Biography

John Marsh's wife, Hannah, died 3 January 1850. Later that year, he travelled with his six youngest children and son, Cornelius' wife, Mary Ann, to Fremantle. Sadly, Cornelius, aged 19 years, fell ill during the voyage and died of consumption six weeks after their arrival. The family first settled in Kelmscott in 1850. John purchased a property known as "Paradise" on Albany Highway, Bedfordale. Sarah (aged 20) and Elizabeth Anne (aged 12) both died in 1852 in the Guildford area. In 1853, John Marsh married Maria Anna Reeves, who had been married in Cape Town, South Africa, to Michael Studsor and had had four children. The youngest of the 4 Studsor children, Maria Susannah Studsor, married Frederick George Marsh in 1854. Sadly, Frederick George died the following year, aged 18 years. Edwin Marsh, twin to Emma, had died in 1846, aged 11 months, and Emma went on to marry Thaddeus Roberts in Perth in 1869. It was Thaddeus who, together with patriarch John Marsh, were the original owners of the 83-Mile tree "Baiting Place", which was established to provide a change of horses for the Perth to Albany mail services.