B. S. Russell

Signed family name

Russell

Signed given name

B. S.

Given address

East Gore

Sheet number

103

Town/Suburb

Gore

City/Region

Southland

Notes

Also signed as 109 B. S. Russell

Biography contributed by Katherine Blakeley

Blanche Seymour Ward was born about 1859, possibly in Barbados.

She married Captain John Derrick Russell on 3 December 1889 in Dunedin.

They had a son earlier in the year who had died in July and after their marriage they had a further four children, two who appear to have also died in infancy.

When Blanche signed the suffrage petition they were living in East Gore.

John was a retired master mariner who worked as a 'theatrical manager' and travelled around the world giving lectures and using a magic lantern or skyopticon.

These do not seem to have been a great financial success as in 1901 John was in court trying to recover promissory notes from his business.

He died in 1913 and Blanche died on 2 May 1921 – they are buried with some of their children in the Gore Cemetery.