An ancient game of skill that required tossing a brass or iron ring to a meg, the iron stake placed in the ground, quoits resembles the modern game of horseshoes. In addition to being an able chess player, Marshall was renowned among the gentlemen of Richmond as a formidable quoits player. Marshall was a frequent visitor to Richmond's theaters and enjoyed reading the novels of Jane Austen. Marshall gained a reputation for adherence to a strict republican ideal of subordinating self-interest to the public good, controlling oneself by reason, and maintaining a sense ofĪuthor Samuel Mordecai, in his Richmond in By-Gone Days (1856), recalled Marshall carrying a basket to do the family marketing. He developed an ability to focus on and address the issues in clear language. Although his formal legal education consisted of a few months of lectures, Marshall learned his trade by experience. Finishing second in the balloting, he was chosen city recorder, a position that enabled him to sit as a magistrate on the Richmond Hustings Court which handled minor civil and criminal cases. In 1785 Marshall settled in Richmond and promptly offered himself as a candidate to city council. Marshall was also a delegate to the 1829-1830 Virginia constitutional convention. Marshall represented Henrico County in the House of Delegates from 1784 to 1787, and in June of 1788 was a delegate to the state convention called to ratify the U.S. He represented Fauquier County in the General Assembly for one term and served on the Council of State from 1782 to 1784.

Marshall was admitted to the bar in 1780 and steadily built a law practice. As an officer in the Continental Army, he served as a judge advocate in 17. He began his legal education by reading lawbooks and by studying law in 1780 with George Wythe at the College of William and Mary to acquire a secure foundation in English common law.

Marshall john