Biography contributed by Katherine Blakeley
Ellen Schofield was born in 1858 in Hampshire, England – the youngest child of Timothy Schofield, a railway labourer, and Sarah Lovelock.
In 1874 Ellen emigrated to Otago with her parents on the Corona – a number of her siblings also came to New Zealand.
She married Alexander Youngson, a gardener, on May 4th 1880 in Dunedin.
They had 2 sons, born 10 years apart, and when Ellen signed the suffrage petition the family were living in Andersons Bay running a nursery.
Alexander retired in 1917 due to ill health and they went to live in Auckland with one of their sons.
After their son moved to Australia they returned to Dunedin in 1930.
Alexander died the following year & Ellen died on May 14th 1935 – they are buried together in the Andersons Bay Cemetery.