Biography contributed by Katherine Blakeley
Betsy was born about 1849 in Scotland.
She emigrated to New Zealand in the mid 1870s with her husband Robert Johnston and their two children.
They had a further six children after their arrival and when Betsy signed the suffrage petition the family were living in Georgetown in North Otago where they had a farm.
Robert died at their home in 1929 and Betsy died on 22 March 1936.
Her obituary said she 'will be well remembered for her acts of kindness and unbounded hospitality'. She 'gave her services freely and ungrudgingly in objects for the welfare of the district'. They are buried together in the Georgetown 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
Waitaki District Council https://www.waitaki.govt.nz/Services/Cemeteries