Biography contributed by Katherine Blakeley.
Mary Eliza Edwards was born in Aston, Warwickshire in 1839 – the daughter of William Edwards, a bedstead maker, and Mary Clarance.
She married tinsmith Frederick Thomas Turner on 28 January 1860 in Aston.
They had four children before the family emigrated to New Zealand about 1869 on the “Otago”.
(See 142 Emma Turner)
They had a further five children after their arrival and they lived in Washdyke and Temuka before moving to Dunedin.
(see 142 Annie Turner)
When Mary Eliza signed the suffrage petition the family were living in Leith Street.
They moved again after two years to Woodlands then to Winton where Frederick had a rabbit tinning business.
Around 1900 they visited Australia and they settled in Geraldine on their return.
Frederick died in 1918 and Mary Eliza died on 27 July 1924 – they are buried together in the Geraldine Cemetery.
Mary’s obituary said she “was very highly esteemed by a wide circle of friends, was one of the oldest members of the Benevolent Guild, and was a staunch supporter and member of the Presbyterian Church. In the early days when there were few doctors, and often no nurses, Mrs Turner was ever ready to lend a helping hand to all, and as a nurse was very skilful.”
Sources :
BDM online NZ https://bdmhistoricalrecords.dia.govt.nz/
Family Search https://www.familysearch.org
Free BDM https://www.freebmd.org.uk
GRO England https://www.gro.gov.uk
Otago Nominal Index http://marvin.otago.ac.nz
Papers Past https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz
Find a Grave https://www.findagrave.com/
Click on sheet number to see the 1893 petition sheet this signature appeared on. Digital copies of the sheets supplied by Archives New Zealand.
Community contributions