Biography contributed by Katherine Blakeley
Esther Jones was born about 1846 in Swansea, Wales. She came to New Zealand about 1869 and married Alexander Ross, a miner, in 1870.
They had six children and lived in the gold mining area of Waipori, Otago.
Alexander died in March 1883 from cancer when their youngest child was two-years-old. 'Great sympathy is felt for his wife and family, who are reported to be in destitute circumstances.' Alexander is buried in the Waipori Cemetery.
Later that year, in November, Esther married Allan Maclean, a shepherd, and they had a daughter the following year.
In 1886 the family moved to Dunedin and when Esther signed the suffrage petition they were living in Bathgate St, South Dunedin.
Esther died at their home on 4 March 1917 and Allan died later in the year in July, they are buried together in the Southern Cemetery.
Sources
BDM online NZ https://bdmhistoricalrecords.dia.govt.nz/
DCC Cemetery Records http://www.dunedin.govt.nz/facilities/cemeteries/cemeteries-search
Family Search https://www.familysearch.org
Otago Nominal Index http://marvin.otago.ac.nz
Papers Past https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz
Find a Grave https://www.findagrave.com/
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