Biography contributed by Katherine Blakeley
Emily Harriet Longson was born in 1848 in Lancashire, England – the daughter of Jacob Longson, a commission agent, and Mary Leigh.
Emily married William Mills, a widower with five children from Christchurch, New Zealand, on 23 August 1876 at the Stretford Parish Church.
They sailed for New Zealand soon after and their daughter was born the following year.
William was a retired Collector of Customs and when Emily signed the suffrage petition they were living in Castle St, Dunedin.
Emily died at her home in Dunedin on 19 September 1897 – 'the flags at the harbour and the Union Steam Ship Company’s offices were half-masted yesterday on account of the death of Mrs Mills, wife of Mr W Mills, father of the managing director of the Union Steam Ship Company, late collector of customs at Lyttleton, and one of the earliest settlers in the colony.'
William died in 1900, they are buried in the Mills family grave in the Southern Cemetery.
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
GRO England https://www.gro.gov.uk
Otago Nominal Index http://marvin.otago.ac.nz
Papers Past https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz