Jessie Williamson

Jessie Marguerite Williamson (née McAllan, c.1855–26 July 1937) was a notable New Zealand suffragist and welfare worker.

Biography

Jessie Williamson was born in Dublin, County Dublin, Ireland somewhere between 1855 and 1857.[1] Williamson married Hugh Bellis Williamson on 11 December 1875 in Dublin, and a few years later they moved to New Zealand and settled down in Wanganui[2]

Whilst in Wanganui, Williamson became a prominent leader of the Wanganui Women's Franchise, and its primary goal was gaining the vote for women. In addition, Williamson was a founding member of the National Council of Women of New Zealand (NCW), working first as a secretary and then was appointed as the national treasurer in 1898.[2] In 1900, Williamson was appointed to the Patea and Wanganui United Charitable Aid Board, representing the Wanganui Borough Council, becoming the second woman in that district to do so (the first being Frances Stewart).[2][3] After taking a brief hiatus from activism, Williamson served as vice president of the Auckland branch of the NCW from 1918-19, and then served as vice president of the Civic League, an organisation raising awareness on women's issues and women running for office, in 1922 and then from 1926-28.[2]

On 26 July 1937, Jessie Williamson passed away in her home in Epsom, New Zealand, after a lifetime of advocating for women's rights throughout the nation.[2]

References
  1. Labrum, Bronwyn. "Jessie Marguerite Williamson". Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Retrieved 23 April 2017.
  2. Labrum, Bronwyn (1993). "Williamson, Jessie Marguerite". The Suffragists: Women Who Worked for the Vote. Wellington: Bridget Williams Books. pp. 152–57. ISBN 0908912382.
  3. Taonga, New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage Te Manatu. "Stewart, Frances Ann". teara.govt.nz. Retrieved 8 October 2019.


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