Biographical informationDaniel James Avery came originally from New York. He was born c. 1849. He had arrived in Western Australia by 1871. On 1 December 1875 he married I Eliza Rostron, previously Austin, the widow of James Rostron. The couple had two children:Ernest Austin (1876-) and James Hazell (1878-). He was a master mariner, ship owner and stock dealer operating out of Perth. In 1883 he acquired an interest in the Janet which was wrecked at Rottnest in 1887. He bought a salvaged vessel Bessie for sea trading in 1889. It was burnt at Java in 1890. During 1870s and 1880s he made many voyages with horses and grooms to Guam, Java, Mauritius. Singapore. etc. Sometimes he was accompanied by his wife and children. In 1885 he set up a business in William Street as an importer, selling articles such as carts, furniture, cigars etc. He was bankrupted in 1890. Avery died 29 December 1892. Despite swallowing a quantity of morphine and being found in proximity to bottles of chlorodyne and strychnine, an inquest found that he died of unknown causes. He employed Ah Sing (28) as a cook in 1888.Date of birth1849Date of death29th December 1892