J ohn Marshall led the Supreme Court of the United States from obscurity and weakness to prominence and power during his 34 years in office, from 1801 to 1835. More than half his time as chief justice was spent at home in Richmond, Virginia. Marshalls public duties in Washington, D.C., and on circuit in Virginia and North Carolina, consumed an average of less than six months a year. So he was often with family and friends at his two-and-a-half-story brick house, built between 1788 and 1790. Located at the corner of Ninth and Marshall Streets in downtown Richmond, this house stands as a permanent memorial to the Marshall family. No other site, not even the Supreme Court building in Washington, D.C., is so closely connected to "The Great Chief Justice." John Marshalls public and private roles were intertwined at home. He developed legal opinions, wrote public papers, and greeted famous guests at this place, where he also was a father, husband, and household manager. Today visitors to the John Marshall House can see evidence of both the public and private parts of his life at home. A striking symbol of his public life--a large judicial robe once worn by Marshall as chief justice--is displayed in the visitors’ Orientation Room, as is a small locket that was worn by Marshalls wife, Mary Willis Ambler, whom he called "my dearest Polly." These two objects represent the public and private domains of a great mans life, his career and family.
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