 Eva and her family moved to Temora and then West Wyalong, where she and her sister Sophia Beatrice "Sophy" (1872–1946) became dressmakers.On 26 November 1898 Sophy married miner John Seery at Wyalong, and on 23 May 1900 Eva married John's brother, East Maitland gaol warder Joseph Michael Seery.By 1889, Eva Dempsey and her sister Sophy had joined the Australian Labor Party (then called the Labour League in New South Wales) in the Grenfell electorate in 1889, the only female members.