Biography contributed by Katherine Blakeley
Margaret Christie Forsyth was born about 1859.
She married John Brownie, a carpenter, in 1876. They had nine children; one died in childhood.
The family lived in Morton, North East Valley, Dunedin. In 1889, their house caught fire when some hot ashes were left against an outside wall, but fortunately minimal damage was done. Another fire occurred in 1906, when their son was home alone. This time, the house was destroyed.
Also in 1906, Margaret applied for a maintenance order against John. They had been separated for about five years. John was a habitual drunk and despite a prohibition order, had continued to drink.
The following year the family was in the court news again when their son 20-year-old son died shortly after a fight with his father. The verdict was that he died of acute appendicitis with no evidence to show the exact cause of the same.
Margaret later moved to the North Island with her children.
John died in Dunedin in 1933 and Margaret died on 1 August 1934 in the Wellington Hospital.
They are both buried in the family grave in the Northern Cemetery, Dunedin.
Sources
BDM online NZ https://bdmhistoricalrecords.dia.govt.nz/
DCC Cemetery Records http://www.dunedin.govt.nz/facilities/cemeteries/cemeteries-search
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