Biography contributed by Katherine Blakeley
Margaret Ellis/Ellice was born about 1835, probably in Scotland. She emigrated to Otago on the Robert Henderson arriving on 9 February 1858.
On 12 March 1858, at Maclagan St, Dunedin, she married John Somerville, a joiner, who had sailed with her on the same ship. They had one daughter, Elizabeth.
The family lived in York Place, Dunedin, where Margaret and Elizabeth signed the suffrage petition.
John died in 1905 and Margaret died on 4 November 1909. They are buried in the family grave in the Northern Cemetery, Dunedin.
Sources
BDM online NZ https://bdmhistoricalrecords.dia.govt.nz/
DCC Cemetery Records http://www.dunedin.govt.nz/facilities/cemeteries/cemeteries-search
Family Search https://www.familysearch.org
Otago Nominal Index http://marvin.otago.ac.nz
Papers Past https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz
NZ Yesteryears http://www.yesteryears.co.nz
First Church of Otago https://www.presbyterian.org.nz/archives/firstchurch/firstchurchdatabase.html
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