Biography contributed by Katherine Blakeley.
Eliza Blake was born in 1850 in Stanstead, Kent – the daughter of James Blake, an agricultural labourer, and Ester Shaw.
She married James Bevin, a bricklayers labourer and publican, in 1868 and they had three children before they emigrated to Otago in 1875 on the “Earl of Zetland”.
Their daughter died in 1876 shortly after their arrival and they were to have a further twelve children who all lived to be adults.
When Eliza signed the suffrage petition the family were living in Anderston Road, Kaikorai, Dunedin.
When their youngest child was five years old, in 1899, James died when he fell from a building while cleaning the gutters.
A subscription was advertised to raise funds for the family which totalled £511 7s 11d.
Eliza died at her home on 22 December 1914 – she is buried with James 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
Free BDM https://www.freebmd.org.uk
GRO England https://www.gro.gov.uk
Otago Nominal Index http://marvin.otago.ac.nz
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