Biographical information provided by Wendy Conwell for the He Tohu exhibition:
Emma was born Emma Dellow in Weedons, Canterbury on 30 June 1869, the daughter of Isaac and Mary (nee Gapes). Issac, Mary and six children sailed from London on the Regina in September 1859 arriving at Lyttleton 6 December 1859. Mary with the baby and two children walked over the Bridle Path and the family settled in Canterbury. The others went ahead by dray.
Emma was the youngest of four more children born in New Zealand. She lived in St Albans, Christchurch from 1879.
On 5 December 1888 Emma married Charles Ford, and together the couple had three children: Harold Franklin, Wilfred Dellow, and Mabel Goldie (Megson).
Emma and her family were closely identified with Edgeware Methodist Church (then on Crescent Rd). She was a leader, working with children and women in the Church for over 40 years, and represented the local Church at the national level. The family remembered her going from home to home collecting signatures for the Petition.
Emma died on 26 November 1929. Her obituary records that 'Emma was a friend, counsellor and a guide of rare spiritual insight and sound judgement, spending a great deal of time visiting and investigating cases of hardship and trouble.' Emma was said to have left 'a most fragrant and lasting impression' who 'will never be forgotten by those she worked with.'
Related images:
Click on sheet number to see the 1893 petition sheet this signature appeared on. Digital copies of the sheets supplied by Archives New Zealand.
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