S. Blackadder

Anonymous Posted: 24 May 2017

Susan Briggs Blackadder was born in 1832 in Edinburgh, to John Briggs, a printer, and Susan Turnbull. In 1856 she married William Laing, a journeyman papermaker, and moved to Overton, Greenock. She had six children, four of whom died in infancy. William died in 1868 of consumption.

Sometime after that, she and the two surviving children joined the extended Briggs family in Dunedin where her father was a printer. She was a communicant at First Church in 1869. In 1872 she married Robert Blackadder, a prosperous merchant and gentleman. They lived at 104 London Street in a house designed by William Mason, and which later became the Globe Theatre and now a listed building.

In 1874, her sister Alison died in Gisborne shortly after childbirth and the Blackadders adopted the new-born baby Alison Briggs Clark. The Blackadders travelled regularly by ship to Gisborne after this, visiting her surviving sister Elizabeth Skillicorn and the Clark family.

Susan died in Dunedin in 1897 when she was 65 years old.

Her daughter signed the petition with her.

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Sheryl Langton Posted: 18 Oct 2020

Just out of curiosity, I looked up S. Blackadder. I have a hand painted portrait of who I was told was Nellie Blackadder, a relative of mine. I've never been able to work out whether it was indeed a fact that we were related, but after seeing the other comment, have noted many names of my family members. I am now quite excited as I know that my Portrait, is of a long lost relative. My parents were from the Gisborne Clark family, and John Briggs Clark was my Grand-father......

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Colleen Robinson Posted: 14 Nov 2020

Hi Sheryl, my grandfather was William Rowe Clark who was a half brother of John Briggs Clark. I have done a lot of research into the Clark family and have information and photos I am happy to share if you are interested.

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