Lowe – John F. Lowe (TN 1822 – LA Unk.) moved to Sabine and Newton Counties, Texas from Tennessee before he came to Ward Six of Vernon Parish. He was the son of Moses (MD 1794 – TX 1850) and Ruby Johnson (TN 1802 – TX 1857) Lowe. He married Frances Ann Ford or Smith (GA 1830 – LA 1902) in 1858 in Newton County, Texas. According to Newton County marriage records, Frances' maiden name was Ford while her tombstone has Smith. John and Frances had no children. In all enumerations, 1850 in Sabine County, 1860 in Newton County, and in 1880 and 1900 in Vernon Parish he was a farmer. John claimed eighty acres in 1879 and forty acres in 1902 in the Cora community on LA HWY 489. John and Frances are buried in Laurel Hill Cemetery in Hicks.

Luceus – The Luceus surname is sometimes spelled Lucius. Samuel George Lucius (SC 1811 – LA 1867) was the only Lucius homesteader in Vernon Parish. He was the son of Daniel Frederick (SC 1770 – SC 1847) and Achsah Bigbea (SC 1775 – SC 1863) Lucius. He married once to Martha Miranda Moss (AL 1830 – TX 1922) in 1855 in Louisiana or Texas. Samuel was enumerated twice in Sabine Parish as a merchant in 1850 and farmer in 1860. He lived on 36.5 acres he claimed in 1850 on the Sabine River west of Evans. He is buried in Pleasant Hill Cemetery in Toro in Sabine Parish with children Elizabeth, John, and Martha. Martha died in Negreet in Texas in 1922 and is buried in Sabine Parish, graveyard unknown.

Luttrell – Robert A. Lutrell (MS/TN Abt. 1817 – Unk.) was the only Lutrell land claimant in Vernon Parish. Little is known about him. He married Margaret Hoffman in 1847 in Clark County, Arkansas where he lived according to the 1850 census. In 1860 he lived in Rapides Parish. According to both enumerations he was a farmer. Robert purchased 320 acres in 1860

for $400.00 ($13,093.78 in 2021 dollars) in the Jericho/Stille township in the northeast corner of the parish on LA Hwy 28 on the Calcasieu River. Robert's and Margaret's deaths and burials are unknown.

Maddox – John Wiley Maddox (SC 1812 – LA 1885) was the founding father of the Maddox family in Vernon Parish. He was the son of Benjamin Lawson (SC 1784 – AR 1850) and Beersheba Bagwell ((NC 1785 – AR 1860) Maddox. In all enumerations John was a farmer. He had 25 children by several wives. Some of them were Matilda Caroline Pollard (AL 1819 – AL 1896), who he married in 1833 in Elbert County, Georgia and divorced her in 1861 in Union County, Arkansas. His second wife was Elizabeth "Eliza" White (AL 1823 – Unk.) who he married between 1860 and 1870. His third wife was Flora ___ who he married between 1870 and 1880. Several other wives were listed but marriage records could not be found. He moved often in Georgia in 1820, in Alabama in 1840 and 1850, and in Arkansas in 1860. In the1860 census he reported his personal estate to be worth $15,000.00, which would be worth $491,016.87 in 2021 dollars. In the Civil War John served in Co. G, 41st AL Inf. Regt. In 1870 he lived in Rapides Parish and in 1880 in Donaldsonville where he died in 1885. John is buried in Blue Branch Cemetery in Pitkin with none of his wives.

Five Maddox family members claimed nine parcels containing 680 acres from 1880 to 1910 in Mt. Moriah Cemetery, Ten Mile Creek, and Hornbeck communities. Because the family used the same names several times, it's difficult to determine who lived where.

The Maddox family is buried in Blue branch Cemetery with 28 burials, Christian Cemetery in Rapides Parish with thirteen, Smith-Maddox Cemetery on present day Ft. Polk with four, and Gravel Hill Cemetery with six.

Malone – Alfred Jackson "Jack" Malone LA 1856 – LA 1937) was the founding father of the Malone surname in Vernon Parish. His parents are unknown. He married Frances Guin (LA 1862 – TX 1945). In 1910 Jack worked in Ward Five in the Fullerton sawmill. In 1930 he was a Ward Six farmer. Jack and wife Frances are buried in Walnut Hill Cemetery in Slagle.

Jack did not claim any land in Vernon Parish but son Alfred Francis Malone (LA 1884 – LA 1958) claimed forty acres on present day Ft. Polk. In 1910 Alfred lived in Fullerton. He married Daisy Muse between 1910 and 1913. In 1918 he was a minister living in Walnut Hill according to his WW I draft registration. On his 1942 WW II draft registration he lived in Leary, Texas. Alfred died in 1958 in West Carroll Parish and is buried in Kilbourne Cemetery in the same parish.

Maloney – James G. Maloney (KY Abt. 1826 – Unk.) was the founding father of the Maloney family in Vernon Parish, parents unknown. He married Evaline Ball (1837 – Unk.) in Sabine Parish in 1853. He was enumerated once as a Sabine Parish farmer in 1860. In the same year he claimed 120 acres on LA HWY 111 on East Anacoco Creek. After 1860 James disappeared. In the Civil War three soldiers from Louisiana by the name of James Maloney served. Two were from New Orleans. The third, which died on November 3, 1864, did not list a place of enlistment or birth. Perhaps it was James.

James' son, John Henry Malone (LA 1857 – LA 1933), also claimed land in Vernon Parish. He was born in Anacoco which was Sabine Parish in 1857. He was the husband of Annie Vesti Cooper (MS 1876 – LA 1950). In all enumerations John was a farmer. He claimed 160 acres in 1889 in the Standard community on Mitchell Road. John and Annie are buried in Jerusalem Cemetery in Sabine Parish.

Mancil – Edward Ted Mancil (SC 1809 – LA 1863) was the founding father of the Mancil family in Vernon Parish. He moved from South Carolina to Georgia to Louisiana arriving about 1829. In 1828 he married Mary Beall in Pulaski County, Georgia. In 1850 and 1860 he was a farmer in Rapides Parish. Edward died as a blockade runner on the Red River in Alexandria in 1863.

Edward did not claim any land in Vernon Parish but son Jubal Mancil (LA 1857 – LA 1906) did. Jubal was the husband of Ellen "Ella" Sweat (LA 1859 – LA 1945). They married in 1879 in Rapides Parish. He claimed 120 acres in 1904 on Willis Road in the Occupy Church # 2 community. Juble is buried in Occupy Church # 1 Cemetery in Rapides Parish where there are 51 Mancil burials.

Marcus – The founding father of the Marcus family was John Francis Marcus (LA 1832/35 – LA 1931). His parents are unknown. He married Mary Ann Self in Newton County, Texas in 1860 or 1866, records disagree. Little is known about him. He was enumerated once in 1860. In the Civil War he served in Co. E, 11th Bn., LA Inf. In 1872 John claimed 120 acres on Belview Road on Bayou Castor. He died in Leesville in 1931.

John's wife and son, James Monroe Marcus (LA 1871 – LA 1926), claimed land also. Mary claimed forty acres in 1896 in Anacoco on Holly Grove Road. James claimed forty acres in 1904 in historical Everett between Anacoco and Hornbeck.

John is buried alone in Castor Cemetery in Leesville. Mary is buried in Oak Grove Cemetery in Hornbeck with son Harvey Boss Marcus. James died in Beauregard Parish in 1926, burial unknown.

Marler – The Marler family is one of the oldest in West-Central Louisiana. It is difficult to name a founding father because several generations moved in and out of the area. The closest guess to a founding father would be James Marler I (VA 1753 – LA 1834) from Virginia.

The two Marler homesteaders in Vernon Parish were Abraham "Abe" Evander Marler (LA 1870 – LA 1849) and Frances Kizzie Joyce Marler (LA 1882 – LA 1968). Frances was the wife of Robert Henry Marler (LA 1878 – LA 1949). Robert and Abe were first cousins and grandsons of Abraham Marler (MS 1811 – LA 1896).

Frances was the daughter of Christopher Columbus (LA 1858 – LA 1904) and Frances ___ (LA 1861 – Unk.) Joyce. She married Robert Henry Marler. In 1900 Kizzie lived in Ward Six of Vernon Parish. She claimed 160 acres in 1905 in the Alco community on Comrade Creek. In 1910 she lived in Hineston and back in Vernon Parish in 1930 in Ward One. Robert died in 1949 and Kizzie in 1968, burials unknown.

Abe was the son of Christopher Columbus (LA 1835 – LA 1912) and Anne Holt (LA 1846 – LA 1922) Marler. He married Araminta Havens (LA 1877 – LA 1961) in 1896 in Calcasieu Parish. He claimed 160 acres in 1901 on present day Ft. Polk on West Fork of Six Mile Creek in the Six Mile community. Abe and Araminta are buried in Fellowship Cemetery in Hineston in Rapides Parish with 22 other Marler burials.

Marsh – Thomas Addison Marsh (AL 1840 – LA 1914) was the only Marsh homesteader in Vernon Parish. He was the son of David S. (SC 1809 – Unk. 1850) and Ann Stewart (AL 1814 – Unk. 1851) Marsh. He married Sarah Elizabeth Corley (AL 1850 – LA 1944) in Vernon Parish in 1879. Like many Vernon Parish settlers from Alabama, he came from Bibb County. In 1850 he was enumerated in Union Parish. In the Civil War a T. A. Marsh from Union Parish served in Co. B, 4th Bn., LA Inf., also called the Ouachita Blues. After the war he was enumerated in 1880 and 1900 as a Ward Two farmer. In 1889 he claimed 160 acres in the Monks Hammock community between Dogwood Branch and Sandy Creek. Thomas and Sarah died in Toro in Sabine Parish in 1914 and 1944, burials unknown.

This article originally appeared on Leesville Daily Leader: Visions of Vernon: Vernon Parish's Founding Families, Lowe-Marsh