Robert Burn Marshall (1871 - 1935) Part 2

Robert Burn Marshall (1871 - 1935) Part 1

When last we left off, my 43 year old grandfather, Robert Burn Marshall, had just become a widower when his wife Maggie (née Weir) passed away on April 13, 1914. I can’t begin to imagine how he was feeling. This was another devastating event after already losing three children.

Fortunately for Robert, he could take solace in the fact that his grandfather (Robert Marshall) and an aunt (Helen Leighton Burnett – née Marshall) lived in Dundee and were able to help him grieve.

Also there to help him grieve was Helen’s very lovely youngest daughter, Eliza Hamilton Burnett. Eliza was 26 years younger than Robert, being only 17 years old at the time and was also his first cousin. If teenage girls in 1914 were anything like they are today, Eliza must have been extremely flattered by the attention paid to her by a good looking older man and I’m sure the thought of him being her cousin didn’t even cross her mind! And I’m sure the grieving widow didn’t mind the attention of such a lovely young lady either.

It wasn't long before their relationship showed results. On December 19, 1915 my aunt Helen was born. It wasn’t until July 23, 1917, however, that Robert finally made an honest woman out of Eliza, probably because she was six months pregnant with their second child. Was it love, guilt or pressure from Eliza’s parents, Helen and John Burnett that made him finally marry her? The romantic in me is going with love, however I’m sure there was a wee bit of pressure from Eliza’s father, the Police Constable!

Robert and Eliza were married for 18 years and had eight children together:

Helen Burnett Marshall, born December 19, 1915, died April 12, 2007
David Hume Marshall, born October 8, 1917, died July 16, 1978
Robert Marshall, born September 20, 1919, died December 1989
Rachel Margaret Marshall, born January 15, 1922, died May 2009
Albert Ferrier Marshall, born November 6, 1924, died November 6, 1926
Norman Wilson Marshall, born May 16, 1929, about 1990
My Auntie Vina (as she is still living, I won’t give her full name and birth date)
Rhona MacDonald Marshall, born February 21, 1933, died September 8, 2003 (my mother)

At the age of 64, Robert suffered from chronic rheumatism of the heart and passed away on September 12, 1935.