Biography contributed by Katherine Blakeley
Comfort Blythe was born in 1854 at Mount Pleasant, Western Australia – the daughter of James Blythe and Comfort Stanton.
She married William Henry Wood, a farm manager and carpenter, in 1870 and they had six children before they sailed for Bluff in 1888 on the Maroroa.
They settled, at first, at East Chatton where William managed a farm for his brother before they moved to Gore where Comfort signed the suffrage petition.
William died in 1924 and Comfort died on 26 July 1926 – they are buried together in the Gore Cemetery.
Her obituary said she 'was a fine type of early settler, a most homely and kindly lady, ever ready to do a good turn where needed.'
Sources
BDM online NZ https://bdmhistoricalrecords.dia.govt.nz/
Family Search https://www.familysearch.org
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