Originally transcribed as Mrs I. Kirks
Biography contributed by Katherine Blakeley
Isabella Curwen was born about 1825 in Lancashire, England – the daughter of William Curwen, a farmer.
She married Joseph Perks, a gas engineer, on 31 December 1848 in Liverpool.
They had 10 children before they emigrated to Canterbury in 1878 on the Hydaspes with their youngest children.
They lived, for a time, in Christchurch before moving to the West Coast where Joseph tried his hand at mining. He was declared bankrupt in 1890 and when Isabella signed the suffrage petition they were living in North Beach, Greymouth.
Joseph died in 1900 – he is buried in the Karoro Cemetery.
Isabella moved back to Christchurch where she died at her home in Sydenham on 10 November 1914 – she is buried in the Sydenham Cemetery.
Sources
BDM online NZ https://bdmhistoricalrecords.dia.govt.nz/
Family Search https://www.familysearch.org
Free BDM https://www.freebmd.org.uk
GRO England https://www.gro.gov.uk
Papers Past https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz
Find a Grave https://www.findagrave.com/