Biography contributed by Katherine Blakeley
Ellison McMillan was born on 21 November 1863 in Glasgow, Scotland – the daughter of Thomas McMillan, a blacksmith, and Catherine Brown. (See 59 Mrs McMillan)
She emigrated to Otago with her family in 1880 on the Marlborough and they settled in Dunedin.
Ellison married William McFarlane, a plumber, on 4 April 1884 in Dunedin and they had six children.
When Ellison signed the suffrage petition the family were living in Cargill Rd, South Dunedin.
William died in 1907, his body was found on the mud flats at the back of the railway station. He 'formerly lived with his wife in Walker street, left her owing to domestic differences, and went to live by himself in Steep street.'
William’s brother gave evidence at the inquest that he had been 'drinking to excess of late” and he had “suffered from asthma for a number of years'. The inquest found that he died from exposure and exhaustion while in a weak state of health. He is buried in the Northern Cemetery.
Ellison died on 23 November 1942 at her daughter’s home in Dunedin, she is also buried in the Northern Cemetery but not with William.
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
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