Biography contributed by Katherine Blakeley
Laura Ann Manley was born about 1872 in Waipori, Otago – the daughter of William Barron Manley, a contractor, and Caroline.
She grew up in Dunedin and, on 7 July 1892, in Melbourne, Australia, she married Albert Ernest Alfred Keast, a clerk.
One month later the couple returned to Otago and when Laura signed the suffrage petition they were living in Leith St.
They had six children, two who died in infancy.
Laura died while visiting Christchurch on 13 April 1938 and Albert died in 1942, they are buried together in the Northern Cemetery.
Sources
BDM online NZ https://bdmhistoricalrecords.dia.govt.nz/
DCC Cemetery Records http://www.dunedin.govt.nz/facilities/cemeteries/cemeteries-search
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