Biography contributed by Katherine Blakeley
Emma Neal was born about 1842 in Warwickshire, England – the daughter of William Neal and Mary.
She emigrated to Canterbury with her family in 1851 on the Duke of Portland and they settled in Temuka.
Emma married David Pollard in 1858 and they had, possibly, two children.
In 1861 David, the former landlord of the Pareora accommodation house, drowned while attempting to cross the Saltwater Lagoon two miles from Timaru.
Emma re-married in 1862, at her parents’ home, to James Lumsden, a carter and carpenter.
In 1864, while living in Timaru, James was declared bankrupt.
They had 11 children, one who died in infancy, and when Emma signed the suffrage petition they were living at the Catlins River near Owaka.
James died in Dunedin Hospital in 1899, he is buried in the Owaka Cemetery.
After James’ death Emma moved back to South Canterbury, she died at her home in Waimate on 24 April 1918 and is buried in the Waimate Cemetery.
Sources
BDM online NZ https://bdmhistoricalrecords.dia.govt.nz/
Family Search https://www.familysearch.org
Otago Nominal Index http://marvin.otago.ac.nz
Papers Past https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz
Waimate District Council https://waimatedc.maps.arcgis.com/
Canterbury Museum https://collection.canterburymuseum.com/
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