Biography contributed by Katherine Blakeley.
Helen Tweedie was born in Lanarkshire, Scotland about 1838 – the daughter of William Tweedie, an iron miner, and Janet Martin.
She emigrated to New Zealand with her family in 1859 on the “Alpine” and they settled in South Otago.
Helen had a daughter with, shoemaker, Andrew Lindsay in 1861 who died aged two months.
Andrew was a widower who had also travelled on the “Alpine” – his wife had died shortly after their arrival.
She married Andrew on 13 March 1862 in Dunedin and they had a further six children.
When Helen signed the suffrage petition the family were living in Maple Hill, North East Valley.
Andrew died in 1919 and Helen died on 28 October 1926 at her daughter’s home in Dunedin – they are buried together in the Northern 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
Presbyterian Research Centre https://www.presbyterian.org.nz/archives/
Scotlands People https://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk