Biography contributed by Katherine Blakeley.
Henrietta/Etta Annie Thompson was born on September 24th 1852 in Halifax, Yorkshire, England – the daughter of Thomas Thompson & Anne Matthews.
She came to New Zealand with her family in the late 1850’s & after at time in Nelson they settled in Dunedin where her father worked as a butcher.
Her mother died in 1872 & after this her father bought a farm near Oamaru.
Etta married John Coventry, a jeweller, on June 15th 1878 in Dunedin & they had 7 children.
When Etta signed the suffrage petition the family were living in Heriot Row.
John died in 1910 & Etta later went to live in Temuka.
She died there on July 5th 1931 & is buried with John in the family grave in the Northern Cemetery.
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