Joshua H. Marvil
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Joshua Hopkins Marvil (September 3, 1825 – April 8, 1895) was an American merchant and politician from Laurel, in
Sussex County, Delaware Sussex County is located in the southern part of the U.S. state of Delaware, on the Delmarva Peninsula. As of the 2020 census, the population was 237,378. The county seat is Georgetown. The first European settlement in the state of Delaware w ...
. He was a member of the
Republican Party Republican Party is a name used by many political parties around the world, though the term most commonly refers to the United States' Republican Party. Republican Party may also refer to: Africa *Republican Party (Liberia) * Republican Part ...
, who served as Governor of
Delaware Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state takes its name from the adjacent Del ...
.


Early life and family

Marvil was born in Laurel, Delaware, the son of Joseph and Sally Ann Hopkins Marvil. He married Sarah Ann Sirman and had three children: Joseph, Vendreths, and Joshua. They lived at West Street in Laurel, although the house has been moved to 606 West Street. They were members of the
Methodist Church Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related Christian denomination, denominations of Protestantism, Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John W ...
. As a young man, Marvil went to sea for a while and returned to work in shipbuilding. At age 28, in 1853, he began to manufacture farm equipment. Having a certain mechanical genius, he was able to imagine profitable new technologies. With the growth of the
peach The peach (''Prunus persica'') is a deciduous tree first domesticated and cultivated in Zhejiang province of Eastern China. It bears edible juicy fruits with various characteristics, most called peaches and others (the glossy-skinned, non-fu ...
orchards, he started the Marvil Package Company, a basket and crate manufacturing business in Laurel. For a time, it was said to have been the largest industrial plant in the area, producing two million fruit baskets and crates annually. He was also the publisher of Laurel's first newspaper, the ''Gazette'', which he started in 1889.‘’Laurel State Register,’’ May 31, 1978


Professional and political career

Marvil had been an enrollment officer during the
Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...
. He became a Republican at that time, and remained one in heavily Democratic western Sussex County. Nevertheless, he was popular, and after refusing his party's nomination for governor in 1882 and 1890, he finally agreed in 1894, in spite of his advanced age and poor physical condition. In the election, Marvil was elected Governor of Delaware, defeating Democrat
Ebe W. Tunnell Ebe Walter Tunnell (December 31, 1844 – December 18, 1917) was an American merchant and politician from Lewes, Delaware, Lewes, in Sussex County, Delaware. He was a member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, who served i ...
, a merchant from
Lewes Lewes () is the county town of East Sussex, England. It is the police and judicial centre for all of Sussex and is home to Sussex Police, East Sussex Fire & Rescue Service, Lewes Crown Court and HMP Lewes. The civil parish is the centre of ...
. Marvil was only the second Republican governor, and the first elected since the Civil War. He feared his health would not last through his term, and after one of the coldest winters on record, his prediction came true. He served less than three months, from January 15, 1895 until his death on April 8, 1895. For a generation bitter memories of Republican actions during the Civil War had kept the Democrats firmly in control of the government throughout Delaware. However, during this period gas executive
J. Edward Addicks John Edward Charles O'Sullivan Addicks (November 21, 1841 – August 7, 1919) was an American industrialist and capitalist who used his wealth from financing and building gas works to wage four unsuccessful campaigns for a United States Senate s ...
, a
Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
millionaire, established residence in Delaware, and began pouring money into the Republican Party, especially in
Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...
and Sussex County. He expected this investment to earn him a seat in the
U.S. Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and powe ...
, and while that never happened, he did succeed in reigniting the Republican Party, which would soon become the dominant party in the state. Marvil's election was accompanied by the election of a Republican State House, and the convening of a state constitutional convention that would soon produce a new constitution.


Death and legacy

Marvil died at his home and is buried in the Laurel Hill Cemetery, at Laurel. He was the ninth and last Governor of Delaware to die in office. Marvil's grandson, Joshua D. Marvil, attended
Northwestern University Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. Charte ...
, where in 1931 he was named one of Delaware's first All-American
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
players.


Almanac

Elections are held the first Tuesday after November 1. The governor takes office the third Tuesday of January, and has a four-year term.


Notes


References

* * * *


Images


Hall of Governors Portrait Gallery
''Portrait courtesy of Historical and Cultural Affairs, Dover''


External links


Biographical Directory of the Governors of the United States
*

* Delaware Historical Society
website
505 North Market Street, Wilmington, Delaware 19801; (302) 655-7161 *
University of Delaware The University of Delaware (colloquially UD or Delaware) is a public land-grant research university located in Newark, Delaware. UD is the largest university in Delaware. It offers three associate's programs, 148 bachelor's programs, 121 mas ...

Library website
181 South College Avenue, Newark, Delaware 19717; (302) 831-2965 {{DEFAULTSORT:Marvil, Joshua H. 1825 births 1895 deaths Methodists from Delaware People from Laurel, Delaware Businesspeople from Delaware Republican Party governors of Delaware Burials in Sussex County, Delaware 19th-century American politicians