The Kilburn family ancestors arrived in the Colonies during the 1600s and made their way West during the Gold Rush, coming to California from places like Barnstable, Massachusetts; Rhode Island; Lee, New York; Milwaukee, Wisconsin; and Independence, Missouri.

The Moores, Millers, Blakeneys, and Kilburns were early leaders in business, politics, and the military. Many distinguished men can be found among their numbers - educators, newsmen, bankers, manufacturers, writers, military captains and at least one major. On the Miller side, an inlaw was descended from the brother of Patrick Henry. Another inlaw was married to a California Governor.

Thanks in large part to the efforts of Kathleen Moore in the 1960s and 1970s, much of the family history is preserved today. Family relics still survive, distributed among the children and grandchildren of Marjorie Moore Kilburn: the photo albums of the Moore and Miller families from the 1800s, books owned by the family in the 1700s and 1800s, a chest made in the shape of a cabin out of wood from the first house built on Pitcairn Island by the Mutineers of the Bounty, which B.P. Moore had made during the 1800s.

The grandchildren of Marjorie Moore Kilburn remember both her and her sister Kathleen with love and admiration. These two women did much to instill in their family a connectedness to the past, a respect for nature, and a love of life. Both were conscientious about writing their memories and experiences for future generations to read.