'Desda' was the youngest daughter of William and Ann Price, bounty immigrants from Stroudwater, Gloucestershire, England. She came to Australia with her parents and sisters as a young girl, in 1839. Little is known of 'Desda's' life beyond what can be gleaned from her works and established via official records and occasional newspaper references. She married Frederic Messiter, B.A., at Balmain, Sydney, in June 1857, and in the following years they had a son and a daughter, born in 1858 and 1859. Frederic Messiter was a graduate of Trinity College, Dublin, who had arrived in Australia in 1855. In Sydney, he found employment with the Pitt Street drapery firm, Farmer, Williams and Giles, and he was at one point the Hon. Secretary of the New South Wales Early Closing Association (a mid 19th century labour movement). He was also active within the Y.M.C.A. He died suddenly at Balmain in February 1860. The following year, the widowed Jane Messiter married John Davies, a former manager at Farmer, Williams and Giles, who by then had established his own drapery business at 'Kiandra House', in George Street, Sydney. With John Davies, 'Desda' had a son and two daughters, born in 1862, 1863 and 1864. Initially, the Davies family lived at 'Kiandra House', in George Street, but by 1863 they moved to 'Woodlands' cottage, at St. Leonards, and then somewhat later to 'Leddicott', an imposing residence on the harbour at McMahon's Point. From the historical material, we can see that her husband John Davies must have been quite wealthy, for in addition to his George Street drapery business, he appears to have had interests in a number of properties on the Sydney North Shore. According to the notice of her death which appeared in the Sydney Morning Herald, Jane Davies died at 'Leddicott' on 25 May, 1890, aged 53. She is buried at St Thomas's cemetery, North Sydney. Notably, her son Frederic Messiter Jnr, named one of his daughters 'Desda'.
