Originally transcribed as I Allan
Biography contributed by Katherine Blakeley
Janet/Jessie Allan was born on 1 October 1845 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.
Jessie did not marry and when she signed the suffrage petition she was living with her sister Barbara (See 60 B Allan) running a servant’s registry office.
They advertised jobs that were available for domestic servants, waitresses and cooks.
In 1903 Jessie joined a protest against the opening of a Government Registry Office in Dunedin, adding her name to a letter in the paper.
In 1905 the business was sold and Jessie died on 21 September 1913.
She is buried in the Andersons Bay Cemetery with her sister Barbara.
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