Joseph Bishop's Life after Fanny 1875-1877

Unlike his ex-wife, who enjoyed another forty years of life after their marriage was annulled, poor old Joe had the wind taken out of his sails by the whole experience. Financially ruined, his character in shreds, Joseph Bishop was dead less than two years after his last court appearance.
By the end of December 1875, he had exhausted his last attempt in the Courts to have his marriage settlement with Fanny Smith declared as null and void as his marriage. The judges found that the settlement stood as first written, and Joseph was left almost penniless. After more than two years of lawyers, solicitors and barristers, what little money he had would have been eaten up by court costs...in fact, when he died in 1877, Joseph still owed 260 pounds to solicitor Thomas Pavey for ‘law costs’.
As 1876 started, Joseph Bishop was 70 years old. The only family that he had in Australia were his nephew Henry Bishop and Henry’s family- his wife Bertha and four small children- who at that time lived in the Fitzroy area of Melbourne. Henry had worked for Joseph up until his ironmonger’s business failed in the late 1860s, and then worked for other Melbourne-based ironmongers as a traveller.
Joseph Bishop was also forced to take this road, despite his advanced age. He became an ironmonger’s traveller, travelling interstate frequently on his business runs. It was while he was on one of these ventures that he met his end. The story as told to me by my great-Uncle, Gordon Oakley, (who was Joseph Bishop’s great-great nephew) related how Joseph’s firm belief in a cold water plunge every morning, regardless of the weather, resulted in him catching a severe cold whilst he was staying in Wagga Wagga. NSW. This affliction developed into pneumonia, and after seven days of trying to fight it off, Joseph Bishop finally succumbed and passed away on July 20, 1877.
He had been staying in the house of Percival S.S Stephen