Biography contributed by Katherine Blakeley
Charlotte Robbins was born on 15 October 1853 in St Helier, Jersey in the Channel Islands – the daughter of Charles Robbins, a porter, and Charlotte Townsend.
Charlotte emigrated to Otago in 1873 on the Dover Castle and married Edwin William Dowland, a blacksmith, on 29 March 1879 at the St Matthew’s Church, Dunedin.
They had four children and when Charlotte signed the suffrage petition the family were living in Duncan St, Dunedin near Edwin’s brother and his family. (See 140 Mrs J Dowland)
They celebrated their Golden Wedding anniversary in 1929.
Charlotte died on 11 December 1936 and Edwin died in 1938, they are buried with their son 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
Family Search https://www.familysearch.org
Otago Nominal Index http://marvin.otago.ac.nz
Papers Past https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz
The Island Wiki http://search.jerripediabmd.net/
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