Biography contributed by Katherine Blakeley
Helen Craig Joss was born in 1871 in Old Machar, Aberdeenshire, Scotland – the daughter of James Joss, a seaman, and Mary Craig. (See 339 Mary Trillo)
Helen emigrated to Otago with her mother and siblings in 1876 on the Dunedin - her father appears to have arrived before the rest of the family.
n 1877 James was accidently shot while disembarking from a boat – her mother re-married in 1879.
When Helen signed the suffrage petition she was living with her family in Leet St, Invercargill.
She married Joseph Hewitt, a carpenter, in 1898 and they had three daughters, one who died in infancy.
They retired to Martinborough where Joseph died in October 1929 and Helen died shortly after on 18 December.
Helen is buried (presumably with Joseph) in the Martinborough Cemetery.
Sources
BDM online NZ https://bdmhistoricalrecords.dia.govt.nz/
Family Search https://www.familysearch.org
Otago Nominal Index http://marvin.otago.ac.nz
Papers Past https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz