Biography contributed by Katherine Blakeley.
Janet Watson was born about 1846 in Dundee, Scotland, the daughter of James Watson, a baker, and Margaret.
She married William Simpson, a miner, on October 20th 1871 in Dysart, Fife. They had two children.
The family emigrated to Otago in 1875 on the Nelson, and they had a further seven children.
They lived at first in Palmerston before moving to Waikouaiti, where Janet signed the suffrage petition and William worked as a surfaceman.
They retired to Dunedin where William died in 1906, and Janet died on October 15th 1921. They are buried together in the Southern Cemetery.
Sources
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