Biography contributed by Katherine Blakeley.
Martha Sadler was born in 1846 in Broadhinton, Wiltshire – the daughter of Edward Sadler, an agricultural labourer, and Sarah Woodward.
She married Thomas Wyatt, a groom, in 1866 and they had three children before they sailed for New Zealand about 1872.
Their three year old son George died in the Dunedin immigration depot in February 1873 soon after their arrival.
They had a further three sons, two of who died in infancy.
When Martha signed the suffrage petition the family were living in High Street.
Thomas died in 1909 and Martha died at her daughter’s home in St Kilda on 29 June 1923 – they are buried together in the Southern Cemetery.
Sources:
BDM online NZ https://bdmhistoricalrecords.dia.govt.nz/
DCC Cemetery Records http://www.dunedin.govt.nz/facilities/cemeteries/cemeteries-search
Free BDM https://www.freebmd.org.uk
GRO England https://www.gro.gov.uk
Otago Nominal Index http://marvin.otago.ac.nz
Papers Past https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz
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