Marshall of Seapoint House
Robert Marshall married Arabella Osborne
born circa 1697 1715
died circa 4 Sep 1774
Seapoint
Robert Marshall son of John Marshall Esq of Clonmel and his wife Catherine was born
circa 1697. He attended the Clonmel Free School and continued his education in
Monaghan before entering Trinity College in 1715. He was called to the bar in 1723. The
same year he was a residual legatee of the personal estate of Esther Vanhomrigh (Vanessa,
friend of Jonathan Swift) but their relationship is unknown. He was appointed Third
Serjeant in the Court of the Common Pleas in 1738 and Second Serjeant in 1741.
Robert was attorney to Thomas Barton of Bordeaux and handled the purchase of the
Everard estate in Tipperary for him. In 1743 he was council for the Plaintiff in the case of
James Annesley v Rt Hon The Earl of Anglesey, in which James Annesley took his uncle to
court and claimed to be the rightful Earl of Anglesey.
Robert's opening speech (part of)
‘My Lords, and you gentlemen of the jury, I am in this case of Council with Mr James Annesley;
and, my Lords, I believe no age can parallel the scene of Iniquity and Barbarity which has, for
the course of many years , been shewn towards the plaintiff. He was ill-treated, kidnapped,
transported, was a slave for thirteen or fourteen years; after the time of his slavery was out, then
the defendant contrived to indict him for murder at the sessions of Oyer and Terminer at the
Old Bailey, held for a Gaol –delivery for the City of London and County of Middlesex. Here the
Plaintiff was imprisoned for a considerable time, was tried and acquitted. And if we were to
enquire into the characters of the principal actors in this opposition, and observe their
behaviour in life we would not at all wonder at it.’ Serjeant R Marshall
Marshall married Arabella Osborne, daughter of Sir Nicholas Osborne and Anne Parsons in
1715, ie before he reached his majority. The marriage was difficult and the couple soon
parted ways. In 1723 he came to an agreement with Sir John Osborne regarding financial
provision for Arabella which effectively marked the end of the marriage.
Marshall married, secondly, Mary Wooley of the Parish of St Peters on 9 Sep 1741. She was
the daughter of Benjamin and Mary Wooley of East Sheen in Surrey and Clonmannon,
Co Wicklow.
He lived at various addresses in Dublin including Hoey’s Court and Dominick Street. His
country house was Seapoint House just outside Blackrock. He retired to Seapoint in 1766
when he was second Judge of the Common Pleas. He died there in 1774. The couple are not
buried together. Mary is buried with her father in Wicklow. Robert is buried in Waterford
with his family. He left his estate to his nieces, children of his sister Elizabeth Marshall and
her husband Thomas Christmas. One of the nieces, Elizabeth Christmas, married Sir William
Osborne of the same family as Robert’s first wife Arabella.
©June Bow, Bríd Nolan & Karen Poff – February 2020/updated August 2020
Robert Marshall married Arabella Osborne
born circa 1697 1715
died circa 4 Sep 1774
Seapoint
Robert Marshall son of John Marshall Esq of Clonmel and his wife Catherine was born
circa 1697. He attended the Clonmel Free School and continued his education in
Monaghan before entering Trinity College in 1715. He was called to the bar in 1723. The
same year he was a residual legatee of the personal estate of Esther Vanhomrigh (Vanessa,
friend of Jonathan Swift) but their relationship is unknown. He was appointed Third
Serjeant in the Court of the Common Pleas in 1738 and Second Serjeant in 1741.
Robert was attorney to Thomas Barton of Bordeaux and handled the purchase of the
Everard estate in Tipperary for him. In 1743 he was council for the Plaintiff in the case of
James Annesley v Rt Hon The Earl of Anglesey, in which James Annesley took his uncle to
court and claimed to be the rightful Earl of Anglesey.
Robert's opening speech (part of)
‘My Lords, and you gentlemen of the jury, I am in this case of Council with Mr James Annesley;
and, my Lords, I believe no age can parallel the scene of Iniquity and Barbarity which has, for
the course of many years , been shewn towards the plaintiff. He was ill-treated, kidnapped,
transported, was a slave for thirteen or fourteen years; after the time of his slavery was out, then
the defendant contrived to indict him for murder at the sessions of Oyer and Terminer at the
Old Bailey, held for a Gaol –delivery for the City of London and County of Middlesex. Here the
Plaintiff was imprisoned for a considerable time, was tried and acquitted. And if we were to
enquire into the characters of the principal actors in this opposition, and observe their
behaviour in life we would not at all wonder at it.’ Serjeant R Marshall
Marshall married Arabella Osborne, daughter of Sir Nicholas Osborne and Anne Parsons in
1715, ie before he reached his majority. The marriage was difficult and the couple soon
parted ways. In 1723 he came to an agreement with Sir John Osborne regarding financial
provision for Arabella which effectively marked the end of the marriage.
Marshall married, secondly, Mary Wooley of the Parish of St Peters on 9 Sep 1741. She was
the daughter of Benjamin and Mary Wooley of East Sheen in Surrey and Clonmannon,
Co Wicklow.
He lived at various addresses in Dublin including Hoey’s Court and Dominick Street. His
country house was Seapoint House just outside Blackrock. He retired to Seapoint in 1766
when he was second Judge of the Common Pleas. He died there in 1774. The couple are not
buried together. Mary is buried with her father in Wicklow. Robert is buried in Waterford
with his family. He left his estate to his nieces, children of his sister Elizabeth Marshall and
her husband Thomas Christmas. One of the nieces, Elizabeth Christmas, married Sir William
Osborne of the same family as Robert’s first wife Arabella.
©June Bow, Bríd Nolan & Karen Poff – February 2020/updated August 2020