The Lovells have traced their family origin back to 1060, in England; beginning with the Norman Invasion of 1066, under King William I. Robert Lovell, a Peer, is in Norman records as early as 1060, leaving Peerage heirs in England, bearing the names: Robert, William, John and James, down to 1465 (The Complete Peerage, Vol. VII, p. 208). In the early 1400s, a Sir Robert Lovell was the son of Lord John Lovell, the fifth Lord Lovell of Titchmarsh. As we know, all Peerages-or British titles of honor are bestowed upon a family by the British Monarch.

All the Lovells of Westmoreland county, Virginia used these names, and this apparently indicates a continuation of these ancestral names. The first Robert Lovell came to Virginia prior to Nov. 8, 1625 (VA land patents, Nugent abstracts); and a Robert Lovell with Patrick Norton patented 1000 acres of land Dec. 2, 1663, on the Rappahannock River, a renewal of a patent dated May 26, 1660. Robert Lovell the progenitor of our family, or at least the earliest proven of the Westmoreland Lovells, is first mentioned in records Nov. 5, 1666 (deeds-patents, p. 329), when he and wife Elinor deeded 150 acres to Daniel Swillivant.

Mary Ann Lovell Coffman - was the daughter of Robert Lovell-II, and his wife Sarah Marshall Lovell, of Virginia.

Robert Lovell-II's mother was Ursula Lovell. She was a widow of Lewis Nicholas Jr. when she married Robert Lovell, Sr. Lewis Nicholas Jr. was the God-son of Lawrence Washington. Lawrence Washington bequeathed 137 acres of his estate to Lewis Nicholas Jr. When Lewis died, his wife Ursula inherited this former Washington family land, as well as her first husband Lewis Nicholas's land & his entire estate (according to a 1698 Wills book, pg 144). On Nov. 20, 1712, a VA Court appointed Ursula's 2nd husband Robert Lovell-II, to be one of the Executors to make final settlement and distribution of Captain Lawrence Washington's estate. Lawrence was the father of President George Washington. Ironically, Robert Lovell-III's family had also long known the Washington family, from the time of Robert Lovell the First. On July 7, 1670, William Pierce assigned a patent of 500 acres on the Potomac River to Robert Lovell-I. Robert the First repatented it Nov. 25, 1670, evidently to ensure a clearer title. This 500 acre tract adjoined his neighbor, John Washington (grandfather of George Washington), on its northern boundary. Robert-I died April 24, 1700, leaving his son Robert Lovell II, his heir and executor of his estate.

Robert Lovell-II's wife Sarah Marshall Lovell, was the daughter of John and Elizabeth Markham Marshall. Sarah's father John Marshall, was the grandfather of our nations's fourth and longest serving (tenure: 1801 - 1835) Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, John Marshall (namesake of his grandfather); resulting in my 4th great-Grandmother Mary Ann Coffman and Chief Justice John Marshall, being first cousins. My great-great grandfather Lovell Coffman Walker was the grandson of Mary Ann Coffman.

My 5th-great grandmother was Sarah Marshall Lovell. Her brother was Chief Justice John Marshall's father - Colonel Thomas Marshall. The Chief Justice was her nephew. Col. Thomas Marshall served in the VA House of Burgesses, was organizer of the Culpepper Minute Men in the Revolutionary War, member of the 1776 VA Convention of Independence from Britain, was a Member of the Virginia Legislature and served in the VA 3rd Regiment. The colonel served at Valley Forge, PA under General Washington.

Earlier in his life, Chief Justice John Marshall served as Captain in the Continental Army, member of the VA House of Burgesses, Member of the Virginia Legislature, a member of the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia and under President John Adams, he was Secretary of State. The Chief Justice's mansion Oak Hill, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, still stands in Fauquier County, Virginia. It may be seen from Interstate-66 and is located just north of the highway, just east of the exit for route 17 near Delaplane, VA, though it is a private residence, currently not open to the public.

My 6th-great grandfather was Chief Justice Marshall's grandfather - John Marshall, the man he was named after. This grandfather John Marshall's ancestry is known to be traced back to his own great-great grandfather Thomas Marshall, born in Abbots Ann - Hampshire, England in 1545. This Thomas Marshall was my 10th-great grandfather. Thomas's wife was Mary Cotton Marshall, born 1553, also in Hamspshire, England, the daughter of Henry Cotton of London-born in 1521; making Henry my 11th-great grandfather.