Biographical information provided by Briar Barry for the He Tohu exhibition:
This signature could belong to either Elizabeth or Edmund John Schlötel. Elizabeth Salmon married Edmund John Schlötel, an accountant, on 17 October 1881 in Dunedin. Edmund had arrived on the Sebastian into Port Chalmers on 8 October 1859. He lived at Spylaw station in Otago before moving to Dunedin. In 1878 Edmund was the only candidate for the office of Mayor of North-East Valley and so was declared duly elected. Three years before this petition was signed Elizabeth and Edmund’s five roomed house in the North-East Valley was destroyed by fire. It was insured for £610 (about $109,000 in today’s money).
Biography contributed by Katherine Blakeley.
Elizabeth Salmon was born about 1851.
She had a daughter, Nina, who was born about 1876 and was an accomplished violinist.
The fire that destroyed their home was in 1890 - in the mid 1890’s the family moved to Victoria, Australia.
Edmund died at their home in Eltham on 12 May 1905 and Elizabeth died in December 1917 – they are buried together in the Eltham Cemetery.
Sources:
BDM online NZ https://bdmhistoricalrecords.dia.govt.nz/
Otago Nominal Index http://marvin.otago.ac.nz
Papers Past https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz
BDM Victoria https://online.justice.vic.gov.au