Biography contributed by Katherine Blakeley
Jane Bolster was born about 1838 in Ireland – the daughter of Thomas Bolster, a time keeper.
She married Andrew Fairbairn, a gardener, in Cork on 8 October 1859 and they had two sons before they emigrated to Otago in 1865 on the St Vincent.
Their daughter Helen was born on the voyage followed by a further 10 children, two who died in infancy.
The family settled in Dunedin and when Jane signed the suffrage petition they were living in Maori Hill.
Andrew died in 1912 and Jane died on 28 October 1915 – they are buried in the family grave 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
Otago Nominal Index http://marvin.otago.ac.nz
Papers Past https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz
Find a Grave https://www.findagrave.com/
Irish Genealogy https://www.irishgenealogy.ie/
