Originally transcribed as Jane Howarth
Biography contributed by Katherine Blakely
Jane/Jeannie Bowman Brebner was born on 16 September 1837 in Glasgow, Scotland – the daughter of Robert Brebner, a warehouseman, and Mary Nairn.
She emigrated to New Zealand in the early 1860s and, on 25 February 1864, in Dunedin she married James Howarth.
They had children and lived for a short time in Brighton, south of Dunedin, before settling in Fairfield.
When she signed the suffrage petition she was living with her family at Walton Park, Green Island.
James died at their home in 1919 and Jane died on 5 October 1923 at her daughter’s home, they are buried together in the Green Island Cemetery.
Her obituary said she 'was well known for her deep interest in religious matters'.
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/
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