Biography contributed by Katherine Blakeley
Agnes Mayne was born about 1849. She married William Preston, a widower with two young children, in 1871.
They had 12 children, three who died in infancy or childhood, and in 1880 they were living in Waikiwi near Invercargill.
At this time William was working as a dyer and, in 1882, he was declared bankrupt.
The family then moved to Bluff where William worked as a gardener and, in 1885, he was again declared bankrupt.
Agnes signed the suffrage petition in Bluff – William died at their home in 1908 and Agnes died in the Southland Hospital on 2 August 1911.
They are buried in the family grave in the Bluff Cemetery.
Sources
BDM online NZ https://bdmhistoricalrecords.dia.govt.nz/
Family Search https://www.familysearch.org
Otago Nominal Index http://marvin.otago.ac.nz
Papers Past https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz
Invercargill City Council https://icc.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