Orginally transcribed as Bessie Sayers
Also signed as 109 Bena Sayers
Biography contributed by Katherine Blakeley
Jacobina/Bena Edgar was born in 1863 in Edinburgh, Scotland – the daughter of William Edgar, an agricultural labourer, and Ann Fraser.
She emigrated to Otago with her family in 1875 on the Christian McAusland and they settled in Southland.
Jacobina married William James Sayers in 1884 and they had six children.
When Jacobina signed the suffrage petition the family were living in East Gore. They later moved to Riverton.
Jacobina died in Gore on 2 July 1922 and William died in 1936 – they are buried together in the Gore Cemetery.
Sources
BDM online NZ https://bdmhistoricalrecords.dia.govt.nz/
Family Search https://www.familysearch.org
Otago Nominal Index http://marvin.otago.ac.nz
Papers Past https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz
Scotlands People https://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk