Biography contributed by Katherine Blakeley
Martha Janet Osborn was born in 1866 in New Zealand – the daughter of Jacob Osborn, a seaman, and Martha Campbell.
She married Joseph Edmund Hamer, a ships carpenter, in 1886 and they had three children.
When Martha signed the suffrage petition they were living in Maryhill Terrace, Mornington, Dunedin.
In 1907 Joseph suffered severe injuries when he was knocked into a ship’s hold. He was awarded £600 damages for his injuries.
Joseph died in 1919 and Martha died on 1 October 1951, they are buried together in the Andersons Bay 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