Biography contributed by Katherine Blakeley
Sarah Ann/Annie Johns was born about 1857 in Ballarat, Victoria, Australia – the eldest daughter of Humphrey Cooper Johns and Mary Ann Hosking.
She came to New Zealand in the 1880s where she married James Jeffery, a school teacher, in April 1883 in Dunedin.
They had seven children, one who died in infancy, and when Annie signed the suffrage petition they were living in Andersons Bay, Dunedin.
James died in 1923 and Annie remained at her home in Andersons Bay where she died on 17 November 1939 – they are buried in the family grave in the Andersons Bay Cemetery.
Her obituary said 'by her sweet and lovable disposition Mrs Jeffery endeared herself to all with whom she came in contact, and the schoolhouse was an open house where all were made welcome...Pupils from the Anderson’s Bay School paid a special tribute by lining the path from the house to the gate and carrying some of the many wreaths at the funeral.'
Sources
BDM online NZ https://bdmhistoricalrecords.dia.govt.nz/
DCC Cemetery Records http://www.dunedin.govt.nz/facilities/cemeteries/cemeteries-search
Free BDM https://www.freebmd.org.uk
Otago Nominal Index http://marvin.otago.ac.nz
Papers Past https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz
Trove https://trove.nla.gov.au
BDM Victoria https://online.justice.vic.gov.au
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