Biography contributed by Katherine Blakeley
Jane was born about 1847, she was married to Thomas Knowles and they had six children, one who died in infancy.
In 1879, at the time of the Kaitangata mine disaster, Thomas was working as a pitheadman.
By the early 1880s Thomas was working as a busman in the Catlins.
When Jane signed the suffrage petition the family were living at Tahatika near Owaka.
Jane died on 18 January 1895, 'she had been dangerously ill for some time back'. She 'was widely known and highly respected, and ever ready to give one a helping hand'.
Jane is buried in the Owaka Cemetery.
Thomas died later that year, in September, in Dunedin Hospital, he is buried in the Northern Cemetery, Dunedin.
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
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