Biography contributed by Katherine Blakeley
Isabella Watt was born about 1855 in Scotland – the eldest daughter of George Watt and Janet Edgar.
In 1857 the family emigrated to Victoria, Australia where they stayed for about four years.
They came to Otago in the early 1860s and, eventually, settled at Kaihiku in South Otago.
Isabella married Andrew Watt, a farmer, on 3 June 1874 at her home 'Green Hill' at Kaihiku.
They had 10 children and, in 1877, they took up a block of land in the Otama district under the deferred payment system.
They later moved to Gore where Isabella signed the suffrage petition & they ran a butcher’s shop.
After the shop was sold they moved again to Kakanui in North Otago.
In 1918, while visiting their daughter in Invercargill Andrew died suddenly – at this time they had three sons serving in WW1.
Isabella moved back to Gore where she died at her daughter’s home on September 1st1945 – she is buried with Andrew in the Invercargill Eastern Cemetery.
Her obituary said she 'gained a reputation for her skill in baking, winning many prizes at shows. The cultivation of flowers was also a hobby at which she showed more than average ability. She took a keen interest in the work of the Presbyterian Church.'
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
Presbyterian Research Centre https://www.presbyterian.org.nz/archives/
Find a Grave https://www.findagrave.com/
Scotland's People https://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk
Public Record Office Victoria https://prov.vic.gov.au