 6, and one (daughter Sarah) lived only to age 9. Is it reasonable to assume that they could have had one child survive to adulthood, when all of their other children died so young?
Turning to Rowell and Ruth, we find that they had one daughter (Sarah, born 1819) and two sons (Porter, born 1821, and Perry, born in October 1823). It's not possible for William to have been born of Ruth, only five months after the birth of Perry. However, since Ruth divorced Rowell sometime before 1830, could the reason for that divorce have been the illegitimate birth of William Marshall Scribner (a birth that was never recorded, for obvious reasons)?
Because of these questions and complications, we hesitatingly "assign" William to Samuel and Sarah Harmon Scribner.
William is buried in Oakwood Cemetery, Chicago. Iza outlived William, and died sometime after 1910.
The search for William Marshall Scribner's life story has raised more questions than answers. To begin with, his birth (March 1824 in Waterborough, Maine) is not recorded anywhere. The only known historical documents that attest to his birthplace is his Death Certificate [op.cit.] and the 1900 Census of Chicago [op.cit.].
The second seemingly unanswerable question is "Who were his parents?" There are only two real possibilities. The first is Rowell and Ruth Coffin Scribner, who were married 2 May 1819 in Waterborough (Waterborough Vital Records, Vol. 1, 1787-1925 [op.cit.], 3). The second is Samuel and Sarah Powers Scribner, who were married 12 March 1822 in Bridgton (Bridgton Vital Records, Record of Marriages 1794-1865, Book 1 [op.cit.], 9).
In letters that he wrote around 1900 to relatives in Maine, William speaks of his "own grandmother" (referring to Sarah Marshall Scribner [wife of John], the mother of both Rowell and Samuel), and his great-grandmother Scribner (referring to Sarah Bucknell Scribner [wife of Samuel Scribner, Sr.] the paternal grandmother of both Rowell and Samuel). This information, and other references to the Scribner family of Waterborough, leads us to the unmistakable conclusion that William was, indeed, the grandson of John and Sarah Marshall Scribner, and the great-grandson of Samuel and Sarah Bucknell Scribner. But, was he the son of Rowell, or Samuel?
Further complicating the matter is the fact that Samuel and Sarah Harmon Scribner had five children, all of whom died young. Two died at age 1, two died at age 6, and one (daughter Sarah) lived only to age 9. Is it reasonable to assume that they could have had one child survive to adulthood, when all of their other children died so young?
Turning to Rowell and Ruth, we find that they had one daughter (Sarah, born 1819) and two sons (Porter, born 1821, and Perry, born in October 1823). It's not possible for William to have been born of Ruth, only five months after the birth of Perry. However, since Ruth divorced Rowell sometime before 1830, could the reason for that divorce have been the illegitimate birth of William Marshall Scribner (a birth that was never recorded, for obvious reasons)?
Because of these questions and complications, we hesitatingly "assign" William to Samuel and Sarah Harmon Scribner.
William is buried in Oakwood Cemetery, Chicago. Iza outlived William, and died sometime after 1910.
William was employed by the Scribner Publishing Company for many years. In the 1870 Census of Chicago, he lists his occupation as "Agent for Publishing House." In 1880, he was "Writing Books." In the 1900 Census (before which he had retired), he claims to be a "Capitalist." He and Iza lived at 5338 Washington Avenue in Chicago.
The search for William Marshall Scribner's life story has raised more questions than answers. To begin with, his birth (March 1824 in Waterborough, Maine) is not recorded anywhere. The only known historical documents that attest to his birthplace is his Death Certificate [op.cit.] and the 1900 Census of Chicago [op.cit.].
The second seemingly unanswerable question is "Who were his parents?" There are only two real possibilities. The first is Rowell and Ruth Coffin Scribner, who were married 2 May 1819 in Waterborough (Waterborough Vital Records, Vol. 1, 1787-1925 [op.cit.], 3). The second is Samuel and Sarah Powers Scribner, who were married 12 March 1822 in Bridgton (Bridgton Vital Records, Record of Marriages 1794-1865, Book 1 [op.cit.], 9).
In letters that he wrote around 1900 to relatives in Maine, William speaks of his "own grandmother" (referring to Sarah Marshall Scribner [wife of John], the mother of both Rowell and Samuel), and his great-grandmother Scribner (referring to Sarah Bucknell Scribner [wife of Samuel Scribner, Sr.] the paternal grandmother of both Rowell and Samuel). This information, and other references to the Scribner family of Waterborough, leads us to the unmistakable conclusion that William was, indeed, the grandson of John and Sarah Marshall Scribner, and the great-grandson of Samuel and Sarah Bucknell Scribner. But, was he the son of Rowell, or Samuel?
Further complicating the matter is the fact that Samuel and Sarah Harmon Scribner had five children, all of whom died young. Two died at age 1, two died at age 6, and one (daughter Sarah) lived only to age 9. Is it reasonable to assume that they could have had one child survive to adulthood, when all of their other children died so young?
Turning to Rowell and Ruth, we find that they had one daughter (Sarah, born 1819) and two sons (Porter, born 1821, and Perry, born in October 1823). It's not possible for William to have been born of Ruth, only five months after the birth of Perry. However, since Ruth divorced Rowell sometime before 1830, could the reason for that divorce have been the illegitimate birth of William Marshall Scribner (a birth that was never recorded, for obvious reasons)?
Because of these questions and complications, we hesitatingly "assign" William to Samuel and Sarah Harmon Scribner.
William is buried in Oakwood Cemetery, Chicago. Iza outlived William, and died sometime after 1910.
The search for William Marshall Scribner's life story has raised more questions than answers. To begin with, his birth (March 1824 in Waterborough, Maine) is not recorded anywhere. The only known historical documents that attest to his birthplace is his Death Certificate [op.cit.] and the 1900 Census of Chicago [op.cit.].
The second seemingly unanswerable question is "Who were his parents?" There are only two real possibilities. The first is Rowell and Ruth Coffin Scribner, who were married 2 May 1819 in Waterborough (Waterborough Vital Records, Vol. 1, 1787-1925 [op.cit.], 3). The second is Samuel and Sarah Powers Scribner, who were married 12 March 1822 in Bridgton (Bridgton Vital Records, Record of Marriages 1794-1865, Book 1 [op.cit.], 9).
In letters that he wrote around 1900 to relatives in Maine, William speaks of his "own grandmother" (referring to Sarah Marshall Scribner [wife of John], the mother of both Rowell and Samuel), and his great-grandmother Scribner (referring to Sarah Bucknell Scribner [wife of Samuel Scribner, Sr.] the paternal grandmother of both Rowell and Samuel). This information, and other references to the Scribner family of Waterborough, leads us to the unmistakable conclusion that William was, indeed, the grandson of John and Sarah Marshall Scribner, and the great-grandson of Samuel and Sarah Bucknell Scribner. But, was he the son of Rowell, or Samuel?
Further complicating the matter is the fact that Samuel and Sarah Harmon Scribner had five children, all of whom died young. Two died at age 1, two died at age 6, and one (daughter Sarah) lived only to age 9. Is it reasonable to assume that they could have had one child survive to adulthood, when all of their other children died so young?
Turning to Rowell and Ruth, we find that they had one daughter (Sarah, born 1819) and two sons (Porter, born 1821, and Perry, born in October 1823). It's not possible for William to have been born of Ruth, only five months after the birth of Perry. However, since Ruth divorced Rowell sometime before 1830, could the reason for that divorce have been the illegitimate birth of William Marshall Scribner (a birth that was never recorded, for obvious reasons)?
Because of these questions and complications, we hesitatingly "assign" William to Samuel and Sarah Harmon Scribner.
William is buried in Oakwood Cemetery, Chicago. Iza outlived William, and died sometime after 1910.
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