Rosetta Lucy Kilfoy was born in London in 1846, the youngest daughter of Prudence Limby and William Martin. In 1861 she married Joseph Kilfoy in London, and they had two children. In 1872 Joseph died suddenly and Rosetta was called as a witness at the inquest.
Rosetta came to New Zealand with her two children in 1874 as a colonial nominated immigrant. Her occupation was servant. In 1877 the Court granted Rosetta’s petition to send Joseph to the Naval Training School in Auckland. In November 1879 Rosetta married Francis Brady, a farmer of Pauatahanui. The marriage seems to have come to nothing, and Rosetta acquired some training as a nurse and midwife. She appears in Wise’s directory of 1880 as Rosetta Kilfoy of Cuba Street. She was still in Cuba Street in 1893 when her son Joseph married Florence (see 413 Florence Kilfoy), daughter of Pamela Kirk (313 Pamela Kirk) and she signed the Petition.
In 1895 Rosetta bought a house in Newtown, not far from her sister Emma. In 1901 she was the midwife who delivered the baby J.C. Beaglehole.
In 1923 Rosetta sold her house and moved to another property in Newtown. In June 1930 she died at her daughter’s house in Lower Hutt. She was 84 and remembered in an obituary in the Evening Post, and as a 'personality' by J.C. Beaglehole.
Sources
BDM online https://bdmonline.dia.govt.nz/
Beaglehole, Tim A Life of J C Beaglehole: New Zealand Scholar Wellington, Victoria University Press 2006
Manson, Cecil and Celia Doctor Agnes Bennett London, Michael Joseph 1960
Papers Past https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/
Petone Settlers Museum https://www.huttcity.govt.nz/arts-and-culture/museums/petone-settlers-museum
UK Census online https://ukcensusonline.com/
Wellington City Council archives https://archivesonline.wcc.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.
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