in 1884, captain marston married idela reed in san francisco. she too was a native of maine, born in 1862. she grew up in lawrence, massachusetts and moved with her family to hawaii in 1880. idela came to san francisco in june 1882 to take her teaching exam, and began working at schools in shasta county and mendocino county. upon marriage, she sailed with captain marston, and learned how to navigate. the marstons had six children: sibyl (b. 1885), ellery (b. 1886), elsa (b. 1892), otis (b. 1894), vera (b. 1895), and merle (b. 1903). ellery died in 1888. when they were not at sea, the marstons lived in various rooming houses in san francisco. in may 1893, they moved into their own house in berkeley located at the corner of vine and arch streets.