Marvel Genealogy
Alan Marvel’s Family Tree
My ancestors – Who were they? Where did they come from? Where did they go? Were they rich or poor? When I started this journey several years ago, I did not have the advantage of having many living members of my immediate Marvel family to whom I could ask these questions. Over the years, I have been able to fill in my family tree with more and more ancestors.
My family and I have traveled to Indiana, Ohio, Maryland and Delaware in pursuit of information and family identity. Over the years, I have visited may libraries and local historical societies in these states searching for information on my Marvel ancestors. I traveled to Salt Lake City, Utah a couple of years ago. The Internet has been a big help. I have used Ancestry.com as well as the online resources found on https://www.familysearch.org/en/ . I have visited the Allen County Public Library in Fort Wayne, Indiana. There I was able to do additional research on all of my ancestor families.
I have had the assistance of so many relatives who were also seeking information on our families. I want to thank my Marvel cousins who have given me information on their individual branches of the Marvelous Marvel family. This includes several books and articles on the Marvels. I have included a lot of the information here on my website. These sources have been donated to the Genealogy Department at the Allen County Public Library. An interesting fact – the Allen County Public Library’s Genealogy Department holds the second largest collection of genealogy materials and sources in the United States.
As many find, researching your ancestors can lead you to dead ends and misinformation. I have tried to sift through the information and report only that which is fact. When I could not determine fact or fiction, I tried to give all the information I could find. On Ancestry.com I have been able to keep everything in order and following a path to success. Marvelcreations.com (no longer on the net) has given me a lot of information about the branch of the Marvel family that settled in Gibson County, Indiana as well as the descendants of John Marvell.
One interesting thing that I have found over the years, is that there were two different branches of the Marvel family in the American colonies. My branch of Marvels came from the Cambridge area of England in 1652/53 landing in Virginia. The other branch of Marvels settled in the New England colonies. This branch of Marvels from England came from other areas such as Wales. They settled in Connecticut, Massachusetts, and New York. I have read that this branch of the Marvels came over on the Mayflower. I have not found any connection to the Mayflower.
I have found over the years that the New England branch of Marvels were involved in the Revolutionary War. The war was centered in their “backyards”. I have not found that my branch of the Marvel family had participated in the Revolution. They were farmers and inn keepers located in the Virginia, Maryland, and Delaware. The Marvels became involved in the War of 1812 because the war was in ‘their backyard.’
Recently I was searching on line for information on the Marvels of Virginia. I came across this website – Encyclopedia Virginia.org/entries/virginia-company-of-london/
There I found that John Marvell was not the first Marvel to be in the colony of Virginia. This Marvel ancestor was named Robert Marvel/Maruel (old English spelling). He arrived in 1622 in the Jamestown colony. More information on this ancestor can be found by following this link – As We All Have Learned in School
Update: Sept. 28, 2024 – I have been going through articles and other genealogical information that I have found on the Marvelous Marvel family. In this review, I have found additional information that has made a small change in the descendant report for the Marvels, as well as, further background on the Marvels in England. Charles A. O’Connor’s work – The Marvels in England (pages 296-297) was part of a larger book titled – The Marvel Family History. This version was written by Dr. John Everert Marvel, Mrs. Ether (Marvel) Blomberg, and Mrs. Ella (Armstrong) Yeakel. I also found the book by Marlyn Jean Davis called – MARVEL FAMILY AND ADJOINING LINES, very useful. A copy of this work was found on the FamilySearch.org website. This book has been very informative and a good source for the genealogy of the Marvel family.
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My name is Alan Marvel. Let’s go on a journey! Click on one of the links below to find out more about the Marvelous Marvel Family.
“Evolution of the Name Marvel” – this page has been updated
The Marvel Family in England according to Marvelcreations.com
The Thomas Marvel Sr. Family Information
Marvel Families move to Georgia — The Prettyman Marvel Family of Illinois
The Marvels Families Move West — Various Marvel Families and the Robert Marvel III Family
Marvel Family History by Robert and Muriel (Marvel) Smith and Mildred Marvel Burwell — This is a good source of information on the Marvel Family
Wills of Various Members of the Marvel Family
Hey, found your site and am very impressed. Nice job. I am related to the George Marvel born in Georgia, and his wife Jane (Jennie) Morris. Their daughter Orpha Marvel married my great grandpa Harvey Henderson Shelton.