 On 23 February 1870, he married Mary Charlotte Stainforth at Hull; she would predecease him.In 1883 Edward embarked for New South Wales, while his father travelled to New York to become resident secretary of the Liverpool, London & Globe Insurance Company.After his arrival in Sydney, Pulsford immediately became involved in the free trade cause, and in 1885 he co-founded the Free Trade and Liberal Association of New South Wales (FTLA, a forerunner of the Free Trade Party) with Bernhard Wise.