Biography contributed by Katherine Blakeley
Sarah Joan Bartlett was born in 1866 in Somerset, England – the daughter of James Lesky Bartlett, a farmer, and Maria Elworthy.
In 1880 the family emigrated to Otago on the Mallowdale and they settled near Milton in South Otago.
Sarah married Henry Taylor Bain, a blacksmith, on 1 June 1892, in the Gore Town Hall.
This was the first Salvation Army wedding to be held in Gore which 'was crowded by a highly good-humored audience....In the evening there was a wedding banquet, and a meeting at which those present seemed to enjoy themselves immensely'.
They had five children and lived in Gore, where Sarah signed the suffrage petition, then in Balclutha.
In 1901 Henry was declared bankrupt and their house and business was sold.
The family moved to Dunedin then, in later years, retired to Christchurch, where they celebrated their golden wedding anniversary in 1942.
Sarah died on 21 August 1947 and Henry died the following year – they are buried together in the Sydenham Cemetery.
Sources
BDM online NZ https://bdmhistoricalrecords.dia.govt.nz/
Free BDM https://www.freebmd.org.uk
GRO England https://www.gro.gov.uk
Otago Nominal Index http://marvin.otago.ac.nz
Papers Past https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz
Find a Grave https://www.findagrave.com/