Originally transcribed as Rachel Leah Burrell
Biography contributed by Katherine Blakeley
Rachel Leah Edwards was born about 1857.
She married Robert Burrill, a dealer, rabbit skin buyer and billiard marker, on 15 November 1879 in Southland.
They had seven children and lived in Queenstown where Robert was declared bankrupt in 1881 and where Rachel signed the suffrage petition.
What happened to Robert after this is unclear - by 1901 Rachel and the children had moved to Caversham, Dunedin.
Rachel died at her home on 4 May 1902, aged 45, she is buried 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
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