Rebecca Marders (maiden name: Kirby) was born around 1826 in Washington, D.C., to James Kirby. By 1850, she was living with her brother Robert in Fairfax County, Virginia, and she owned $1,440 of real estate. She married James S. Marders in the early 1850s, and they had four children: Robert, born around 1853; Elizabeth, born around 1855; Susan, born around 1861; and Thomas, born around 1863. Her husband worked as a farmer, and by 1870, they owned $600 of personal property. She died sometime after 1880.