Biography contributed by Katherine Blakeley
Sarah Phipps was born in 1853 in Kent, England – the daughter of Henry Phipps, a brickfield labourer, and Sarah Clark.
She married Robert Coom, a blacksmith, on 25 October 1873 in Skelton, Yorkshire and soon after they boarded the Ballochmyle bound for Canterbury.
They had five children and when Sarah signed the suffrage petition the family were living in Cobden, near Greymouth.
For a few years Sarah ran a boarding house in Greymouth before returning to Cobden.
Sarah and Robert celebrated their golden wedding anniversary in 1923.
Sarah died at her home on 30 January 1928 and Robert died later that year in October – they are buried together in the Karoro Cemetery.
Sources
BDM online NZ https://bdmhistoricalrecords.dia.govt.nz/
Family Search https://www.familysearch.org
Papers Past https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz
Find a Grave https://www.findagrave.com/