Biography contributed by Katherine Blakeley
Emily Sykes was born in 1855 in Victoria, Australia – the daughter of Ben Sykes and Rebecca Hanson.
She married Henry Whittaker, a railway contractor, on 29 October 1878 in Dunedin and they had five children, one who died in infancy.
When Emily signed the suffrage petition the family were living in Maclaggan Street.
Henry died in 1916 and Emily died on 18 June 1926 – they are buried in the family grave in the Northern Cemetery.
Sources:
BDM online NZ https://bdmhistoricalrecords.dia.govt.nz/
DCC Cemetery Records http://www.dunedin.govt.nz/facilities/cemeteries/cemeteries-search
Otago Nominal Index http://marvin.otago.ac.nz
Papers Past https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz
Presbyterian Research Centre https://www.presbyterian.org.nz/archives/
BDM Victoria https://online.justice.vic.gov.au
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