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Deborah Ann Smith
Description
TitleDeborah Ann Smith
Alternative NameDeborah Ann BallsSummaryA woman of Selwyn who signed the 1893 Suffrage PetitionDescription1892 Suffrage petition - page 449/255
1893 Suffrage Petition - page 187 Annat
1893 Electoral Roll- enrolled 3140 sup
She was aged about 69 at the time of signing.First NameDeborah Middle NameAnnLast NameSmithAddressAnnat, Selwyn.Date of Birth1824Place of BirthWestleton, Suffolk, EnglandDate of Death04 October 1902Place of DeathAnnat, Selwyn, New ZealandAge at Death78Parents or Next of KinJames Smith
Margaret Turner
John Joseph Balls
Josephine Balls (wife of Joseph Bloor)Other Biographical InformationDeborah Ann Smith, born around 1824, in Westleton, Suffolk, was the daughter of James Smith and Margaret Turner. The family were Nonconformist Weslyan. In 1848 she married John Joseph Balls, a local farmer and sometime miller. His parents were Nonconformist Weslyan and he had been baptised in the Methodist Chapel in Middleton some distance from where they lived in Westleton. John and Deborah were still in England at the time of the 1881 census where John is recorded as a farmer of 200 acres, employing 2 men and a boy. The family sailed to New Zealand in 1883 on board the steamship Ionic with the three girls; Josephine (17), Rose (27) and Alice (30) and youngest son William. Their other children were mostly grown and did not come with them, although their daughter Olivia followed later in 1891. By 1884 the family were in Annat when John advertised for a lost horse in October. There was a strong Primitive Methodist Church in Annat with the new Church building opened in 1886. The family were also involved in the Annat Band of Hope, a temperance club for aimed at children, being at the inaugural meeting in March 1886 in the newly built School building. Deborah signed the 1892 Suffrage petition on page 449/255 with many of the women from Band of Hope group. She signed the 1893 Suffrage petition on page 187 alongside Ann Isabella Nuttall, and Mary Ann and Eleanor Fergusson. She would have been about 69 years old making her the eldest of the women from Annat who signed. Deborah was in time to enroll on the Supplementary Electoral Roll at no 3140 enabling her to vote in 1893. Her daughter Josephine, who had married Joseph Bloor, also signed both petitions and enrolled. Deborah died Octobert 1902 and was buried in Waddington Cemetery. John died a few years later in 1905 and is buried beside her.
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FSB9-VWP Ionic passenger list
Lyttelton Times, Volume CVIII, Issue 12941, 8 October 1902, Page 12
Alternative NameDeborah Ann BallsSummaryA woman of Selwyn who signed the 1893 Suffrage PetitionDescription1892 Suffrage petition - page 449/2551893 Suffrage Petition - page 187 Annat
1893 Electoral Roll- enrolled 3140 sup
She was aged about 69 at the time of signing.
First NameDeborah Middle NameAnnLast NameSmithAddressAnnat, Selwyn.Date of Birth1824Place of BirthWestleton, Suffolk, EnglandDate of Death04 October 1902Place of DeathAnnat, Selwyn, New ZealandAge at Death78Parents or Next of KinJames SmithMargaret Turner
John Joseph Balls
Josephine Balls (wife of Joseph Bloor)
Other Biographical InformationDeborah Ann Smith, born around 1824, in Westleton, Suffolk, was the daughter of James Smith and Margaret Turner. The family were Nonconformist Weslyan. In 1848 she married John Joseph Balls, a local farmer and sometime miller. His parents were Nonconformist Weslyan and he had been baptised in the Methodist Chapel in Middleton some distance from where they lived in Westleton. John and Deborah were still in England at the time of the 1881 census where John is recorded as a farmer of 200 acres, employing 2 men and a boy. The family sailed to New Zealand in 1883 on board the steamship Ionic with the three girls; Josephine (17), Rose (27) and Alice (30) and youngest son William. Their other children were mostly grown and did not come with them, although their daughter Olivia followed later in 1891. By 1884 the family were in Annat when John advertised for a lost horse in October. There was a strong Primitive Methodist Church in Annat with the new Church building opened in 1886. The family were also involved in the Annat Band of Hope, a temperance club for aimed at children, being at the inaugural meeting in March 1886 in the newly built School building. Deborah signed the 1892 Suffrage petition on page 449/255 with many of the women from Band of Hope group. She signed the 1893 Suffrage petition on page 187 alongside Ann Isabella Nuttall, and Mary Ann and Eleanor Fergusson. She would have been about 69 years old making her the eldest of the women from Annat who signed. Deborah was in time to enroll on the Supplementary Electoral Roll at no 3140 enabling her to vote in 1893. Her daughter Josephine, who had married Joseph Bloor, also signed both petitions and enrolled. Deborah died Octobert 1902 and was buried in Waddington Cemetery. John died a few years later in 1905 and is buried beside her.https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FSB9-VWP Ionic passenger list
Lyttelton Times, Volume CVIII, Issue 12941, 8 October 1902, Page 12
Connections
Subject (Keywords)Suffrage AnnatPlaceAnnat
PlaceAnnatMilitary Service
Memorial or CemeteryWaddington Cemetery
Attribution
Deborah Ann Smith. Selwyn Stories, accessed 15/06/2026, https://selwynstories.selwynlibraries.co.nz/nodes/view/5632