Robert Marshall (c.1695–1774) was an Irish judge. He is remembered chiefly as co-executor and legatee of Esther Vanhomrigh, the beloved "Vanessa" of

Jonathan Swift Jonathan Swift (30 November 1667 – 19 October 1745) was an Anglo-Irish writer, essayist, satirist, and Anglican cleric. In 1713, he became the Dean (Christianity), dean of St Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin, and was given the sobriquet "Dean Swi ...

, although he was not a close friend of hers; indeed it is possible that they never met.Ball, F. Elrington ''The Judges in Ireland 1221-1921'' John Murray London 1926 Vol. 2

Personal life

He was born in

Clonmel Clonmel () is the county town and largest settlement of County Tipperary, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The town is noted in Irish history for its resistance to the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland, Cromwellian army which sacked the towns of Dro ...

County Tipperary County Tipperary () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. The county is named after the town of Tipperary (tow ...

, son of John Marshall, styled as a "gentleman" and his wife Catherine. He was educated at Clonmel Free School and Kilkenny College, entered

Middle Temple The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court entitled to Call to the bar, call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple (with whi ...

in 1718 and was called to the Irish Bar in 1723. His father committed

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Risk factors for suicide include mental disorders, physical disorders, and substance abuse. Some suicides are impulsive acts driven by stress (such as from financial or ac ...

in Clonmel in 1717. He moved house several times before buying a country house at

Monkstown, County Dublin Monkstown (), historically known as ''Carrickbrennan'' (), is a suburb on the southside, Dublin, southside of Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland, located in Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown. It is on the coast, between Blackrock, Dublin, Blackrock an ...

. In 1741 he married a great

heir Inheritance is the practice of receiving private property, titles, debts, entitlements, privileges, rights, and obligations upon the death of an individual. The rules of inheritance differ among societies and have changed over time. Offi ...

ess, Mary Wooley, daughter of Benjamin Wooley of

East Sheen East Sheen, also known as Sheen, is a suburb in south-west London in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. Its long High Street, high street has shops, offices, restaurants, cafés, pubs and suburban supermarkets and is also the economic ...

, near

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, who is said to have brought him a

dowry A dowry is a payment such as land, property, money, livestock, or a commercial asset that is paid by the bride's (woman's) family to the groom (man) or his family at the time of marriage. Dowry contrasts with the related concepts of bride price ...

of £30,000. She died childless in 1743. He outlived her by thirty years, despite his own increasing ill-health, which led to frequent visits to England in hope of a cure. He was buried in

Christ Church Cathedral, Waterford Christ Church Cathedral, Waterford, or more formally, the Cathedral of The Holy Trinity, Christ Church, is a cathedral of the Church of Ireland in Waterford City, Ireland. It is in the ecclesiastical province of Dublin. Previously the cathedral ...

. He purchased a house at the at that time fashionable number 20 Dominick Street in 1758 from the painter and property developer Robert West.

Legal and political career

He was appointed Third Serjeant in 1738 and Second Serjeant in 1741. As a barrister he made his reputation in the celebrated Annesley case, in which James Annesley claimed to be the rightful

Earl of Anglesey Earl of Anglesey was a title in the Peerage of England during the 17th and 18th centuries. History The first creation came in 1623 when Christopher Villiers was created Earl of Anglesey, in Wales, as well as Baron Villiers. He was the elder br ...

against the rival claim of his uncle, which is often said to be the inspiration for the novel '' Kidnapped'' by

Robert Louis Stevenson Robert Louis Stevenson (born Robert Lewis Balfour Stevenson; 13 November 1850 – 3 December 1894) was a Scottish novelist, essayist, poet and travel writer. He is best known for works such as ''Treasure Island'', ''Strange Case of Dr Jekyll ...

. His practice was lucrative, though the bulk of what became a great fortune was undoubtedly due to his advantageous marriage to Mary Wooley. He sat in the

Irish House of Commons The Irish House of Commons was the lower house of the Parliament of Ireland that existed from 1297 until the end of 1800. The upper house was the Irish House of Lords, House of Lords. The membership of the House of Commons was directly elected, ...

as member for

and was generally a reliable Government supporter; he was also Recorder of Clonmel at intervals between 1727 and 1747, and served as Mayor of Clonmel four times. He was High Sheriff of County Tipperary in 1729. He also took an interest in the affairs of

County Waterford County Waterford () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and is part of the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. It is named after the city of Waterford. ...

, particularly after the marriage of his sister Elizabeth to Thomas Christmas MP, the head of a family which played a leading role in the political life of Waterford for several generations. He became a judge of the

Court of Common Pleas (Ireland) The Court of Common Pleas was one of the principal courts of common law in Ireland. It was a mirror image of the equivalent court in England. Common Pleas was one of the four courts of justice which gave the Four Courts in Dublin, which is sti ...

in 1754 and retired in 1766.

Vanessa

In 1723 the intense friendship between Jonathan Swift and Esther Vanhomrigh, for whom he created the name ''Vanessa'', ended in a violent quarrel about another woman whom he had loved for many years, Esther Johnson (whom he nicknamed "Stella"); Swift may secretly have married Stella in 1716, although the truth of this is now impossible to determine. The quarrel arose when Vanessa apparently asked Swift not to see Stella again, and he refused. Vanessa, who was seriously ill with

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...

and died a few months later, revoked the will she had made in Swift's favour and made a new

will Will may refer to: Common meanings * Will and testament, instructions for the disposition of one's property after death * Will (philosophy), or willpower * Will (sociology) * Will, volition (psychology) * Will, a modal verb - see Shall and will ...

, dividing her estate between Marshall and

George Berkeley George Berkeley ( ; 12 March 168514 January 1753), known as Bishop Berkeley (Bishop of Cloyne of the Anglican Church of Ireland), was an Anglo-Irish philosopher, writer, and clergyman who is regarded as the founder of "immaterialism", a philos ...

, later to be a celebrated

philosopher Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

and

Bishop of Cloyne The Bishop of Cloyne is an episcopal title that takes its name after the small town of Cloyne in County Cork, Ireland. In the Roman Catholic Church, it is a separate title; but, in the Church of Ireland, it has been united with other bishopri ...

, and appointing them as her joint executors. Her choice of

legatee A legatee, in the law of wills, is any individual or organization bequeathed any portion of a testator's estate. Usage Depending upon local custom, legatees may be called "devisees". Traditionally, "legatees" took personal property under will a ...

caused a good deal of surprise since it does not seem that she knew either man well (nor did they apparently know each other): indeed it has been suggested that she may never have met either of them. In the event much of the estate was dissipated in a

lawsuit A lawsuit is a proceeding by one or more parties (the plaintiff or claimant) against one or more parties (the defendant) in a civil court of law. The archaic term "suit in law" is found in only a small number of laws still in effect today ...

. There is a tradition that Marshall and Berkeley disobeyed a provision in the will that they publish all of Swift's correspondence with Vanessa, but in fact, no such provision seems to have existed. Marshall did preserve copies of the correspondence. Swift, though he had no quarrel with Berkeley, and indeed respected him, regarded Marshall (whom he called a "scoundrel"), as his enemy. Admittedly Swift had a notoriously poor opinion of lawyers in general.Hammond p.236

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Marshall, Robert 1690s births 1774 deaths People from Clonmel People educated at Kilkenny College Members of the Parliament of Ireland (pre-1801) for County Tipperary constituencies Members of the Middle Temple Justices of the Irish Common Pleas Irish MPs 1727–1760 Serjeants-at-law (Ireland) Lawyers from County Tipperary 18th-century Irish judges