William John Marsh was born on June 24, 1880, one of six children born to James and Mary Cecilia McCormick Marsh in Woolton, a suburb of Liverpool, England. In the 1870s, Liverpool native James Marsh had worked for the Texas and Pacific Railway in Dallas, where he met Mary Cecilia McCormick, originally from Kentucky. James and Mary both met at Sacred Heart Cathedral, where they enjoyed singing. They married in 1877 and returned to Liverpool shortly afterward; James ultimately became the mayor of Woolton.
