Marshall Holcolm

(Burried In Colter)

* Maryanne Holcolm - Mother †

(Burried In Colter)

* Lucas Holcolm - Brother †

(Body Never Found)

* Jimmy Holcolm - Brother
* Lucy Holcolm - Sister

## Introduction

After leaving Colter, Marshall roamed East Odessa, eventually drifting his way to West Odessa and finding his place at the MacFarlane's Ranch. Mainly hunting the wolves and cougars that wander onto the property because of the livestock.

## Biography

Born in a working family, Marshall began doing minor repair and small game hunting as a child. Logan Holcolm, Marshall's father, started as a miner, bringing his entire family to live in the small mining town of Colter. One of four children, Marshall leaned to hunting while his two brothers, Lucas Holcolm and Jimmy Holcolm, leaned toward working in the mine with their father. His sister, Lucy Holcolm, mainly tended to the home with his mother Maryanne Holcolm. In the environment Colter is in, there was no resting. Year-round the Holcolm family was working. Hunting, mining and tending to Colter and their family.

After the word of progress happening in Colter because of the Holcolm family, workers and miners alike began coming, living in and passing through for the mining work. With the influx of new faces in Colter, the more shady type also began passing through. Outlaws, thieves and poachers began to show face and causing problems for the town as a whole. In an attempt to put a stop to crime in Colter and the surrounding area, Logan Holcolm put away his pickaxe and picked up a badge with the word "Sheriff" on it.

By 1897, the 3 Holcolm children had now grown into adults still continuing the work they grew up doing.

**March 12, 1897:** In the dead of night, one of the two Holcolm homes was broken into leaving Logan Holcolm dead with 2 rifle shots to the chest. The house was ransacked as well as Maryanne knocked unconscious in the kitchen. Leaving Maryanne as the only witness to the home invasion, robbery and murder. In an attempt to find the culprits, Maryanne had sent descriptions to Saint Denis Police Department, Valentine Sheriff's Office, Rhodes Sheriff's Office, Strawberry Sheriff's Office and Blackwater Sheriff's Office.

**April 23, 1897:** With no word on anyone being caught or suspected for the murder of Logan Holcolm and Colter showing signs of consistent decline with no one taking up the Sheriff position, Maryanne Holcolm hung herself in the stables. Leaving behind her four offspring Lucas Holcolm, Jimmy Holcolm, Lucy Holcolm and Marshall.

**April 27, 1897****:** With no emotional recovery from the death of both of the Holcolm parents. Lucas Holcolm made his first return to the Colter mine. After 6 hours of work, Lucas became careless, swinging and breaking a support beam and collapsing the mine 3/4 of the way in. Rock falling, the tunnel continued to collapse all the way to the entrance. 12 miners died in the full collapse of the Colter mine. None of the bodies were recovered, Lucas included. The mine now completely closed off, undistinguishable from the rest of the mountain's rockface and covered in snow.

In the weeks following, Marshall, Jimmy and Lucy Holcolm made the decision to separate from Colter. Not being able to come to an agreement of where the remaining 3 should go, they all split going on their own way. Lucy Holcolm going directly to Saint Denis hoping to find a new life in the big city. Jimmy Holcolm decided to travel East toward Annesburg in the hopes to use his mining past to secure a future in the coal trade of which Annesburg is known for.

As for Marshall, he roamed Ambarino and the Cumberland Forest living off the land and sleeping in abandoned cabins for a year and a half. Eventually finding his way to West Odessa and drifting south to Blackwater for some provisions for himself and his horse.

Becoming fed up with his old horse, Bella, Marshall was seen just outside of Thieves' Landing and Blackwater stealing a man's horse by Emily VanderSant. Instead of being confronted or being reported to the law, Emily approached later and made it clear that she had seen what he had done. After a bit of time in town, Emily insinuated that she had the idea of robbing the Blackwater bank and after a bit of back and fourth, Emily convinced Marshall to partake in the robbery.

They successfully robbed the bank and rode off quickly north of Blackwater with Sheriff Jane Reilly following behind. Marshall's horse not being able to handle the extended sprint, Marshall was thrown off of his horse Artemis. In an attempt to deter from gunfire, Marshall yelled to the Sheriff to turn around and that it was not worth it. After a short gunfight with Sheriff Jane Reilly, she had to retreat not being able to detain Marshall and Emily or confirm anything but their clothing.

With the two now on the run from the law and avoiding Blackwater to their very best, Marshall and Emily found MacFarlane's Ranch as a place to keep their heads low. Marshall exchanging the hunting of the cougars and wolves that come to the ranch due to the livestock and Emily tutoring the residents on the ranch how to read and write for residency.