Biographical information provided for the He Tohu exhibition:
Ellen Ann Kyle (nee James) was born on 4 July 1858 at Launceston, Tasmania; the daughter of Jacob James (a brewer) and Lucy (nee Statham). The family immigrated to New Zealand when Ellen was a young child and settled in Ahaura on the West Coast.
On 24 September 1880 Ellen married John Kyle and in 1884 they moved to Greymouth, where John became the caretaker of the Greymouth racecourse. They had five children: Harry Statham (1881-1970), Herbert Spencer (1883-1961), Leslie Yates (1886-1949), Ethel Sutton (1893-?) and Dora Eilleen (1901-1979). Ellen was a keen horse rider and in her forties she lost a leg in a riding accident.
After being widowed, Ellen moved to Marton where she lived with her daughter for many years, and later with her son in New Plymouth. She died at Rangimarie Home, New Plymouth on 2 March 1961 aged 102.
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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