Marion Hurlburt (maiden name: Ambler) was born around 1837 in Connecticut to Albert and Sarah Ambler. Her father was a farmer who owned $7,000 of real estate and $1,600 of personal property by 1860. She grew up and attended school in Southbury, Connecticut, and she married George H. Hurlburt on March 15, 1855. Her husband earned a living as a seaman. The couple apparently separated, and she married David H. Barnes on December 25, 1866.
They had at least three children: Anna, born around 1867; Cora, born around 1869; and Albert, born around 1873. They lived in Southbury, and her husband worked as a butcher. By 1870, they owned $1,500 of real estate and $3,000 of personal property. They moved to Roxbury, Connecticut, in the late 1800s. Her husband died on January 15, 1906, and she died in Roxbury on September 8, 1918.