Biography contributed by Katherine Blakeley.
Amy Maud Chapman was born in 1845 in London, the daughter of William Chapman, a doctor, and Sarah Lisgo.
She sailed for New Zealand with her family on the Labuan in 1851. Her father was the ship’s surgeon and the family were cabin passengers.
They settled at first in Christchurch until the early 1860s when they moved to Waikouaiti.
Amy had a daughter in 1870, and she married Denis Jones Cockerill, a carter, the following year.
They had a further eight children, one who died in infancy.
Denis was declared bankrupt in 1884, and when Amy signed the suffrage petition they were living in Waikouaiti.
They later moved to Dunedin where Amy died at their son’s home on February 17th 1928.
Denis died at Kaitangata in 1941. They are buried together in the St John’s Anglican Cemetery, Waikouaiti.
Sources
Click on sheet number to see the 1893 petition sheet this signature appeared on. Digital copies of the sheets supplied by Archives New Zealand.
Community contributions