Biography contributed by Katherine Blakeley.
Janet Purvis Goodsman Hood was born in 1862 in New Zealand, the daughter of James Wanless Hood, a whitesmith, and Wilhelmina Scott Goodsman.
She moved from Dunedin to Waikouaiti with her family about 1870. There she married Henry Hamilton Gowdy/Gowdie on September 9th 1885.
They had five children and lived in Waikouaiti where Janet signed the suffrage petition.
In the 1900s they moved to Taihape where Henry worked as a shepherd.
In 1916 Janet and Henry were passengers in a taxi which collided with a train.
Henry died the next day on June 23rd, and Janet died the following day, both at the Palmerston North hospital. The driver of the taxi was charged with manslaughter.
Janet and Henry are buried together in the Taihape Cemetery.