Meredith Miles Marmaduke

Meredith Miles Marmaduke (August 28, 1791 – March 26, 1864) was an American politician who served as the eighth governor of Missouri in 1844, to fill out the term of Governor Thomas Reynolds, who had committed suicide. A member of the Democratic Party, he had been elected and served as the 6th lieutenant governor.

Marmaduke had a large family. He had married Lavinia Sappington, a daughter of John Sappington, a pioneering medical doctor in Saline County, Missouri, and his wife Jane, sister of a Kentucky governor. The two men were affiliated in Sappington's business for a time, working with traders on the Santa Fe Trail. Marmaduke later acquired and operated a successful plantation in Saline County, becoming a large slaveholder as well. He and his wife reared their ten children here.

Four of Marmaduke's sons served the Confederacy during the American Civil War, and two died. His son John Sappington Marmaduke was promoted during the American Civil War to become a senior officer of the Confederate States Army.

Early life Meredith Miles Marmaduke was born in Westmoreland County, Virginia, on August 28, 1791, to Vincent and Sarah (Porter) Marmaduke. He was educated in a local boys' seminary and worked as a civil engineer until his career was interrupted by the War of 1812. During the war, although only twenty-two years old, Marmaduke was commissioned as colonel of the regiment that was raised in his county. He or his father may have paid to outfit the regiment, which was often the basis of such commissions.

Returning to Virginia after the war, Marmaduke was appointed as United States Marshal for the Tidewater district of the state by President James Madison. He served for several years in that office until being elected clerk of the circuit court .

In 1823, he migrated to Franklin, Missouri, for his health.

In 1826, Marmaduke married Lavinia Sappington, the daughter of Dr. John and Jane Sappington. Her father became a prominent pioneer physician of Saline County, who was later known for his development of a patent medicine, a quinine pill used to treat malaria and other fevers. He manufactured "fever pills" that incorporated quinine and sold them, eventually nationally. They were also distributed through trade on the Santa Fe Trail.

American Civil War

Even before the first shots were fired at Fort Sumter, Marmaduke found himself at odds with friends and family. Much like his friend Senator Benton, Marmaduke's views on slavery had begun to change in the late 1840s.