Biography contributed by Katherine Blakeley
Fanny Smith was born in 1854 in Wiltshire, England – the daughter of John Smith, a horse trainer, and Martha Drew.
She arrived in Bluff with her family in 1863 on the Sir George Pollock and she married John Edgar, a miner, in 1873.
They appear to have had 11 children, three who seem to have died in infancy.
When Fanny signed the suffrage petition the family were living in Queenstown where John served a Mayor for several years.
Fanny died at the Wakatipu District Hospital on 3 July 1910 and John died in 1914, they are buried together in the Queenstown Cemetery.
Fanny’s obituary said 'of a very quiet disposition she was known but to a small circle of friends by whom she was much respected.'
Sources
BDM online NZ https://bdmhistoricalrecords.dia.govt.nz/
GRO England https://www.gro.gov.uk
NZ Yesteryears http://www.yesteryears.co.nz
Otago Nominal Index http://marvin.otago.ac.nz
Papers Past https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz
Queenstown Lakes District Council http://cemeteries.qldc.govt.nz/