Originally transcribed as Janet S. Dow
Biography contributed by Katherine Blakeley
Janet Thompson Murray was born on 15 July 1858 in Newlands, Peebleshire, Scotland – the daughter of James Mitchell Murray and Margaret Todd.
She emigrated to Otago with her family about 1863 and married John Dow, a farmer, on 2 January 1878.
They had five children and when Janet signed the suffrage petition the family were living at Newton Farm, Outram, on the Taieri Plain near Dunedin.
John died at Newton Farm in 1912 and Janet died at Bruntsfield Farm on 16 October 1915.
They are buried together in the West Taieri Cemetery.
Her obituary said 'she was widely known and highly esteemed by a large number of friends and acquaintances for her kindness and hospitality. At the Taieri and Dunedin Shows she was a keen competitor and prize-taker in the bread and poultry sections'.
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
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