Biography contributed by Katherine Blakeley.
Elizabeth Mary Knibbs was born about 1838 in Akeley, Buckinghamshire, England, the daughter of Thomas Knibbs, an agricultural labourer, and Mary Church.
She married Reuben Read, a shepherd, in 1856. They had at least 9 children, one who died in infancy.
The family emigrated to Otago in 1875 on the Waimea. Their youngest daughter Charlotte died in Dunedin soon after their arrival.
Reuben died the following year in Palmerston. He is presumably buried in the Palmerston Cemetery.
Elizabeth remarried on January 30th 1879 in Palmerston to James Neil, a farmer. She was still in Palmerston when she signed the suffrage petition.
Elizabeth died at her son’s home at Glenham, near Wyndham in Southland, on June 11th 1908. She is buried in the Wyndham Cemetery.
James remarried the following year to Mary Ann Lowen. He died in 1920 and is buried in the Palmerston Cemetery.