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Poindexter Shemwell was born 1822 in North Carolina, son of Alexander
Shemwell and Nancy Daniel. On November 28, 1849 he married Elizabeth Mc
Donnell in Cumberland County, North Carolina and they had three sons, Walter,
John, and William.
Shemwell enlisted in the Confederate Army in 1863-1864 and served in the 1st
Regiment and in the 3rd Regiment in North Carolina. After the war the
Shemwell family moved to Gainesville, Florida.
In 1869, Shemwell was elected first town Marshal of newly
incorporated Gainesville. Marshall Shemwell won the
election after earning 56
of the 93 votes polled. The Marshal’s duties in the beginning consisted of
managing the horse traffic at the local bars, road work management and lamp
lighting (of the kerosene-powered streetlights).
The above information on Marshall Poindexter Shemwell was provided to the
Gainesville Police Department by Herb Shemwell of Kansas, a distant relative of
Marshall Poindexter Shemwell.
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