Biography contributed by Katherine Blakeley
Susanna Mary Dare was born in 1860 in Bromley, Kent, England. She was the daughter of James (Isaac) Dare, an agricultural labourer, and Sarah Hammond.
Susannah married Robert George Vining Parker on 13 June 1876 in Kingston-on-Thames in Surrey. Shortly after their marriage they travelled to the United States where their first child was born.
By the time they set sail from England in 1883 on the Lady Jocelyn, they had three children. Susanna’s sister Fanny also travelled with them.
They had a further nine children in New Zealand. When Susanna signed the suffrage petition the family was living in Cargill St, St Kilda, Dunedin. Robert was working as a Sergeant Major in the Artillery.
In the 1920s, Susanna & Robert moved to Hamilton. They celebrated their golden and diamond wedding anniversaries there in 1926 and 1936.
Susanna died on 28 February 28 1940 and Robert died in 1941. They are both buried in the Hamilton East 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
Otago Nominal Index http://marvin.otago.ac.nz
Papers Past https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz
Hamilton City Council https://www.hamilton.govt.nz
Online Cenotaph http://www.aucklandmuseum.com