Biography contributed by Katherine Blakeley
Ellen/Helen Anderson Forrester was born in 1868 in New Zealand – the daughter of Peter Forrester, a coal merchant, and Isabella Ritchie.
She married Frederick Linford Horne, a carriage trimmer, in 1889 and they had five children, one who died in infancy.
When Ellen signed the suffrage petition the family were living in Cargill Rd, South Dunedin.
In 1900 Frederick was charged with 'failing to provide his wife with adequate means of maintenance'. He was working in Invercargill and 'there had been no quarrel between them', the case was adjourned for a fortnight.
Around this time their children were admitted to the Industrial School, they boarded with a Mrs Lefevre in Hampden, north of Dunedin from 1905 to 1907 before returning to the Industrial School.
Frederick was charged with default of maintenance in 1902 and, in 1907, a warrant was issued for disobeying an order of the court to support his children in the Industrial School. He was arrested in 1908 and jailed for six months.
What happened to Ellen during this time is unclear.
Frederick died in 1934 and Ellen died on 13 July 1938, they are both buried in the Southern Cemetery, Dunedin.
Sources
BDM online NZ https://bdmhistoricalrecords.dia.govt.nz/
DCC Cemetery Records http://www.dunedin.govt.nz/facilities/cemeteries/cemeteries-search
Otago Nominal Index http://marvin.otago.ac.nz
Papers Past https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz
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