Biographical information provided by Laurie Davis for the He Tohu exhibition:
Margaret Jolly (nee Kedzlie) was born on 27 December 1836 in Scotland. She moved to Australia sometime in the 1850s and in 1860 she married James Spratley Jolly, an itinerant Englishman then mining and running a pub in the area around Kilmore north of Melbourne.
At some point in the late 1860's the couple and their family sailed for the West Coast of New Zealand's South Island. James Jolly worked as a painter/decorator, a fruiterer and is also said to have managed the European Hotel in Kumara for a time.
The family moved to Palmerston North around 1855. James Jolly served as organist in the local Anglican Church, was a member of the Masonic, Druids and Orange Lodges. He was a fairly accomplished amateur musician (piano, organ and violin) and amateur actor. In 1890 he died suddenly in Main St, Palmerston North. Margaret outlived him by 30 years and took up her previous profession of nursing and midwifery.
Related images:
Click on sheet number to see the 1893 petition sheet this signature appeared on. Digital copies of the sheets supplied by Archives New Zealand.
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