Mrs Eastwood

Biography contributed by Katherine Blakeley with assistance from Alan Fraser

Annie Last was born about 1822 in Brighton, Sussex, England – the daughter of John Edward Cato Last, a carpenter, and Sarah Jane Stapleton.

She married Thomas Hughes, a widower, in Surrey in 1841. They had five children – Thomas, William, Alfred, Walter and Clara; Alfred died in infancy. It is not known what happened to Thomas. Annie, with her children, emigrated to Australia in the 1850s, although whether Thomas travelled with them is unknown. Annie then had two children with Thomas Hall in Victoria: a daughter, Lizzie Hall, born in 1857 and who died in infancy; and a son, James Hall, born in 1859. Annie does not appear to have married Thomas Hall but she states a marriage of 1856 on the children's birth certificates. Thomas Hall died in 1859 from a head injury caused by a blow to the head in a bar room fight.

Annie then came to New Zealand and married Jesse Eastwood (born around 1820 in England) in 1864. They had a daughter (see Martha Peterson) in 1864.

While Jesse worked as a miner in Central Otago, he left Ann in Dunedin with their daughter Charlotte.

In 1871, Ann was arrested by the Port Chalmers police and sent to the lunatic asylum. Charlotte was sent to the Industrial School for one year due to being a 'neglected child'.

In 1872 Charlotte’s stay was extended for a further five years. At this time, Jesse was mining at Bendigo, Central Otago. In about 1880, he went to New South Wales where he died from self-inflicted wounds in 1890. His will left all his property to Charlotte, Annie was not mentioned.

When Annie signed the suffrage petition she was living in Park St, Kensington, Dunedin, and working as a nurse.

On 5 April 1903, Annie died in her home at Percy Ave, Caversham. She was discovered lying on the floor by the milkman when he did his deliveries. She did not leave a will and her estate included three properties in Dunedin. She is buried in the Southern Cemetery, Dunedin.

Sources

BDM online NZ  https://bdmhistoricalrecords.dia.govt.nz/
BDM Victoria  https://online.justice.vic.gov.au/
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
Trove  https://trove.nla.gov.au
Presbyterian Research Centre  https://www.presbyterian.org.nz/archives/
Marlborough District Council  https://www.marlborough.govt.nz/services/cemeteries

See also Caversham research databases