Biography contributed by Katherine Blakeley
Elizabeth Wallace was born on 15 May 1816 in Fettercairn, Kincardineshire, Scotland – the daughter of George Wallace, a farmer, and Ann Gibb.
She married George Cowie Christie in Middlesex, England on 21 September1853 and again at Fettercairn on 11 October.
George had been a soldier and at the time of their marriage he was working as a draper in London.
They had two daughters before they emigrated to New Zealand in the mid 1860s.
The family settled in the Henley area on the Taieri Plains before moving to Dunedin in the late 1870s where George worked as a clerk.
He was declared bankrupt in 1880 with debts of £281 14s and assets of £45.
When Elizabeth signed the suffrage petition the family were living in Eglington Rd, Mornington – she died at her home on 23 September 1898 and George died in 1901.
They are buried together in the Southern Cemetery.
Sources
DCC Cemetery Records http://www.dunedin.govt.nz/facilities/cemeteries/cemeteries-search
Family Search https://www.familysearch.org
GRO England https://www.gro.gov.uk
Otago Nominal Index http://marvin.otago.ac.nz
Papers Past https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz