The Marshall Papers Project

This project was organized in 1966 at the Institute of Early American History and Culture in Williamsburg under the direction of Stephen G. Kurtz. Herbert A. Johnson joined the staff as associate editor in 1967 and was named editor in 1971. Charles T. Cullen, who had served as an editing fellow with the project in 1970-71, became a permanent member of the staff in 1971. He succeeded to the editorship in 1977, when Johnson resigned. On Cullen's resignation in 1979, Charles F. Hobson was appointed in his place. The present staff consists of Hobson and Joan S. Lovelace managing editor.

The Documents

The collection phase of this edition was essentially completed before the publication of the first volume in 1974. Since no large group of Marshall papers has survived, a collection had to be created from a search of public and private respositories throughout the United States--the most important of which are the Library of Congress, the National Archives, the College of William and Mary, the Virginia Historical Society, the Library of Virginia, the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, the New-York Historical Society, and the Massachusetts Historical Society. Foreign archives such as the British Public Record Office were also searched. In addition, all known Marshall descendants were canvassed for possible holdings of manuscript material.

Although the active phase of collecting has ended, new leads arise in the course of research that occasionally yield new documents. We are always on the lookout for new Marshall documents. Let us know if you have any leads on the whereabouts of any Marshall documents.