Soon after arrival (1831) Arthur married colonial-born Priscilla Squire. She was the daughter of James Squire, patriarch of Kissing Point, land owner, brewer and man of business. Not long after Arthur Devlin died, his mother remarried, this time to Thomas, son of a first Fleeter, John Small. Thomas and Priscilla became the owners of a 30-acre (12 hectare) grant to John Small. And James Devlin was to become heir to some of James Squire's considerable fortune, when Squire died in James's 14th year. When James reached maturity he in turn was granted the land by succession. Already in 1837, James had joined the land rush, and he must have felt confident in the early 1840s when he began to build. In the 1850s the previous decade's optimism was replaced with one of the worst depressions to befall New South Wales. It perhaps indicates Devlin's financial position that he could conceive such a grand building plan when conditions seemed so inopportune. In any case he mortgaged the property almost immediately it was completed. But unlike many others, he was able to survive the bad times and retain his property. At that time few buildings were nearby. St. Anne's church was then a small, insignificant building, doing duty as church and school until 1838. In that year a school was built down the road, opposite the police station. The rector of St.Anne's was the Rev. G.E.W.Turner, recently arrived with his wife from the Isle of Wight. Mrs Turner fancied there was a resemblance in the area to her old homeland, and the expatriates began using the name "Ryde", although it was variously called Hunters Hill, Kissing Point and Field of Mars. Devlin called his new house "Ryde House" and in 1841 the Post Office was named Ryde. Devlin was originally a wheelwright. Later he became pound-keeper and postmaster (Government contractor for the district, until 1839) of Kissing Point before becoming a successful developer and contractor. At the time Ryde House was built, Governor Sir George Gipps was controlling NSW and there was growing resistance to the inflow of convicts into New South Wales. Devlin chose the Georgian style of architecture, even though Queen Victoria had been reigning since 1837. About 1840 the name "Ryde" began to be used in the locality. The 1841 subdivision is the earliest documented use of this name. Martin has shown that the names Ryde and Turner Street