Mrs Jones

Biography contributed by Katherine Blakeley

Jane Grant Bell was born at Elm Row, Dunedin on 11 December 1864, the daughter of Archibald Bell, a master mariner, and Jessie Margaret.

Jane married Francis Lawrence Jones, a photographer, in 1887. Jane and Francis were accomplished vocalists and contributed to many concerts and fundraising events in Dunedin where they lived. They had three children.

In 1888 Jane was elected to the roles of secretary and treasurer of the newly formed Ladies’ Musical Society called Te Tau-runanga.

When she signed the suffrage petition Jane was living with her family in York Place.

In September 1898 Francis opened a new photographic studio in George St. It was barely finished when he died in the Dunedin Hospital in November.

A benefit concert for Jane and her family raised £109.

In 1899 Jane and her children moved to Napier. She married Joseph Frederick Ludgwig, a jeweller, on 28 February 1902 at the Napier Cathedral. They had a son the following year.

In 1909, while Jane was visiting her parents who lived in Western Australia, Joseph died suddenly from pneumonia. He was buried in the Old Napier Cemetery. 

Jane died in 1957 and was cremated at the Karori Crematorium in Wellington.

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