Margaret Anne Ward, the daughter of Daniel and Mary (Newell) Ward, was born in Pittsburgh on April 17, 1895. In 1900, the family lived at Rosetta Street, near Millvale Street. Margaret's siblings, all older, were Julia, William, John, and Lea (male). The father was a bridge builder.

"Margaret A. Ward" is named in a 1922 history of the Pittsburgh Red Cross as a St. Francis nurse graduate who was "in active service with the American Expeditionary Forces and in the United States." She served as a nurse during World War I. She is named in the same book as a member of the nursing staff of the Public Health Nursing Association, prior to December 31, 1920.

In 1920, Margaret A. Ward, 24, a hospital nurse, was residing in Pittsburgh with her sister, Julia A. Debresen, 33, wife of John J. Debresen. Margaret was born in Pennsylvania, her father in Canada [Nova Scotia], and her mother in England.

On April 20, 1926, Margaret Ann Ward married Ralph Daniels Marlin, a 1908 graduate of Princeton University. Princeton Alumni Weekly, Volume 27, 1926: "In the Pittsburgh Gazette Times of April 21 appeared the following: "Mr. and Mrs. John J. Debresen of Marchand St. announce the marriage of their sister, Miss Margaret Anne Ward, to Ralph Daniels Marlin, son of Mr. and Mrs. Harry A. Marlin of Pittsburgh, which took place yesterday." Ralph has been with the Bell Telephone Company of Pennsylvania for the past five years and now is living at 136 S. Fairmount Ave., Pittsburgh."

In 1934, Margaret Anne Ward Marlin applied for compensation for her service in World War I. The application provides a history of her service.

Ralph D. Marlin died in 1955. Margaret died in 1973. She is buried at Calvary Cemetery, Pittsburgh, and has a military marker.