Biography contributed by Katherine Blakeley
Jane Tindle Marshall was born in 1847 in South Shields, Northumberland, England – the daughter of Peter Marshall, a mariner, and Jane Smith.
She married Thomas Smith in Tynemouth in 1865 and they had five children, one who died in infancy.
The family emigrated to New Zealand in 1875 on the Waitara arriving in Bluff in December.
They had a further two children and Thomas worked as a miner in the Kaitangata Coal mine.
On 21 February 1879 there was an explosion in the mine and 35 people died including Thomas Smith.
A copy of his memorial card can be seen here: https://teara.govt.nz/en/interactive/22786/kaitangata-mine-disaster-memorial-cards
Thomas’ body was recovered from the mine and he was buried in the Kaitangata Cemetery.
Jane moved to Dunedin after Thomas’s death and she had a further three daughters although she did not marry again.
When she signed the suffrage petition she was living with her children in Ascotvale, North East Valley.
She died at her home on 29 May 1914 and is buried with some of her children in the Northern Cemetery.
Sources
BDM online NZ https://bdmhistoricalrecords.dia.govt.nz/
DCC Cemetery Records http://www.dunedin.govt.nz/facilities/cemeteries/cemeteries-search
Family Search https://www.familysearch.org
Free BDM https://www.freebmd.org.uk
GRO England https://www.gro.gov.uk
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