On January 13th 1878, Isaac Read married Harriett Jane Cook at the Quay Church in Woodbridge. Harriett died in the spring of 1879, shortly after giving birth to their son, Robert. Isaac married for a second time on 1st April 1880 to Alice Nickols Clarke, again at the Quay Church in Woodbridge. The family increased in size and, including Robert from his first marriage, eventually numbered thirteen children, eleven boys and two girls. Seven of their sons, William, Walter, Alfred, Albert, Herbert, Stanley, and Sidney were to serve King and Country during the First World War. One son, Stanley, was killed and is remembered on Melton War Memorial.

In 1882, Isaac started work for James Burness of The Lodge, Melton, as a gardener and the family moved into Holly Cottage on Asylum Road – one of the estate houses. They remained there until Isaac's death in 1922. In 1939, Alice was living in The Street, Melton, with her daughter Alice Mary. She died in Melton in 1941 at the age of seventy-three.

According to a relative, Alice laid poppies on behalf of the parish at Melton War Memorial in recognition of the fact that she had seven sons on active service at the same time.