Biography contributed by Katherine Blakeley.
Eliza Thompson was born in 1876 in Duns, Berwickshire, Scotland – the daughter of Richard Thompson, a farmer, and Ann Jeffrey.
Her mother died in the 1880’s and a few years later the family emigrated to Otago.
They settled in Dunedin and when Eliza signed the suffrage petition she was living with some of her siblings in Dalkeith, North East Valley.
She married James Baird in 1924 - James was a carpenter and a widower with four children and step-children.
Eliza died on 15 August 1956 and James died the following year – they are buried together in the Andersons Bay Cemetery.
Sources:
DCC Cemetery Records http://www.dunedin.govt.nz/facilities/cemeteries/cemeteries-search
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