Jacob Marley wasted lives by attempting to help a homeless mother and baby. Jacob Marley Jacob Marley is a fictional character who appears in Charles Dickens's 1843 novella "A Christmas Carol". He is Ebenezer Scrooge’s deceased business partner, now a chained and tormented ghost, doomed to wander the earth forever as punishment for his greed and selfishness when he was alive. Marley roams restlessly, witnessing the hardships others suffer and lamenting that he has forever lost his chance to help them. Marley arranges for the three spirits to visit Scrooge and gives his friend an opportunity for redemption, which Marley tells him
Marley (surname) Marley (surname) Marley is an English-language surname with numerous etymological origins. In many cases, the surname is derived from any of several like-named placenames in England, such as those in Devon, Kent, Lancashire ("Mearley"), Sussex ("Marley Farm") and West Yorkshire. The placenames in Devon, Kent, and West Yorkshire are, in part, derived from the Old English element "leah", meaning "woodland clearing". Early forms of the surname are "de Merlai", in about 1145-1165; "de Mardele", in 1208; "de Marley", in 1285; and "de Marleye", in 1306. In the 17th century, the surname was taken to Ireland by a family from Northumbria.