Biography contributed by Katherine Blakeley.
Elizabeth Gray was born on 14 September 1866 in Glasgow, Scotland – the daughter of Peter Gray, a coal miner, and Margaret Marr.
She emigrated to Otago with her family in 1875 on the “Invercargill” and they settled at Frankton, near Queenstown.
Elizabeth married butcher Thomas Bennett on 19 April 1889 at her sister’s home in Dunedin.
They had three daughters and when Elizabeth signed the suffrage petition they were living in Anderston, Kaikorai.
In 1902 they moved to North East Valley where Thomas died in 1937 and Elizabeth died on 16 August 1943.
They are buried together in the Andersons Bay Cemetery.
Sources:
BDM online NZ https://bdmhistoricalrecords.dia.govt.nz/
DCC Cemetery Records http://www.dunedin.govt.nz/facilities/cemeteries/cemeteries-search
Family Search https://www.familysearch.org
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