Biography contributed by Katherine Blakeley.
Annie Florence Rodgers was born about 1866.
In 1891 she was living in Palmerston in North Otago running a dressmaking and drapery shop when she was declared bankrupt. Her debts were £287 3s.
She continued to run a store, and she signed the suffrage petition in Palmerston.
Annie married George Shaw in 1899. They lived in Marton where Annie ran a fruiter and grocer’s shop.
This was destroyed by fire in 1906 and Annie’s life appears to have gone downhill from then on.
In 1908 a prohibition order was taken against her, and in both 1912 and 1914 she was charged with breaching the order.
Annie died on May 5th 1916 at the Belverdale Hospital, Wanganui. She is buried in the Aramoho Cemetery.
What happened to George is unclear.
Sources
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