Biography contributed by Katherine Blakeley
Beatrice Robson/Robertson was born in 1846 in Invernesshire, Scotland – the daughter of Walter Robson/Robertson, a shepherd, and Janet Mackay.
She married blacksmith Neil McLeod in 1864 and they had seven children, one who died in infancy.
In 1879 the family boarded the Marlborough bound for New Zealand landing in January 1880.
After spending a fortnight in quarantine, due to disease on the ship, the family settled at Otaraia, south of Gore where they ran the local hotel and a smithy.
They had a further four children and moved to Mataura where they remained for the rest of their lives.
Neil died in 1922 and Beatrice died at her home on 26 March 1927 – they are buried together in the Mataura Cemetery.
Her obituary said she 'was a very keen church worker and was an enthusiastic member of the Church of Christ.'
Sources
BDM online NZ https://bdmhistoricalrecords.dia.govt.nz/
Family Search https://www.familysearch.org
Otago Nominal Index http://marvin.otago.ac.nz
Papers Past https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz
Find a Grave https://www.findagrave.com/
Scotlands People https://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk