David Marks was a popular evangelist who was connected with the establishment of the Freewill Baptist Foreign and Home Mission Societies, and the Education Society. He was also prominent in the anti-slavery movement.

Marks was born in New York state in 1805. He was called to the ministry at an early age, and at age 16 he began to preach, traveling through New Hampshire, New York, Ohio, Kentucky, and Connecticut. In 1831, Marks was appointed agent of the newly established Book Concern, a position he held for four years. This became the Freewill Baptist printing establishment at Dover, N.H. In 1834, Marks took charge of a church in Portsmouth, N.H., and in 1836 he started a church in Rochester, N.Y.

In 1842, Marks moved to Oberlin, Ohio. His wife, Marilla, attended Oberlin Collegiate Institute and befriended Charles G. Finney, professor of theology and pastor of the Congregational Church. Marilla was active in the underground railroad activities in Ohio. David Marks died in 1845.

An autobiography, The Life of David Marks, was published in 1831. His wife, Marilla, edited and published his Memoirs after his death.