Biography contributed by Katherine Blakeley
Martha Blackford was born about 1823 in Kenilworth, Warwickshire, England – the daughter of Hannah Blackford.
She married Joseph Burgess, a brickmaker, in 1841 and they had 11 children before they emigrated to Otago in 1874 on the Atrato with their six youngest children.
When Martha signed the suffrage petition she was living with her family in Green Island, near Dunedin.
Martha died on 13 October 1902 and Joseph died in 1906, they are buried together in the Green Island Cemetery.
Sources
DCC Cemetery Records http://www.dunedin.govt.nz/facilities/cemeteries/cemeteries-search
Family Search https://www.familysearch.org
Free BDM https://www.freebmd.org.uk
GRO England https://www.gro.gov.uk
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