Born March 18, 1766 in Jamestown, Virginia, Mary “Polly” Ambler Marshall came of age within the landscape of the new nation. After settling in Richmond with her husband, the future Chief Justice John Marshall, Polly also built her life amongst the capitol city’s elite. What was Polly’s social, familial, political, and cultural journey as daughter, wife, mother, friend, citizen, and wife of the Chief Justice in the Early Republic? Which people, experiences, and personal objects illustrate Polly’s life, and death, in Richmond?

On Sunday, March 12, 2023 from 1 p.m. – 3 p.m., join Preservation Virginia’s John Marshall House and Richmond’s Shockoe Hill Cemetery in a back-to-back guided tour honoring Polly Marshall’s birthday. Your visit will begin with a tour of the John Marshall House where Polly spent over 40 years. Following, you will travel the short distance to nearby Shockoe Hill Cemetery to view Polly’s grave and learn of her contemporaries buried there, as well as how these individuals helped shape Polly’s Richmond.

City street parking in Richmond is free on Sundays to accommodate your visit to the John Marshall House. Shockoe Hill Cemetery offers dedicated parking and is located 1.3 miles from the Marshall House.

Tickets are $20 and advance purchase is requested, but walk-ins will be accommodated on a first-come-first-serve basis.

Contact mdowney@preservationvirginia.org with any questions.

(Event Image: “Richmond From the Hill Above the Waterworks,” by G. Cooke, 1834, Library of Congress)