Biography
Alfred Pritchard Marshall was born in Berryville, Virginia in 1897 and moved to Clearwater with his family to a rented house at North Fort Harrison and Jones St. in 1910. His father, Ernest Marshall, operated a grocery store and later made a living in real estate and insurance with his firm E. A. Marshall & Son, Developers. The family moved to Dunedin for a while and later returned to Clearwater and established a home on the land where Calvary Baptist Church is now. Marshall attended South Ward School and graduated from Clearwater High School (on the same grounds as South Ward) in 1915. His family joined Peace Memorial Church in 1912 which he attended throughout his life. His family eventually sold the land on the bluff to the Baptist church.
Marshall served one year in the U.S. Army in World War I before returning to Clearwater in 1920 and opening a feed and fertilizer business. That same year, he married Jessie Chesnut, sister of Clearwater Rotarian (and later Pinellas County Commissioner) John Chesnut, Sr. The newlyweds moved into a home at 606 North Osceola Avenue next door to the Reade Tilley family (Reade Tilley also became a Clearwater Rotarian). He attended the University of Florida for two years and began studying law on his own. After returning to Clearwater and working with his father in the real estate and insurance business, he was admitted to the Florida Bar in 1927 and started a Clearwater law practice in 1928. He served as a Clearwater City Commissioner from 1922 - 1924 and was elected to the Pinellas County Board of Public Instruction (now the School Board) from 1928 - 1932 during which time he served as chairman. He also served four years on the Pinellas County Commission.
Marshall was a charter member of the Rotary Club of Clearwater when it began in 1925. He served as the Club's first secretary, its president in 1932, and was District Governor of Rotary District 39 in 1935 when it encompassed the entire state of Florida. In 1937, Jessie and Alfred Marshall were hosts to Paul Harris, the founder of Rotary, in Mr. Harris' only visit to Clearwater (see photo).
In 1940, Marshall served as president of the Clearwater Bar Association. From 1947 to 1951, he served as Pinellas County’s Juvenile Court Judge. He served over 10 years on the Board of Directors of Morton Plant Hospital and was active in the Chamber of Commerce, the Clearwater Masonic Lodge, and the Clearwater Casado Club.
In 1957, Judge Marshall was appointed by Governor Leroy Collins to a 2-year term as a Circuit Judge in the Sixth Judicial Circuit. In 1959, he did not seek re-election due to health problems, however he continued his law practice until his retirement in 1973.
Pre-deceased by his wife Jessie, Judge Marshall died at the age of 91 on Tuesday, April 5, 1988 at the Osceola Inn, Clearwater. Services were held at Peace Memorial Church. In memory of this outstanding Rotarian and public servant, the Rotary Club of Clearwater established the Alfred P. Marshall Award that same year to recognize exemplary service by long-standing members of the Club.
Biographical information obtained in part from the Clearwater Sun archives,
courtesy of the Clearwater Public Library System.
