Biography contributed by Katherine Blakeley
Jean Isbister was born about 1853 in the Orkney Islands.
She married Jacob Johnston Flett, a ploughman, on 2 October 1873 and they had one daughter before they emigrated to Otago in 1877 on the Waipa.
Their daughter Ann died on the voyage from pertussis or whooping cough, she was buried at sea.
They settled in North Otago, where they had a further eight children, and when Jean signed the suffrage petition the family were living in Enfield.
Jacob died in 1930 and Jean died in August 1932 – they are buried with their family in the Old Oamaru Cemetery.
Sources
BDM online NZ https://bdmhistoricalrecords.dia.govt.nz/
Family Search https://www.familysearch.org
Papers Past https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz
Waitaki District Council https://www.waitaki.govt.nz/our-services
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