Biography contributed by Katherine Blakeley.
Jessie Louisa Ruth Adams was born about 1863 in New Zealand – the daughter of John James Adams, a tailor and farmer, and Elizabeth Noble.
Jessie married William Claret Rowlandson, a house decorator, on 3 January 1882 at her home in Dunedin.
They had eight children, one who died in infancy, and when Jessie signed the suffrage petition the family were living in Sunnydale, North East Valley.
They retired to Auckland in the 1920’s where William died in 1932 and Jessie died the following year on 26 December – they are buried together in the Hillsborough Cemetery.
Sources:
BDM online NZ https://bdmhistoricalrecords.dia.govt.nz/
Otago Nominal Index http://marvin.otago.ac.nz
Papers Past https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz
Presbyterian Research Centre https://www.presbyterian.org.nz/archives/
Find a Grave https://www.findagrave.com/