Ellen Wright Blackwell

Ellen Wright Blackwell (7 October 1864 – 24 February 1952) was a writer and botanist who made a lasting impact on the field of botany in New Zealand. She was born in Northampton, Northamptonshire, England on 7 October 1864.

Biography Early life Blackwell was born in Northampton to John and Anna Maria Blackwell, née Bumpus, the sixth daughter and ninth child of their eleven children. John Blackwell was a master hosier. Prior to her visit to New Zealand she wrote some religious books for children under the name "Grace Winter".

Later life and death Blackwell went back to England shortly after the book was published and never returned to New Zealand. In London on 14 October 1910 Blackwell married Thomas Maidment. She wrote two further religious books for children which were published in 1923 and 1926. She died in Portsmouth on 24 February 1952.