William Marshall Anderson

William Marshall Anderson (1807–1881) was an American scholar, explorer and politician, noted for his detailed travel journals in the Rocky Mountains and Imperial Mexico.

[2] In 1834, Marshall, as he was known, took a trip west with a fur-trading party and kept a journal describing his encounters with the explorers and mountain men of the time, including Kit Carson and Jim Bridger.

[3] Returning to Ohio he set up a law practice in Chillicothe, married the daughter of former governor Duncan McArthur, ran unsuccessfully for Congress, and with his brother Larz managed legal and financial matters for the Archdiocese of Cincinnati.

[4] The Colony was conceived and promoted by a former USN & CSN officer and internationally famous oceanographer Matthew Fontaine Maury with the support and sponsorship of Emperor Maximilian.

As Napoleon III started withdrawing his French troops due to political pressure, Maximilian's government began to crumble, so did the New Virginia Colony.