Signed family name
Abernethy
Signed given name
Mrs Jos
Given address
Howe Street
Notes
Biographical information provided by Helen Smith for the He Tohu exhibition:
Margaret Smith Abernethy (nee Bissland) was born in 1868, the second daughter of William and Sarah Bissland of Howe St, Dunedin. Her father died in 1873, leaving five children.
In 1891 Maggie married Joseph Abernethy, a linotype operator for the Otago Daily Times and Otago Witness. They had six children in Dunedin: Ronald Galt (1892-), Harold Waldo (1895-1917), Joseph Harvey (1898-), David Gordon (1899-), Mavis Esma (1910-,) and Roy Campbell (1911-). By 1917 Joseph had set up business as an art dealer on George St.
After Joseph’s death in 1949, Maggie continued to live at 20 Eden St, Dunedin with her son David, until her own death on 11 December 1963.
