Biography contributed by Katherine Blakeley
Eliza Lane was born on 20 March 1848 in Coldstream, Berwickshire, Scotland – the daughter of William Lane, a groom and coachman, and Jane Duncan.
Eliza married John Davidson, a blacksmith, in 1880 in Melrose, Berwickshire and later that year they emigrated to Otago on the Nelson.
They had four children, one who died in infancy – the family lived in Warepa, Henley, Dunedin and Puerua where Eliza signed the suffrage petition.
After this they lived in Clinton before retiring to Balclutha where Eliza died at her home on 8 October 1939.
Her obituary said she 'took a keen interest in Presbyterian Church affairs, and was a member of the P.W.M.U., W.C.T.U., and Mothers’ League. She was of a very genial nature, and highly respected by all who knew her.'
John died at Seacliff in 1945, they are buried in the Balclutha Cemetery.
Sources
BDM online NZ https://bdmhistoricalrecords.dia.govt.nz/
Family Search https://www.familysearch.org
Otago Nominal Index http://marvin.otago.ac.nz
Papers Past https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz
Scotlands People https://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk