Biography contributed by Bernadette Siebert.
Margaret Louisa Chamberlain (known as Louisa) was born in 1868, the third daughter of George Chamberlain, an Irishman, and Rosina Grimmer, in Mahurangi near Warkworth.
The Grimmers were a well-known local family, with relatives owning farms around Mahurangi and the Dome Valley.
When Louisa signed the petition she was 24 years old and living at home with her parents. She never married and moved with them when they relocated around 1900 to Ngaere, a small settlement near Stratford, Taranaki, where George farmed.
George died in 1912 and left a complicated will. First he left everything to his wife Rosina as long as she lived. Then after she died everything went to Louisa for her sole use. He instructed that after the death of Louisa, the land (if not already sold) and all the rest of the effects were to be sold and shared in equal parts between Louisa’s three siblings. His estate was valued at under £2,000.
Louisa died at Ngaere in November 1923. Her mother lived on until 1934. Louisa was buried in Kopuatama Cemetery in Stratford, Taranaki with her father George, and later her mother.
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