From the July 1944 Marshall family history by George Marshall:

“I hope you will find this little book of Genealogy of the Marshall family of interest. It should be of special interest to the descendents of Abial Marshall, of whom a fairly accurate record is given. I realize that there will be many mistakes and omissions, and shall be glad to hear of any corrections that should be made. Perhaps at a later date a corrected and more pretentious edition may be printed.

It has been been extremely difficult to get accurate information about John Marshall and his family which first settled in Upper Canada after the American Revolutionary War 1783. Any information I have received has been given by the oldest living descendents. I am particularly grateful for information obtained from Mrs. Carrie Hilton, Newboro, Ont.; from Mrs. Grace Wright, Brockville, Ont.; and also from Miss Grace Taylor, Wallaceburg, Ont. Inscriptions on the tomb stones in the old cemetery at Toledo, Ont. obtained by George Marshall (of) Bracebridge, were very helpful. Many of the Marshall family are buried in this cemetery.

We know that the Marshalls originally came from the border of England and Scotland settling in Boston, Mass. This information was found in a book “The Marshall Family” in the Detroit Public Library. It states that John Marshall of Boston, the emigrant ancestor of the family, was born in England in 1621, and came to America in 1635. He died in Boston in 1715. His wife Sarah, born in 1623, died in 1689. There were 10 children - John, Joseph, Elizabeth, Sarah, Samuel, Hannah, Thomas, Christopher, Mary and Benjamin. The descendents of the only one of this family is given so that I have been unable to trace the connection with John Marshall, who joined the British in the American War of Independence in 1776. He emigrated to Canada after the War, settling in what is now Leeds County, Ont. He was therefore a United Empire Loyalist. In the obituary notice of my Great Grandfather Abial Marshall, it is mentioned that his father was a U.E.L. Mrs. Carrie Bilton daughter of John Marshall of Brockville also mentions this fact.

I came across a very historical old book giving the names of voters in the election of 1851, Leeds County. Listed as voting were several Marshalls in Kitley Township including - Abial, Joseph, George and Noah. There are also several Marshalls listed in the Townships of Elmsley and Elizabethtown.

It is now approximately 160 years since the United Empire Loyalists came to Canada. These were the men and women of the Thirteen Colonies who rather than subscribe to the New Republic to the South, migrated to various sections of Canada. They were obliged to abandon all their worldy possessions and begin life anew under the British Flag.

They made the sacrifice cheerfully. It was inevitable that people of this calibre would succeed. Many of the newcomers were unaccustomed to the pioneer conditions under which they had to live in the new land, and a crop failure brought them to the verge of starvation; but they perservered and in time became the succesful citizens of the districts in which they lived. The U.E. Loyalists have left their mark upon the public and the private life of Canada and today their descendents are among the most respected element of the population.

I have include this brief account of the U.E. Loyalists in this introduction because I believe it would be well for the descendents of John Marshall to remember the stock from which we have sprung and to remind us of the privations of pioneer life our ancestors endured in helping to lay the foundations of our native province.

Windows, Ont.July, 1944

George E. Marshall”