Thomas Baldwin Marsh was born on November 1, 1800 in Acton, Massachusetts. He worked variously as a waiter, grocer, teacher, horse groom, and type foundry worker.1 In 1820 he married Elizabeth Godkin, and they moved to Boston, Massachusetts in 1822 where they joined a Methodist church.2 Marsh reported that he became dissatisfied with Methodism and all other churches he encountered. During this period of discontentment he felt inspired to travel to New York where he met a woman who told him about a "golden book." Intrigued by this he visited Martin Harris and learned about Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon. He continued his travels to the E. B. Grandin print shop where he was given sixteen pages of the Book of Mormon. He took these pages back to Massachusetts and shared them with his wife.3
Thomas and Elizabeth moved to Palmyra in September 1830 and Thomas was baptized the same month.4
