Biography contributed by Katherine Blakeley
Annie Anderson Marr was born in 1849 in South Shields, Durham in England – the daughter of Scottish parents James Marr, a shipwright, and Isabella Graham.
The family moved between Scotland and England several times and when they emigrated to New Zealand in 1873 on the James Nicol Fleming Ann was not with them.
She married Dr Robert Martin in 1879 in New South Wales and they lived for a time in Reefton before moving to Dunedin.
They lived in the Octagon where Annie signed the suffrage petition and they also had a summer residence at Waipiata in Central Otago.
Robert died in 1928 and Annie died on 23 June 1934. They are buried together in the Middlemarch Cemetery.
Her obituary said she had “been closely connected with the life of this city for over fifty years. Mrs Martin was of a very hospitable and kindly disposition, and her home and her time were always available in the cause of charity”. She was an “ardent church worker” and “took a leading part in several large efforts to raise funds for various purposes”.
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
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
NSW Government https://familyhistory.bdm.nsw.gov.au/