Eliza Rive

Signed family name

Rive

Signed given name

Eliza

Given address

Georgetown

Sheet number

299

Town/Suburb

Georgetown

City/Region

Otago

Notes

Biography contributed by Katherine Blakeley

Eliza French was born on 11 October 1847 in St Helier, Jersey in the Channel Islands – the daughter of Joseph French, a gardener, and Jane Marion.

She married John Rive, a carpenter, on 20 January 1870 in St Brelade and they had a daughter in 1874.

In 1875 the family emigrated to Otago in 1875 on the Wennington – also on board were her John’s brother, his wife and their daughter. (See 299 Clara Lobb)

They settled in North Otago and had seven children, one who died in infancy.

When Eliza signed the suffrage petition they were living in Georgetown.

They moved to Waimate about 1905 where John died in 1912. A memorial service was held for John at the Salvation Army hall – he had, for 27 years been 'a zealous worker in the ranks of the Salvation Army'.

Eliza died in July 1936, she is buried with John in the Waimate Cemetery.