Australian Royalty

It seems probable that Rosetta Pracey married or was the common law wife of either or both Edward Madden or Henry Marsh/Martin prior to the departure of the ship 'Hillsborough' from Portsmouth in Oct 1798. Rosetta would certainly have been travelling to the colony aboard the 'Hillsborough' as the legal or common law wife of one of the convicts, although the name of that convict has not been recorded. Travelling with her was a son called Henry Marsh and another child, Esther Marsh was born in Sydney on 28 Apr 1800. All known references to Rosetta prior to her marriage to Samuel Terry give her name was Rosetta Marsh, and one as Martin. However, when in 1810 she married Samuel Terry, she described herself as 'Rosater Madden Widow'. By the time she married Terry it was probably more convenient for her to say that she was the widow of Madden rather than the common law wife of Marsh, and because Madden had died on the voyage, there was no-one who cared to dispute the claim.