Biography contributed by Katherine Blakeley
Esther Magee was born on 27 May 1871 in Ballycastle, County Mayo, Ireland – the daughter of Patrick Magee and Nancy Elliott. (See 150 Mrs N Maggee)
She emigrated to Otago with her family in 1883 on the Wellington and they settled in Fairfield, near Dunedin.
Esther married Joseph Cook, a hawker, in 1889 and they had six children.
When Esther signed the suffrage petition they were living in Mosgiel.
Joseph died in 1943 in Timaru and Esther died on 30 March 1958 in Dunedin – they are buried in the family grave in the Northern Cemetery, Dunedin.
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