Biography contributed by Katherine Blakeley
Emily Gaynor Willett was born in 1868 in New Zealand – the daughter of Richard Wright Willett and Ann Shields Manson. (See 147 Annie Willett)
When Emily signed the suffrage petition she was living with her family in Reid St, South Dunedin working as a bootfitter.
Emily married William Henry Parkin in 1900 and they had three children, one who died in infancy.
The family ran the West Melton Accommodation House before moving to Akaroa on Banks Peninsula where they ran the Bruce Hotel.
They emigrated to California in 1922 on the Manganui.
William died at their home in Palo Alto, California in 1936 and Emily died in 1949.
Sources
BDM online NZ https://bdmhistoricalrecords.dia.govt.nz/
DCC Cemetery Records http://www.dunedin.govt.nz/facilities/cemeteries/cemeteries-search
Otago Nominal Index http://marvin.otago.ac.nz
Papers Past https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz
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