Biography contributed by Katherine Blakeley
Jane Masterton was born on 7 August 1840 in Dalmeny, West Lothian, Scotland – the daughter of John Masterton, an agricultural labourer, and Elizabeth Dickson.
She married William Coats, a journeyman joiner, on 26 November 1862 in Glasgow and shortly after they emigrated to Otago.
The family settled in Dunedin and had nine children.
They lived in Castle St where, in the 1880s, they ran a grocery shop.
The family were still in Castle St when Jane signed the suffrage petition - she died at her home on 22 September 1901.
William died in 1914 and they are buried with their daughter in the Northern Cemetery.
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