Edward and Sarah married September 1812 at Kent, England. From the time the Flaherty's came to the Colony life was a struggle. According to the first census the eldest offspring was 18 and the baby Edward Frederick was then 2 months old. Their Peel Estate land was barren and infertile, and, while Edward was an excellent Latin scholar, he was not an experienced farmer. In January 1832, Flaherty was the licensee of a public house at Point Walter, but it was destroyed by a fire started by the natives. It was then necessary to Edward to seek employment as a labourer in order to recoup his funds. In 1850 daughter Ellen (10 years) died in a bullock cart accident. Several of the girls married at an early age and there was great wealth and extreme poverty. Eventually Edward senior managed the Roelands Farm at Flaherty's Brook. Edward died 17 April 1862 at Vasse and Sarah died 8 September 1865.