Biographical information provided by Jenni Chrisstoffels, Alexander Turnbull Library, for the He Tohu exhibition:
Emma De Carteret was born in Jersey in 1856, the fifth of six children of Jean (John) and Rachel. Devout Methodists, the family left for New Zealand in 1859 to escape compulsory military training and to take up the land settlement schemes on offer. The family purchased land to farm in Papakura and settled in the area. Emma never married. She passed her teacher’s exams in 1883 but appears to have been employed for just one year. In the 1893 Electoral Roll and from then on she lists her occupation as ‘domestic duties’, taking care of her parents and then her brother Stephen. She died in 1942 aged 86.
See also:
Carteret, Jean de, 1818-1899 : Journal of voyage from Jersey to Auckland and first days in New Zealand / English translation made by Oliver Mourant. Date: May-Dec 1859, 1950. Ref: Alexander Turnbull Library, MS-0476
Click on sheet number to see the 1893 petition sheet this signature appeared on. Digital copies of the sheets supplied by Archives New Zealand.
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