Biography contributed by Katherine Blakeley
Sarah Ann Reay was born in 1846 in Northumberland, England – the daughter of Robert Reay and Sarah Kitching.
Her mother died two years after her birth and by 1860 her father and elder brother were in California working as miners.
Where Sarah was at this time is unclear.
By the 1870s the family were living in Greymouth and Sarah was now Mrs Elder.
Sarah married Richard Helms, a watchmaker and jeweller, in 1878 and they had two daughters.
That year Richard applied for a gold mining lease. He was declared bankrupt in 1892.
After this he appears to have moved to Australia where he worked as a biologist for the department of agriculture.
When Sarah signed the suffrage petition she was living in Greymouth.
He died on 26 January 1901 and is buried in the Karoro Cemetery.
Richard died in Sydney in 1914 – he is buried in the Gore Hill 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
Papers Past https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz
Find a Grave https://www.findagrave.com/