Catherine Marsh

Early life

Catherine Marsh was born in Colchester on 15 September 1818, the daughter of Rev. William Marsh, a clergyman who she lived with for the remainder of his life, and his wife Maria Chowne (née Tilson) in the vicarage of St Peter's, Colchester. Catherine was one of five children and the youngest of her siblings. From her youth Marsh displayed a lively mind and an early interest in writing.

Catherine Marsh was concerned with the at the time ongoing Crimean war which had broken out in October 1853. She decided to write about the life of British army soldier and fellow evangelist Hedley Shafto Johnstone Vicars. Vicars was described by William Marsh in a letter to the editor of the evangelical Anglican Record fourteen days before his passing as a close friend and exemplary gentleman who had undergone an induction into the faith as part of his time in the church. Catherine Marsh and Vicars had conversed with one another through letters and conversation which is shown throughout her publication. She was urged by the family of Vicars to move forward with the publication of her work after his death on the 22nd of March, 1855 in the line of duty.

In 1858 Catherine Marsh published a similar work English Hearts and English Hands

The Victory Won, a Brief Memorial of the Last Days of G.R. (1860) The Victory Won was published in 1860. It is, like Marsh's other works, a biographical account of an individual who is referred to only as "G.R." The "victory won" as described in the book is in reference to the spiritual acceptance of G.R. into the Christian faith and his subsequent "saving" by the religion before death. Marsh personally oversaw this conversion into faith before G.R.'s death at an indeterminate date.

The Life of Arthur Vandeleur, Major, Royal Artillery (1862) Source:

The Life of Arthur Vandeleur, Major, Royal Artillery is a hagiographical account of Arthur Vandeleur, Major in the Royal Artillery. It traces his life from his childhood, through his military service, his conversion to faith, his moral and spiritual struggles and victories, and ends with reflections on his death and legacy.

In 1866 there was an outbreak of cholera and Marsh created a convalescent home in Brighton.

Death Marsh died in Feltwell rectory in Norfolk in 1912 at the age of 94. Five years after her death in 1917, The Life and Friendships of Catherine Marsh by Lucy Elizabeth Marshall O'Rorke was published.