Biographical information provided by Christa Hopkinson for the He Tohu exhibition:
Elizabeth Jane Rosevear (nee Perry) was born in Cornwall, England in 1851 to John and Jane Perry. In 1878 Elizabeth married Matthew Rosevear before the couple emigrated to Dunedin. Between 1879 and 1888, Elizabeth and Matthew had eight children.
Matthew worked as a shopkeeper before dying in 1888 of tuberculosis, leaving Elizabeth to raise their children. After Matthew’s death, Elizabeth worked as a housekeeper and moved regularly around the St Kilda, Caversham, and Dunedin South area before residing at the Dunedin YWCA Hostel.
She died in 1943, aged 92.
Additional information by Katherine Blakeley
When Elizabeth married Matthew Rosevear he was a widower with five children (See 71 A E Roseveare and 53 C C Young)
Elizabeth and Matthew are buried in the family grave in the Southern Cemetery.
Click on sheet number to see the 1893 petition sheet this signature appeared on. Digital copies of the sheets supplied by Archives New Zealand.
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