Biography contributed by Katherine Blakeley
Rosina/Rosanna Vance was born about 1837 in Scotland. She emigrated to Hobart, Tasmania at an early age and married James Lawrie, a blacksmith, at St David’s Cathedral, Hobart on 26 January 1858.
They had two children in Tasmania before they came to Dunedin about 1860. A further seven children were born after their arrival, one dying in infancy.
James died suddenly at their home in Castle St in 1891. When Rosina signed the suffrage petition the family were still living there. Her daughter Elizabeth Lawrie also signed the petition.
She died on 9 February 1935 at the age of 98. She is buried with James in the family grave in the Southern Cemetery, Dunedin.
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
Otago Nominal Index http://marvin.otago.ac.nz
Papers Past https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz
Libraries Tasmania https://librariestas.ent.sirsidynix.net.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