Biography contributed by Katherine Blakeley.
Martha Spice Ledgerwood was born at Wetherstones, in Otago in 1864– the daughter of William Ledgerwood, a miner, and Elizabeth Jackson.
She married John Alexander McPhee, a pipe maker, in 1881 and they had 10 children.
When Martha signed the suffrage petiton the family were living in Harbour Terrace, Dunedin.
In 1908 two of their sons drowned while on a trip in the Otago Harbour, only one body was recovered.
In 1917 they lost another son in France during WW1.
In the 1920’s they moved to Sydney where John died in 1928. Martha died on 20 September 1948 – she is buried with John in the Woronora Memorial Park, Sydney.
Sources:
BDM online NZ https://bdmhistoricalrecords.dia.govt.nz/
DCC Cemetery Records http://www.dunedin.govt.nz/facilities/cemeteries/cemeteries-search
Otago Nominal Index http://marvin.otago.ac.nz
Papers Past https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz
Find a Grave https://www.findagrave.com/