Biography contributed by Katherine Blakeley.
Johan/Joan McDonald was born about 1853 in Kintore, Aberdeenshire, Scotland – the daughter of Murdoch McDonald, an agricultural labourer, and Johan McKenzie.
She emigrated to New Zealand where she married John Scott McDiarmid, a storeman, on 26 March 1883 in Dunedin.
They had five children and when Joan signed the suffrage petition the family were living in York Place.
Soon after this they moved to Westport where Joan died on 22 May 1903 – she is buried in the Orowaiti Cemetery.
John died in 1931 in Dunedin – he is buried in the family grave in the Southern Cemtery.
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/