Originally transcribed as Alexander
Biography contributed by Katherine Blakeley
Rachel Hunter was born in Wiltshire, England in 1853 – the daughter of Elijah Hunter, an agricultural labourer, and Elizabeth Witts.
She married Henry Alexander on 8 December 1874 in Ramsbury, Wiltshire and the following year they emigrated to Otago on the Dallam Tower accompanied by Henry’s brother William and his wife Sarah. (See 71 S J Alexander)
They settled in Dunedin and had 11 children, five who died in infancy.
Henry worked as a cabman and horse dealer and when Rachel signed the suffrage petition they were living in South Dunedin.
Henry died on 12 June 1930 and three days later, on the that day Henry’s funeral was arranged, Rachel died from heart failure.
They were buried together in the Southern Cemetery a few days later.
Sources
BDM online NZ https://bdmhistoricalrecords.dia.govt.nz/
DCC Cemetery Records http://www.dunedin.govt.nz/facilities/cemeteries/cemeteries-search
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
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