Biography contributed by Katherine Blakeley.
Catherine Jamieson was born about 1830 in the Shetland Islands.
She married Gideon Henry Williamson, a farmer, on January 8th 1852 in Walls and Sandness.
They had nine children, one who died in infancy, before the family emigrated to Otago in 1874 on the Nelson.
Their youngest child Annie was born on the voyage.
The family settled in Waikouaiti before moving to south to Waitati where Gideon worked as a surfaceman for the railways.
Gideon died in 1888 when he was struck on the head by a rock while clearing a slip from the railway line. Catherine was awarded compensation of £50.
Catherine moved back to Waikouaiti where she signed the suffrage petition.
She died there on October 8th 1919 and is buried with Gideon in the Waikouaiti Cemetery.
Her obituary said “for a number of years Mrs Williamson has borne much suffering with Christian fortitude and death was not unexpected.”
Sources
Click on sheet number to see the 1893 petition sheet this signature appeared on. Digital copies of the sheets supplied by Archives New Zealand.
Community contributions