William C. Marrow

Notes:

Daily Press
Sep 20 2011
Genealogical mystery in Newport News solved
Jim Sample took possession of a gravestone recovered from a warehouse on property that will become the new Walmart on Jefferson Avenue in Newport News. Sample took possession of the gravestone after police asked him for help in identifying the person on listed on the marker. (Adrin Snider, Daily Press / September 20, 2011)
By Joe Lawlor, jlawlor@dailypress.com | 247-7874
8:07 p.m. EDT, September 20, 2011

NEWPORT NEWS ? It took a series of coincidences for the gravestone of William C. Marrow ? which probably had been lying in an industrial warehouse for decades ? to find its way home. Once the gravestone was discovered last week, a genealogical mystery was solved within days, almost as quickly as an episode of "History Detectives." To genealogists, who often spend decades painstakingly researching centuries-old documents, the warp speed which everything fell together was amazing.
"A lot of things had to happen just the right way," said Jim Sample, a member of the Tidewater Genealogical Society.
The Marrow gravestone ? which reads born Sept. 23, 1803, died August 1888 ? currently sits in Sample's tan Town & Country van in York County. It's heavy, made out of marble or granite, and probably weighs 200 pounds.
A Newport News farmer, Marrow's tombstone had been missing from the family graveyard on Harpersville Road at the Benns Road intersection for at least 40 years. Dan Marrow Phillips, the great-great grandson of Marrow, said his uncle, E.K. Phillips, showed him the gravesite with the missing gravestone in the late 1960s. It remained missing up until last week.
"It's rather strange to find it after all these years," Dan Phillips said. His wife, Alice, is a genealogy buff and has researched the family history.
"Finding this gravestone is very meaningful to our family," said Alice Phillips, past president of the Tidewater Genealogical Society.

It started with the curiosity of Rob Plessinger, a worker at the Super 8 hotel on Jefferson Avenue. After Hurricane Irene, Plessinger heard a rumor that stray dogs and a tombstone were in an abandoned warehouse at the intersection of Jefferson Avenue and Mercury Boulevard, where the new Walmart will be located. Walmart is scheduled to open in 2013. Plessinger didn't find any dogs, but after about 15 minutes he stumbled across the gravestone in the utility room. "I didn't want to just leave it there," Plessinger said. "I figured it might be important to somebody." So Plessinger, who also worried that a Walmart could potentially be built over a hidden graveyard, used a dollie to haul the tombstone back to the Super 8. The graveyard at Walmart concerns proved to be unfounded, but Plessinger's move started a chain reaction. A chain of clues ?Plessinger called a friend of his in the police department. ?The police took down the information and connected with Jim Sample, who was volunteering at the genealogy library at the 1884 Warwick Courthouse in Denbigh on Thursday. ?Sample did some initial research, discovering basic facts about Marrow, and then asked fellow members of the genealogical society whether they had any connection to William C. Marrow. ?Kay Smith, also a member of the society, recognized the name Marrow, because she's related to the Garrows. William C. Marrow married Mary Ann Garrow in 1828. "When I heard the name Marrow, I thought he was probably related to the Phillips," Smith said. She said because the area was sparsely populated back then, researchers tend to hear the same names over and over again. ?Smith called Phillips, who was in Blacksburg for a Virginia Tech football game. Everything matched up and they quickly confirmed that it was Phillips' great-great-grandfather. From their previous research, the Phillips knew that William C. Marrow owned the Oakville Farm off of Harpersville Road, fathered six children and was nicknamed "Pompey."
All in the family
Phillips said the warehouse at one time was owned by his uncle, E.K. Phillips, who cared for the family cemetery before he died in 1976. He said it was the family business, and his uncle sold building materials out of the warehouse.
As for why his uncle stored the tombstone in the warehouse, and not at the graveyard, Phillips said he didn't know, but is guessing that his uncle intended to re-set the stone but never got around to doing it. Phillips, who's from Newport News but now lives in Poquoson, said they intend to display the tombstone at the genealogical library for a while. They may later decide to move it back to the family graveyard. For now, they're just happy that the gravestone is back with family. "We were absolutely thrilled that it has been found," said Dan Phillips, 76.

William married Mary Ann Toomer/Garrow. Mary was born 1809, Elizabeth City, Virginia; died 1885, Warwick Co., Virginia. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

Married:
Children of Mary Ann Toomer & William C. Marrow:
John C. Marrow (1831 - 1855)
Daniel Garrow Marrow (1836 - 1914)
Mary Ann Marrow Phillips (1838 - 1911)
Henry Clay Marrow (1848 - 1928)

1. Mary Ann Marrow was born 10 Mar 1838, Newport News, Virginia; died 8 May 1911, Hampton, Virginia.