Biography contributed by Katherine Blakeley
Elizabeth Swanson was born about 1842 in Thurso, Caithness, Scotland. She married Robert MacKay on 9 September 1864 in Edinburgh and shortly after they emigrated to New Zealand. They settled in Auckland where their daughter was born in June 1866 – a few weeks later Robert was accidentally shot.
Elizabeth re-married in December of that year to James Reid, a school teacher – they had, at least, six children, one who died in infancy.
After about three years in Auckland James gave up teaching and the family went to the Thames goldfields where James managed a stamping battery.
Around 1871 the family moved to Otago where James again worked as a teacher – the family lived at Taieri Beach, Waihola and North East Valley before James was appointed to the position of Rector of the Tokomairiro High School in 1880.
They lived in Milton where Elizabeth signed the suffrage petition.
James retired from teaching in 1906 and he died in 1920.
Elizabeth died at Milton on 7 February 1922, they are buried in the family grave in the Fairfax Cemetery, Milton.
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
Victoria University http://nzetc.victoria.ac.nz/