Biography contributed by Katherine Blakeley
Barbara Allan was born on 23 December 1829 in Duirinish in the Isle of Skye, Scotland – the daughter of Alexander Allan, a schoolmaster, and Mary McKenzie.
She emigrated to Otago with her mother and two sisters in 1859 on the Alpine.
Barbara did not marry and when she signed the suffrage petition she was living with her sister Jessie (See 60 J Allan) running a servant’s registry office.
They advertised jobs that were available for domestic servants, waitresses and cooks.
In 1905 the business was sold, Barbara died on 2 August 1917.
She is buried in the Andersons Bay Cemetery with her sister Jessie.
Sources
DCC Cemetery Records http://www.dunedin.govt.nz/facilities/cemeteries/cemeteries-search
Family Search https://www.familysearch.org
NZ Yesteryears http://www.yesteryears.co.nz
Otago Nominal Index http://marvin.otago.ac.nz
Papers Past https://paperspast.natlib.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