Sarah Jane (Mattocks) Kirk (1829 - 1916)

Born 22 Jan 1829 in Warwickshire, England, United Kingdom

Wife of Thomas Kirk — married 25 Dec 1850 in Warwickshire, England, United Kingdom

Descendants

Died 15 Jan 1916 at age 86 in Wellington, New Zealand

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Biography

Sarah Jane Mattocks was born in Warwickshire, England, on 22 January 1829, the eldest daughter of Mary Mattocks and a Coventry weaver/warehouseman Joseph Mattocks. She earned her living as a silk marker, and at the age of twenty-one, on Christmas Day 1850, she married Thomas Kirk, a bookkeeper in the local timber company.

The couple emigrated to New Zealand with four children in about 1862. They first settled in Auckland. They endured poverty while in Auckland, and their eldest son died. Sarah gave birth to more children, but not all survived to adulthood. Twins Violet and Hewitt died in infancy. The early years in New Zealand were difficult, but by 1867 her husband's botanical research was finding an audience - he became curator of the Auckland Museum and taught botany at Auckland Grammar School.

When her husband obtained a lectureship in Wellington they moved to that city, where they remained for the rest of their lives.

Sarah helped found the Vivian Street Baptist Church, the Kirk women contributing regularly to outreach missionary work for the church, and the eldest daughter Amy serving as a Sunday School teacher for over thirty years. Amy remained living with her mother Sarah her whole life, and never married.

Sarah served on the Ladies' Christian Association, and for many decades organized clothing distributions for the Crutch and Kindness League of the Ragged School Union. She also organised classes for young working girls, teaching them to read and write as well as the domestic sciences. She served as President of the Wellington chapter of the Women's Christian Temperance Union of New Zealand from 1895-1904, and encouraged her daughters to participate in the Christian Temperance movement as well.

Sarah (Mattocks) Kirk signed the 1893 Women's Suffrage Petition

During her presidency of the Wellington chapter of WCTU, some of the highest membership numbers were reported, rivalling those of Auckland and Dunedin. While she refused re-election in 1904, at the age of 73, she remained a supporter.

On Saturday, 15 January 1916, Sarah Jane Kirk died at her residence at 30 Pirie Street in Wellington, New Zealand, following a heart attack the previous month. She was buried on 17 January 1916 in the Karori Cemetery Plot 3K which she had bought for her husband's grave upon his death in 1898.

Sources

• Death - Death Registration data - Reg no. 1916/1404 citing Sarah Jane Kirk, age 87, death date 15 January 1916. Accessed at BDM Online on 9 Feb 2021
• Wikipedia: Sarah Jane Kirk
• Suffrage Petition List - https://nzhistory.govt.nz/politics/womens-suffrage/petition