Biography contributed by Katherine Blakeley
Sarah/Sariah Sillis was born about 1821 in England.
She married James Rix, a teacher, in 1849 in London and they had two sons.
The family emigrated to Auckland in 1863 on the Tyburnia and appear to have moved to Otago soon after.
n the 1870s and 1880s they moved around Otago with James’ teaching positions living at Blacks, Clarks Flat, Blue Spur, Duntroon and Crookston.
When Sarah signed the suffrage petition they were living at Pureua where their son James Arthur Rix was teaching.
She died on 20 May 1906 at Clarks Flat and James died in 1909, they are buried in the Owaka Cemetery.
Sources
Family Search https://www.familysearch.org
Free BDM https://www.freebmd.org.uk
GRO England https://www.gro.gov.uk
Otago Nominal Index http://marvin.otago.ac.nz
Papers Past https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz
Find a Grave https://www.findagrave.com/
Albertland Heritage https://albertlandmuseum.co.nz/