Biography contributed by Katherine Blakeley.
Frances Elizabeth/Fanny Scanlon was born in Westminster, London in 1846.
She married Charles Campbell, a railway clerk, on December 31st 1865 in St John’s Church Manchester.
They had 4 daughters, one who died in infancy, before Charles died in 1873 – he is buried in the Ardwick Cemetery, Manchester.
Frances re-married on June 25th1876 at St Mary’s Hulme, Manchester to Richard Bryan, a ship's mate.
They had a son before Frances emigrated to Otago in 1878 on the Canterbury with the children as nominated immigrants - Richard had presumably worked his passage.
They settled in Dunedin where they had a further 6 children, 3 who died in infancy.
In 1890 Frances applied for a protection order on the grounds of drunkenness. They had “lived together for a considerable time. During the whole of that time he was continually drinking, and frequently abused his wife and children and destroyed his property. For about two years the complainant had supported herself and children, while her husband had been away; but lately he had come back, and had behaved as formerly”.
The judge advised Richard to “endeavour to abstain from drink in the future” & dismissed the case.
When Frances signed the suffrage petition she was living in Leith Street.
Richard died in 1905 at Roxburgh East, he had been living in a tent at a mining camp when he died – he is presumably buried in the Roxburgh Cemetery.
Frances died on June 26th 1919 at her daughter’s home in Timaru, she is buried in the Timaru Cemetery.
Sources
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