Biography contributed by Lynda Richards:
Janet was born in Christchurch in 1870, the eldest daughter of John Boag and Grace Stewart.
She took the name of her maternal grand-mother, Janet McNaughton, following the Scottish naming tradition. Both of Janet’s parents were from Perthshire.
Her Uncle, William Boag, owned/leased 1700 acres of land in Christchurch and farmed at “Burnside”, part of this land is now Burnside Park on Memorial Avenue.
The original Boage family left France in the 15th century as part of the Huguenot migration. They initially settled in Norfolk, England, and later moved to Perthshire, Scotland.
John Boag came to New Zealand as a 16 year old, on the ship Glentanner in 1857, with his parents, two sisters, and brother Peter. He farmed with William at “Burnside”, moving to Brookside south of Christchurch in 1863, where he ran a substantial farm which he named “Middlerigg”. Janet’s siblings were sister Grace, and three brothers – William, John and Peter.
Janet Boag was married in 1900 to Lumsden Shirriffs, son of Rev. W M Shirriffs.
Lumsden died as the result of a tram accident in 1914.
In the Parliamentary Debates for 1931, Janet McNaughton Shirriff's petition for an amendment to the Family Protection Act was presented. This described the injustice done to a wife and children when the husband died before his mother. Later, when the mother died leaving a substantial sum of money, the wife and children did not receive any support.
Janet's death at 80 years of age came in 1951.
Sources
Cyclopedia of New Zealand, Vol. 3. Canterbury. Pgs 356, 689.
BDM Historical Records. https://www.bdmhistoricalrecords.dia.govt.nz/
Parliamentary Debates. 1931. Vol.230. Pg 875.
Papers Past. http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/
History of Burnside Park, Christchurch.
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