Matthew "Mack" Harrison Marsden (1849–1883) was a livestock trader who lived in rural Jefferson County, Missouri. Marsden was suspected of many crimes from 1881 to 1883, including arson, murder and robbery. Though he was often accused, questioned, and arrested, he was only brought to trial once, and was acquitted. Marsden's family background gave no hint of criminal activity. On the contrary, he came from an established family of farmers, engineers, and stockmen, and his wife's family members were known as leaders in the local church. His story came to an end when he was murdered, and though four different men were arrested, and three of them tried for the killing, no one was ever convicted. Mack's suspected killers left the county, the murder remained unsolved, and Marsden's death corresponded with the end of a years-long crime spree. Newspapers suggested that his killing was a service to the community, and for decades, people continued to believe he was behind a gang that committed a long series of unsolved crimes. Early life Matthew Marsden's mother enjoyed nicknames for their nine children, and Matthew was called Mack. He was born in a log house where Sandy Creek is joined by Metts Branch, in Jefferson County, Missouri, which borders St. Louis County on the south. The cabin was built by Mack's father, Samuel Marsden, who married Mary Meade Johnston. Samuel built a second, larger home about a mile north, at the head of Metts Branch, and the family moved there. During that time he earned recognition for surveying and graveling the main route to St. Louis, the Lemay Ferry Road. He also was commissioner of the long, red, barn-like covered bridge spanning Sandy Creek, which today is the centerpiece of a state historic site and park. Mack was 17 years old when his mother died. Little is known of his life through his twenties, but about 1878 he joined the throngs of men who set out for the Black Hills of Dakota in search of gold. He had some success, but when there was a dispute over the claim he shared with some other men, resulting in one of them being shot dead, the peace-loving Mack returned to Missouri. Marriage About a year after his return to Jefferson County, Mack married a childhood sweetheart, Emma Jean Hensley, daughter of Leander Hensley and Cynthia Ann Williams Hensley. Her family was known for its evangelists and