Biography contributed by Katherine Blakeley.
Caroline Simons was born in Victoria, Australia in 1862 – the daughter of Edmund Simons and Honour Williams.
She married William George Files, a cabinet maker, in 1887 and they had a daughter the following year who died aged eight months.
The family then sailed for Otago where they had a further five daughters, one who also died in infancy.
When Caroline signed the suffrage petition the family were living in Filleul St, Dunedin.
They moved to Christchurch in 1900 then back to Victoria in 1902.
Caroline died on 21 August 1934 – for some years she “had been bed-ridden with paralysis”. Two months before her death “a hot- water bag burst severely burning her legs”. She spent three weeks in hospital then she “left against the advice of the doctor, and returned to her home”.
William died at his home in 1943 – they are buried together in the Boroondara General Cemetery.
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
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.
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