Biography contributed by Katherine Blakeley
Margaret Ormiston Nisbet was born on 3 July 1861 in Carnwath, Lanarkshire, Scotland – the daughter of James Joseph Nisbet, a labourer, and Margaret Elder.
She emigrated to Otago with her family in 1876 on the Pomona and they settled in Southland.
Margaret married George Owen Cooper (see 340 Emma Cooper), in 1877 and they had 12 children, one who died in infancy.
When Margaret signed the suffrage petition the family were living in Bluff.
George died at Ocean Beach near Bluff in 1916 and Margaret died on 18 December 1946, they are buried with their son in the Bluff Cemetery.
Sources
BDM online NZ https://bdmhistoricalrecords.dia.govt.nz/
Family Search https://www.familysearch.org
Otago Nominal Index http://marvin.otago.ac.nz
Papers Past https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz
Invercargill City Council https://icc.govt.nz
