Elise Margaret Kemp was
born in Wellington, New Zealand, on June 19, 1881,
the third daughter and one of six children born to
dr William George Kemp and
his
wife Charlotte.
Dr Kemp was originally from Alnwick, Northumberland, and qualified as a
physician at Durham University. By November 7, 1868, he was in New Zealand and
was appointed Resident Surgeon at Nelson Hospital in the South Island. It was in
Nelson that he met his wife, Charlotte Greenwood.
Charlotte had been born in Motueka, Nelson Province, one of the 11 children
of Dr John Danforth Greenwood, an American, and his wife Sarah Field, an artist
of note who has an entry in the Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. The couple
married at Nelson Cathedral on February 17, 1870, in a double wedding with
Charlotte''s
sister.
By the time of his marriage Dr Kemp had already taken up a position of
surgeon-physician at Wellington Hospital and the couple moved there to begin
married life. In fact, two of Charlotte''s sisters began an independent school in
the city.
Dr Kemp continued to qualify in various specialties and was ultimately
appointed New Zealand''s Chief Medical Officer, according to some documents which
have not yet been verified.
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