Family and Early Life
His grandparents were Benjamin and Judith Baluet Marion of French Huguenot origin, and Anthony and Esther Baluet Cordes. His parents Gabriel and Esther had six children: Esther, Isaac, Gabriel, Benjamin, Job and Francis.
The family settled at Winyah, near Georgetown, South Carolina. Probably in 1732, Francis Marion was born on their plantation in Berkeley County, South Carolina. When he was aged five or six, his family moved to a plantation in St. George, a parish on Winyah Bay. Apparently, they wanted to be near the English school in Georgetown. In 1759 he moved to Pond Bluff plantation near Eutaw Springs, in St. John's Parish, Berkeley County, South Carolina.
When Francis was 15 he signed on as the sixth crewman of a schooner heading for the West Indies. As they were returning, a whale rammed the schooner and caused a plank to come loose. The captain and crew escaped in a boat, but the schooner sank so quickly that they were unable to take any food or water. After six days under the tropical sun, two crewmen died of thirst and exposure. The following day the surviving crew reached shore.
Read more about this topic: Francis Marion
Famous quotes containing the words family, early and/or life:
“It seems to me that upbringings have themes. The parents set the theme, either explicitly or implicitly, and the children pick it up, sometimes accurately and sometimes not so accurately.... The theme may be “Our family has a distinguished heritage that you must live up to” or “No matter what happens, we are fortunate to be together in this lovely corner of the earth” or “We have worked hard so that you can have the opportunities we didn’t have.””
—Calvin Trillin (20th century)
“Early rising is no pleasure; early drinking’s just the measure.”
—François Rabelais (1494–1553)
“. . . you may think I waste my breath
Pretending that there can be passion
That has more life in it than death,”
—William Butler Yeats (1865–1939)