Biography contributed by Katherine Blakeley
Prudentia Whitton was born on 10 March 1866 in Cootehill, County Cavan, Ireland – the daughter of Benjamin Whitton and Elizabeth Gibson.
Prudentia’s mother appears to have died as her father re-married in 1873.
The following year the family emigrated to Otago on the Jessie Readman.
She married Alexander Gibson, a clerk, in 1890 – they had one son.
When Prudentia signed the suffrage petition the family were living in Lancefield St, Caversham.
Their son died in 1909, at the age of 18.
Prudentia died on 26 March 1931 and Alexander died in 1951. They are buried with their son in the Andersons Bay 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
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