Biography contributed by Barbara Sullivan
Kate D'Ath was born in about 1844 in Bolton, England, so would have been about 49 when she signed the suffrage petition.
Her father was a colour sergeant in the 65th Regiment ('Royal Tigers').
On 4 March 1866, at the age of 22, Kate married Joseph Death. (The family name was later changed to D'Ath.) Joseph Death/D'Ath first farmed at Waiwhetu, where their first three children were born, and then moved to Otaki where he raised sheep and bullocks. Kate and Joseph had seven children - Mary /May (who married Frederick Ryder), Catherine /Kate (who married Francis Bennett), Joseph, Ossian, Reginald/Reggie, Harold (who died in infancy), and Eva (who married George Harper).
Kate died in Otaki in 1912, and is buried at the Catholic cemetery. In her book De'ath Families in New Zealand, Helen Coker mentions that Kate was a frugal housekeeper, Kate and Joseph 'were a hospitable couple and the house was often filled with people who were passing through', and they had a beautiful garden at their home - the 'mission House' on Tasman Road.
Image
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