Biography contributed by Katherine Blakeley
Agnes Reid Beveridge was born in 1872 in New Zealand – the daughter of Alexander Beveridge, a labourer, and Elizabeth Goodwillie Hume. (See 118 Mrs Beveridge)
Agnes grew up in Milton – she had a daughter in 1888 who died aged 11 months and when she signed the suffrage petition she was living with her family in Milton.
Agnes married Jacob Vanstein, a draper, on 9 August 1893 at her parent’s home in Milton.
They had one son who died aged 15 months and they lived in Kaitangata.
In 1895 Jacob was charged with arson when a fire was started with kerosene in their draper’s shop. The stock had recently been insured and their personal belongings had been moved to a different residence near the shop.
Jacob was found guilty and sentenced to five years with hard labour.
In 1896 Agnes was living in Clinton working as a dressmaker.
She disappears from the records after this and what happened to her is unclear.
Sources
BDM online NZ https://bdmhistoricalrecords.dia.govt.nz/
Otago Nominal Index http://marvin.otago.ac.nz
Papers Past https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz
Presbyterian Research Centre https://www.presbyterian.org.nz/archives/