Biography contributed by Katherine Blakeley.
Emma Pipe was born in 1847 in Hampstead, London – the daughter of William Pipe, a gardener, & Mary Jane Smith.
She married William Aschoff, a miner from Germany, in 1866 & the following year they emigrated to Otago on the Tamana.
They lived at Naseby where William was “a member of the Hit-or-Miss Company”.
They had 8 children, one who died in infancy, before William died in 1884, he is buried in the Naseby Cemetery.
The following year Emma was advertising as a “General Draper”, “Ladies’, Gentlemen’s and Children’s Underclothing made to order on the Shortest Notice”.
In 1887 Emma & her youngest daughter Linda went to Melbourne where Annie Aschoff was born, mother’s name – Emma Pipe.
What happened to this child is unclear, if she returned with Emma & Linda later that year she is not shown on the passenger list.
By the time that Emma signed the suffrage petition she had moved to Dunedin & was living at St Andrew Street.
In 1899 Emma was taking orders to make unclothing & in 1900 she was advertising her services as a ladies’ nurse.
She died at her daughter’s home in Dunedin on August 18th 1917 & she is buried in the Andersons Bay Cemetery.
Sources
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