Marksberry/Marksbury family name a Douglas derivative?

[William Douglas]

I recently came across the following story:

The "Queensbury" title, one of many with which the Scottish house of Douglas is associated, originated in the creation of Sir William Douglas (d. 1640) as Earl of Queensbury in 1633. He was the eldest son of Sir James Douglas of Drumlanrig (d. 1616). His grandson William the 3rd Earl (1637-1695), was created "Marquess of Queenserry" in 1682 and "Duke of Queensberry" in 1684. All of these titles and positions were created under the rule of King James II...

William had two sons, James the 2nd duke (1662-1711) and Samuel the 2nd marquess (1663-1745).

James Douglas was the royal commissioner to the famous "Scottish Parliament" which met in 1700, and just after the accession of Queen Anne in 1702. He was made one of the secretaries of state for Scotland.

Samuel however had different ambitions in life... He decided to go out on his own breaking all ties with his family's political background. His decision to leave led him to England around 1680. In order to insure his anonymity from his family...Samuel changed his name! Using his title "Marquess of Queensberry", he created the name "Marksbury"....

Can anyone prove the veracity of this story?

[Rhissa Parker]

Thanks William! Great information. I have family (and was raised)in Indiana and used to have some Aunts in Ohio.
I really don't know of the Native American tribes but based on the location where I know Samuel worked as a land surveyor after he arrived in the US I would guess it may have been a Nottoway or a Meherrin since those tribes lived in the Virginia Coastal regions. If those tribes have DNA markers available it would be worth a try.

[William Louis Shepard]

Nice to hear from you Rhissa.  I have a great researcher on the Marksberry family living in Cocoa Beach FLA.  I am also descended from Samuel to John, Henry, William Patterson, and Willie Ellen Marksberry.  Willie Ellen was my grandmother.  I live in Ohio.  Based on my grandmothers stories, I did some research and found that Samuel (B. 1740) served in the Revolutionary War.  I was able to prove his service and he is now documented as a Patriot.  I subsequently joined the SAR as my grandmother always wanted to join the DAR.  I'm willing to share any info I have and I do have Parkers in my Marksberry line.  I visited the Marksberry homestead in Grant County in the summer of 2015 just to see what is was like.  I meet a couple of cousins I did not know I had.  The Marksberry's are a large family and there is a lot to find and share.  My son has a Masters Degree in History and specialized in Native American Indian history.  Any chance you know the name of the tribe that Samuel's wife belonged to?  I have the SAR application, and Willie Ellen and her brother Jimmy's biography if you are interested.  Take care.

[Rhissa Parker]

Hi William, I see you wrote this a few years back, but I have just joined this website and wanted to tell you that I can confirm the portion of the Marksberry/Douglas connection. Samuel Marksberry was my grandfather many generations back. He came to the United States after training to be a land surveyor in England after he left his family in Queensbury. Once he arrived in the United States he became a land surveyor for much of Virginia and owned approximately 900 acres on the Potomac River. It was reported in our family history that he married a Native American woman, however her name was never listed. They had a son who was also named Samuel. I don't have all of the records in front of me but I have a solid list of the direct line of his Marksberry line to now. Several years after his death his grandson sold the land on the Potomac and moved to Kentucky for richer farm soil. If anyone is interested in the line of information that I have I am happy to share it. Thanks for your inquiry!

[William Douglas]

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A brief family history is here>>>