Sheriff Marshall lived in Mocasquin, Londonderry (see 1993 research report below by Dwight A. Radford). In the past, some individuals have assumed that the parents and siblings of Sheriff Marshall resided in Woods Chapel or Magherafelt, Londonderry--which are both located about thirty travel miles from Macosquin. However, there are no references or sources which support these assumptions. Therefore, it is appropriate to state that Sheriff Marshall's parentage is still "questionable" or "unknown".
The following research report on Sheriff Marshall and his Irish ancestry was sent by Dwight A. Radford, a Professional Genealogist, to Mrs. William F. Heder on 29 November 1993: "According to previous family research, Sherriff Marshall was born in County Londonderry about 1780. He lived many decades in the small village of Ballyvennox and died there on 13 October 1873. Ballyvennox is found as a village as well as a townland up until the mid-1900's. It is no longer considered a village, but is still a townland. Ballyvennox, as it looks today, is a group of houses located a couple of miles from the town of Macosquin. Ballyvennox was in the civil parish of Macosquin which has a Church of Ireland parish and a Presbyterian congregation. The Macosquin area is a very historic area and heavily Protestant. Politically it has been unionist. Early in Macosquin history, colonists came from England and workers from Scotland to live on the Londonderry Plantation. It is from Macosquin and surrounding parishes that the first wave of Scots-Irish migration to America occurred in 1719. Research first focused on the church records of the Macosquin Church of Ireland and Presbyterian congregations. Although the Church of Ireland registeres were destroyed during the 1922 Irish Civil War, the vestry minutes of the parish survived. Vestry minutes detail the day to day activities of the parish. Since the Church of Ireland was the state religion in Ireland during most of Sherriff Marshall's life, he may have appeared in these records regardless of what religion he belonged to. The Macosquin vestry minutes are unindexed and were searched for lists of names, especially in connection with Ballyvennox. There were lists of persons appointed to miscellaneous responsibilities within the various towns in the parish including Ballyvennox. There were no Marshall's listed in any of these towns. The Macosquin Presbyterian church registers have gaps in them. They were searched from 1823 to 1845 and 1860. The registers became more consistent in 1866, but this time period was not searched because civil registration in Ireland had already begun. There were two Marshall families recorded in the registers. They were James Marshall and John Marshall; sons of Sherriff Marshall. The fact that they were found associated with Macosquin Presbyterian church would indicate that this is the ancestral [religious association of the family]. ...The fact that a tombstone for Sherriff Marshall has not been found was surprising. Since his son John is buried in the Presbyterian cemetery, it is assumed that other family members are also, but of course without a tombstone this may never be proven. The only thing left to do genealogically is to search any newspapers concerning the death of Sherriff Marshall. The nearest newspaper was in Coleraine, and these papers are not available in Ireland. They are deposited at the British Library in London. The PRONI as well as the Belfast Public Library was checked to make sure they did not have copies of the paper. The Belfast Newsletter was examined for any reference to a Sherriff Marshall. This paper is indexed and is known to have covered events in Northern Ireland as well as Belfast. This index as well as the paper is available at the Belfast Public Library. Upon visiting the library and examining the index it was found that there was no mention of Sherriff in the paper. At this point, research came to a close. This report documented research conducted on-site in Macosquin Parish, at the PRONI, and the Belfast Public Library. Efforts were considered successful and names have been gathered for ordinance work. Other than any possible obituaries, it is felt as though research should be discontinued if the goal is to further extend the lineage."
On March 4, 2015, pictures of the Presbyterian church and graveyard at Macosquin, Northern Ireland, were posted online at: http://www.realfamilyheroes.com/2015/03/i-agree-sheriff-marshall-is-an-awesome-name/
On 7 October 2015, the death certificate of Sheriff Marshall was posted on FamilySearch, which certificate states that Sherrif Marshall died on 13 October 1873 in Ballyvenox, Macosquin, Londonderry, Ireland; that he was a "Widower" and "Farmer"; that he died of "Old Age" when he was "93 years" old (born about 1780); and that the informant of his death was "William Marshall" of Ballyvenox.
On March 16, 2016, online RootsIreland (http://www.rootsireland.ie/) listed the following indexed information about Sheriff Marshall:
1) 1822-1835 Tithe Books: Sheriff Marshall, Year 1828, Townland: Ballyvenox, Parish: MacOsquin, County: Co. Derry.
2) Early 19th Century Tithe Books: Sheriff Marshall, Year 1828, Townland: Ballyvenox, Parish: Camus, County: Co., Tyrone.
3) Griffith's Valuation Record (1847-1864): Tenant: Sheriff Marshall; Landlord: Thomas Richardson; Townland: Ballyvennox; Parish: Macosquin; Barony: Coleraine; County: Londonderry. (Source: www.askaboutireland.ie/griffith-valuation)