Biography contributed by Katherine Blakeley
Janet Anderson was born on 19 August 1850 in Ayrshire, Scotland – the daughter of John Anderson, a silk weaver, and Janet Henry.
She had a son, David, in 1867 in Ayrshire before she married Alexander Rae, a tin smith, on 3 June 1870 in Glasgow.
They had a son in 1870 who died at the age of three years.
In 1875 they emigrated to Otago on the Aldergrove with Janet’s son David and settled in Dunedin.
When Janet signed the suffrage petition the family were living in Reid St, South Dunedin.
Alexander died in 1899 and Janet re-married in 1902.
Her new husband was John Russell, a labourer. Their marriage lasted about six years before they separated.
Janet lived with her son David who appears to have had problems with drinking.
In 1907 David appeared in court accused of assaulting his mother and trying to force her to sign a will in his favour. He was fined £5 and bound over to keep the peace.
David was again charged, in 1908, with 'behaving in a disorderly manner in Caversham last night, chasing his mother and setting the neighbourhood in a tumult.' He was fined 40s or a month’s imprisonment.
The following year saw David again being charged with assaulting his mother by hitting her on the head with a hurricane lamp, he was sentenced to fifteen months imprisonment.
Janet died on 15 June 1910, she is buried with Alexander Rae in the Southern 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
Scotlands People https://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk
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