Complex sentence: Following Johanna's death in Sydney in 1843, Joseph left for Van Diemen's Land where he soon married Annie (Nancy) Burrows and became a father of 16--nine daughters and seven sons.
Split into simpler sentences: Following Johanna's death in Sydney in 1843, Joseph left for Van Diemen's Land. There he met and married Annie (Nancy) Burrows and they had 16 children--nine daughters and seven sons.