Marlfield

Marlfield was an eighteenth-century dwelling built by the Buckner family. It was purchased in 1782 by William Jones, who gave the house its name. Jones was among the first Virginia planters to use marl in his agricultural practices. His descendants sold Marlfield in 1906 but retained ownership of the nearby family cemetery. Marlfield had fallen into ruins by the mid-twentieth century.

William Jones, born 25 Oct 1734 in Williamsburg, King William Co, VA, was the son of Col. Thomas Jones and Elizabeth "Betty" Cocke. He died ca. 1788 in Gloucester Co., VA. Sent to sea before age sixteen William was reported as "an affable with good intelligence and sterling character". Holding official positions in the colony, in 1780 he bought a farm in Petsworth Parish, Gloucester Co., VA, which he called "Marlfield." He and Lucy Taliaferro, born ca. 1766 in "Cleve", Hanover Co., VA, to Col. William Taliaferro and Ann Walker, lived for fifteen to twenty years in Hanover and King William counties where most of the children were born. William died leaving a large family to be reared by a "devoted mother."