John & Abigail Marston Had A Daughter They Barely Talk About

In Red Dead Redemption 2, it’s mentioned that Arthur Morgan had a secret son who died during events prior to the game. But it turns out that he’s not the only playable character in the Red Dead Redemption series with an unnamed child. John and Abigail Marston also had a daughter sometime in-between the two games, but unfortunately players never got the chance to meet her.

John and Abigail’s son Jack is an important secondary character in the Red Dead Redemption games, but it’s easy to believe he’s their only child, as Jack and Abigail’s younger daughter never makes an on-camera appearance. In fact, she’s only mentioned fleetingly in three specific scenes in the original Red Dead Redemption. After that, she’s never mentioned again.

It’s possible to infer when the Marston daughter was born, and when she died, from the few hints given about her identity in the first Red Dead Redemption game. Nevertheless, it still remains unclear what happened to the child and why the parents barely ever mention her existence.

John and Abigail’s Daughter Was Born After RDR2’s Ending

There are three specific scenes in Red Dead Redemption in which the couple’s daughter in mentioned. In the “Father Abraham” mission, John says, “I have a son at home, and a daughter in heaven,” confirming his daughter is deceased. It’s also confirmed that John had a daughter when Javier Escuella tells him “I hope you, and your wife, and children rot in hell,” during “The Gates of El Presidente” mission. Perhaps most tellingly, however, during the “Women and Cattle” mission early in the game, while speaking to Bonnie MacFarlane, John says, “I’m married. I have a son, and I had a daughter, but she died. Years before that I rode in a gang.” This scene implies that not only is John’s daughter dead, but she was born and passed sometime after he left the Van der Linde gang, therefore likely sometime after 1907, when the game’s epilogue ends.

There’s also a chance, however, that the daughter was born sometime between when RDR2 ends and its epilogue begins. During this time, the Marston family traveled around the U.S., going so far as the Yukon, while trying to evade the Pinkertons and start a new life. So, the daughter could’ve been born sometime during the years 1899-1906, meaning she would’ve been a max of 6-7 years old when she died.

This may explain how Javier knew about her, considering the family went back to their former stomping ground at the start of the epilogue. It would also explain why there’s no marked grave of hers to be found, since the Red Dead Redemption map doesn’t extend that far. If she was born sometime after 1907, however, she would’ve died even younger, as Red Dead Redemption begins in 1911. Either way, what is clear is that John and Abigail’s daughter died very young in Red Dead Redemption, and given how painful the loss must’ve been, it’s understandable why they were reluctant to bring the subject up.

About The Author