Biography contributed by Katherine Blakeley.
Esther Jane Weaver was born in 1862 in Victoria, Australia – the daughter of John Weaver, a miner, and Mary Martin.
She sailed for Otago with her family in 1863 on the “Gothenburg” and they settled at Chapmans Gully, near Alexandra, in Central Otago.
Esther married Moses Holden, a farmer, in 1887 and they had four children.
Esther signed the suffrage petition in Chapman’s Gully.
In 1902 Moses was cited as a co-respondent in a divorce case and he appears to have parted from Esther around this time and moved to Wellington.
Esther died on 8 July 1944 at her daughter’s home in Dunedin – she is buried with her brother in the Alexandra Cemetery.
Moses died in Wellington in 1946 – he was cremated.
Sources:
BDM online NZ https://bdmhistoricalrecords.dia.govt.nz/
Otago Nominal Index http://marvin.otago.ac.nz
Papers Past https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz
Find a Grave https://www.findagrave.com/
BDM Victoria https://online.justice.vic.gov.au
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