Biography contributed by Katherine Blakeley
Elizabeth Jane Woolcock was born in St Just, Cornwall in 1857 – the daughter of John Woolcock and Mary Ann White. Elizabeth came to Canterbury with her family in 1878 on the 'Marlborough'.
Elizabeth married Donald Gollan in 1880 and they had four children. They lived in Christchurch and Dunedin together for 34 years before Donald left home. He did not support Elizabeth and she was supported by her son. When Donald died in 1934 he left his chattels to Elizabeth valued at three pounds, 15 shillings while the balance of his estate, valued at £248, was left to the Otago Lodge of Druids.
Elizabeth contested the will under the Family Protection Act and was awarded the residue of the estate.
She died on 11 October 1942 at Lower Hutt and is buried in the Taita Cemetery.
Sources
BDM online NZ https://bdmhistoricalrecords.dia.govt.nz/
Family Search https://www.familysearch.org
Free BDM https://www.freebmd.org.uk
Otago Nominal Index http://marvin.otago.ac.nz
Papers Past https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz
Hutt City Council http://www.huttcity.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