Mrs Howard (her mark X)

Biography contributed by Katherine Blakeley

Originally transcribed as Mrs Howardher

Elizabeth Alma Burrows was born in Luppit, Devon in 1856 – the daughter of John Burrows, a railway labourer, and Sarah Bird.

She married George Cann, a carpenter, in 1872 and shortly after they emigrated to Otago on the Christian McAusland.

They had a daughter the following year and they lived for a few months on the Taieri Plains before moving to Dunedin where they stayed with a relative.

While they were there they met James Howard who had been a sailor on the Christian McAusland and was lodging in the same house.

One night George “saw Howard and his wife behaving very suspiciously in the passage.” About 6 months later George, once again, found Elizabeth and James together.

Soon after this Elizabeth left her family and “ran away with Howard to Canterbury, but came back to Dunedin in 18 months”.

George applied for a divorce which was granted in 1876. He re-married in 1877 and moved to New South Wales.

Elizabeth and James married on 1 January 1877 in Dunedin and they had 7 children.

When Elizabeth signed the suffrage petition the family were living at Cairnglen in North East Valley – she signed with a mark as she could not read or write.

James died at their home in 1924 and Elizabeth died at her daughter’s home in Dunedin on 20 April 1928 – they are buried together in the Andersons Bay Cemetery.

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

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

Presbyterian Research Centre   https://www.presbyterian.org.nz/archives/

Papers Past confirms NE Valley Dunedin