Mrs John Toomey

Signed family name

Toomey

Signed given name

Mrs John

Given address

Forth Street

Sheet number

Town/Suburb

North Dunedin

City/Region

Dunedin

Notes

Biography contributed by Katherine Blakeley

Anastasia Power was born in Ireland about 1859 – the daughter of John W Power.

She married John Toomey, a police constable, and they had five children, one who died in childhood.

The family lived in Dunedin, Lawrence and Milton before John retired from the police force in 1883 and took over the Australasian Hotel in Maclaggan St, Dunedin.

When Anastasia signed the suffrage petition the family was living in Forth Street and they were running the Shades Hotel.

John died suddenly at the hotel in 1896, aged 41.

Anastasia married Daniel McCurdy, a farmer, on 9 August 1905 at St Patrick’s Basilica, South Dunedin.

Her youngest son did not adjust well to living with his step-father. In 1909 nineteen year old John Stephen Toomey shot Daniel in the leg after an argument at their home.

John was sent to live with his uncle in Central Otago and found not guilty due to provocation.

Anastasia and Daniel appear to have parted company sometime after this.

Anastasia remained in Dunedin where she died on 6 June 1934, she is buried in the family grave in the Southern Cemetery.

Daniel died in September 1934 in Palmerston North, he is buried in the Terrace End Cemetery, Palmerston North.