Edith stepped off the ‘Joseph Fletcher’ in 1856 as a 4 year old having been born on the 29 Jul 1852. The world she arrived to would have seen very different, with steep hills to navigate (over the Bridal Veil Path) and the flat, swampy Christchurch township.
There is generally little public material available on Edith. She married John Kerr on the 14 Sep 1876 at Holy Trinity Church, Avonside, Christchurch and the couple set up home in and around Christchurch’s coastal suburbs. The Kerr family lend their name to ‘Kerr’s Reach’, which is a bend in the Avon River that rowers navigate.
The children of Edith and John were as follows :-
| Name | Born | Married | Children | Died | Notes |
| Margaret Matilda | 7 Sep 1877 | 1895 | 3 | 31 Jul 1961 | Tipler |
| Jessie Frances | 15 Dec 1879 | 1900 | 5 | 9 Jul 1964 | Williams |
| Albert Charles Hamilton | 15 Sep 1882 | 22 Jan 1907/ 25 Mar 1925 | 1/ 0 | 25 Nov 1935 | Grant/ Bates |
| David Wilson Handley | 10 Feb 1886 | – | 26 Nov 1944 | ||
| Walter Peter Maitland | 29 Apr 1888 | 25 Feb 1914 | 7 | 31 Dec 1971 | Wigzell |
Her husband, John, seen from a grandson’s point of view, was very big, with a large beard. From the accounts that I have read he also enjoyed a few drinks at one of the local pubs and would need to be brought home in a horse and dray.
John predeceased Edith in 1920
Edith passed away on Christmas Day, 1932
