Biography provided by Cecilia Wong-Cornall
Sarah Annie Leighton was born on 26 August 1870, to Charlotte and James Frances Leighton in Auckland, New Zealand [1]. She was the fifth of eight children [2].
Her father, James Frances Leighton, descended from a long-standing family of bookbinders in England [3]. He established a successful bookbinding and stationary business, J. F. Leighton and Sons Ltd on High Street, Auckland, which afforded a comfortable lifestyle for his family [3-5].
Her mother, Charlotte (née Read), was born in 1836 in Titchfield, Hampshire, England [6], and left for Australia with her parents and siblings onboard the Barrackpore in 1853 [7]. Charlotte and James were married on 1 May 1858 at St Paul’s Church in Auckland, New Zealand [8]. Charlotte passed away in 1882, aged 46, when Sarah was only 12 years old [9].
According to electoral roll records, Sarah lived at the family homestead “Fairview” on Collingwood Street in Ponsonby, Auckland until her death [2, 10]. Sarah listed ‘gentlewoman’ and ‘home duties’ as her occupations in the electoral rolls between 1893 – 1902 [10]. Two other signatories on the petition (p. 388) – E. P. Leighton and E. A. Leighton – were Sarah’s older sisters and they were living together at the Collingwood Street in 1893 [10].
Like her sister, Emily Phoebe, Sarah never married. She passed away in Auckland on 30 August 1905, aged 35. She was buried at Purewa Cemetery alongside a few of her siblings [11].
Sources:
[2] https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/AS19050831.2.69?
[3] https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Space:Leighton_Family_and_the_Sandemanian_Church
[4] https://ponsonbynews.co.nz/blogs/news/street-names-leighton-street
[5] https://kura.aucklandlibraries.govt.nz/digital/collection/cemeteries/id/88916
[6] https://www.familysearch.org/en/tree/person/sources/MLTH-QX2
[7]https://www.findmypast.co.uk
[8] https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/DSC18580504.2.6?
[9] https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/205507498/charlotte-leighton
[11] https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/221239040/sarah-annie-leighton