Biography contributed by Katherine Blakeley
Sarah Johnston was born in 1843 in Whitehaven, Cumberland, England – the daughter of Thomas Johnston, a shoemaker, and Mary Brennan.
Sarah had a son in 1862 befoer she married George Railton, a shipwright, in 1867.
Sarah and George had three children before they emigrated to Otago in 1876 on the Invercargill.
They settled in Dunedin and had a further three children after their arrival.
In 1884 their cottage in Reid Rd was destroyed by fire, the family managed to escape wearing only their nightclothes, losing all their possessions.
The house was re-built soon after and the family were still living in Reid St when Sarah signed the suffrage petition.
When Sarah made her will in 1913 she signed with an X due to being illiterate - it may have been her daughter Sarah (See 65 Sarah Railton) who signed the petition for her.
Sarah and George retired to Auckland where Sarah died on 20 July 1922.
George died in 1932, they are buried together in the Waikaraka Cemetery, Auckland.
Sources
BDM online NZ https://bdmhistoricalrecords.dia.govt.nz/
Family Search https://www.familysearch.org
Free BDM https://www.freebmd.org.uk
GRO England https://www.gro.gov.uk
Otago Nominal Index http://marvin.otago.ac.nz
Papers Past https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz
Auckland Council https://www.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/cemeteries
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