He attended rural schools and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
One of the largest landowners in west Tennessee, Marr moved from Clarksville to Obion County in 1821.
His residence was located in the Mississippi River, near New Madrid, Missouri.
Believed to be named Marr, the fort was moved to its present location at Benton in 1965.
In 1980, Fort Marr became the property of the Conservation Department of the state of Tennessee to be maintained and used as a historic site.