Biography contributed by Katherine Blakeley
Rachel Maria Davis was born in London, England in 1846 – the daughter of James John Davis, a caulker, and Sarah Elizabeth Warns.
She married George Piddington, a joiner, in London in 1865. They had a son in 1868 and emigrated to New Zealand about 1870.
A further three children were born in Dunedin, one who died in infancy.
The family settled in Caversham and when Rachel signed the suffrage petition they were living in Smith St.
George died in 1917 and Rachel died on 15 August 1929, they are buried together in the family grave in the Southern Cemetery.
Sources
BDM online NZ https://bdmhistoricalrecords.dia.govt.nz/
DCC Cemetery Records http://www.dunedin.govt.nz/facilities/cemeteries/cemeteries-search
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