Mareen Duvall


Mareen Duvall was a French Huguenot and an early American settler.

Background

He was born 1625, in Nantes and originally named Marin Duval. Then, he emigrated to the Province of Maryland on August 28, 1650.
Eventually, he received a patent for La Val from the Calvert family which was the first proprietors of the Maryland Colony. It was possible that he named the family estate after the county of Laval, an independent county created in the 15th century. This property was on the south side the South River in Anne Arundel County, Maryland. He became quite prosperous and his Middle Plantation in Davidsonville, Maryland and La Val were "as luxurious and courtly as any of the manors of the English gentry."
He died in 1694 and left his substantial estate to Mary Stanton, his third and final wife. Then, she administrated said estate. Duvall had purchased sizeable tracts of land, including Catton which was later known as Belair, as well as the Middle Plantation in Davidsonville, Maryland. Combined, he owned several thousand acres in the counties of Anne Arundel and Prince George. Scholars believed that the location of the original house of Middle Plantation was somewhere along the Rutland Road.
In 1705, his son, John Duvall and his wife Mary deeded land to Queen Anne Parish to construct St. Barnabas Church. Mareen Duvall's widow, Mary went on to marry Henry Ridgley After Ridgley's death, she married Jacob Henderson.

Genealogy

Genealogies often refer to him as "the Emigrant" to distinguish him from several descendants also named Mareen Duvall. His notable descendants include Harry S. Truman, Barack Obama, Dick Cheney, Wallis Simpson, and Robert Duvall.
Other descendants include Warren Buffett, former Associate Justice Gabriel Duvall, and Confederate General Bradley Tyler Johnson and spy Betty Duvall.