Biography contributed by Katherine Blakeley.
Isabella Baxter Lindsay Bruce was born in Edinburgh, Scotland in 1864 – the daughter of Francis Farquharson Bruce, a book binder, and Jane Bisset Bain.
She emigrated to New Zealand in the 1880’s and she married Frank Rice, a confectioner, in 1886 in Dunedin.
They had six children, one who died in early childhood, and when Isabella signed the suffrage petition the family were living in Ascotvale, North East Valley.
In 1895 they moved to Oamaru then to Timaru for a short time before settling in Napier.
They celebrated their golden wedding anniversary in August 1936 with a quiet celebration due to Frank’s ill health.
He died in September of that year and Isabella died on 24 July 1947 – they are buried together in the Taradale Cemetery, Napier.
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
Find a Grave https://www.findagrave.com/
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