Originally transcribed as A Georgesen
Biography contributed by Katherine Blakeley
Ann Catherine Barclay Russell was born in 1847 in the Shetland Islands – the daughter of Robert Russell, a blacksmith and grocer, and Elizabeth Laurenson.
She married Charles Georgeson, a fisherman and widower with one daughter, (See 50 Charlotte Gibbs) on 10 January 1872 in Lerwick, Shetland.
The family emigrated to Otago in 1874 on the Parsee and settled in Dunedin.
They had a fish and poultry shop in Rattray St and were living there when Ann signed the suffrage petition.
In 1904 Ann’s domestic situation deteriorated, Charles was declared bankrupt and a witness in a related court case said that:
'Mr and Mrs Georgeson had not been on good terms, and their relations became so strained that Mrs Georgeson was now taking measures to have a separation order granted. They were not on speaking terms at Christmas time, and matters came to a climax' in February when Charles 'came in in a drunken state, and after abusing his wife assaulted her.'
Ann died on 9 June 1915 and Charles died in 1921, they are buried together in the Andersons Bay Cemetery.
Sources
DCC Cemetery Records http://www.dunedin.govt.nz/facilities/cemeteries/cemeteries-search
Family Search https://www.familysearch.org
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