A suffrage signatory whose work at Werry’s Hotel remains hidden behind her husband’s initials
1867–1957
Women’s suffrage
Hospitality
Jessie Dewar added her name to the campaign for women’s political rights and later became part of the family that briefly took over one of Timaru’s best-known private hotels, although surviving advertisements named her husband as manager and left Jessie’s own contribution largely unrecorded.
Jessie Brown was born in New Zealand in 1867, the daughter of farmer Gilbert Brown and Helen Logan.
In 1887 she married cabinetmaker John Adamson Dewar. The couple had seven children. The family was living at East Gore when Jessie signed the 1893 women’s suffrage petition. Her signature placed her among the thousands of women who publicly asked Parliament to recognise women’s right to vote. New Zealand women gained that right later the same year.
Nearly two decades later, Jessie and John moved their family to Timaru. In 1912 they became associated with Werry’s Hotel, the substantial private hotel near Timaru’s railway station that Mary Werry had developed over more than thirty years. NZHistory records that Jessie and John took over the hotel after moving to Timaru.
Contemporary advertisements, however, publicly named J. A. Dewar as the manager. One notice described the business as being under his management, while another said he intended to make Werry’s an ideal home through careful attention to guests and the hotel’s cuisine.
Jessie was not named in this hotel publicity. The surviving evidence does not explain how the work was divided between husband and wife. A substantial private hotel depended on meals, purchasing, laundry, room preparation, guest care, accounts and the supervision of employees. Jessie may have contributed to some or much of this work, but no source located so far allows particular responsibilities to be assigned to her.
The Dewars’ involvement with Werry’s Hotel was comparatively brief. John was still being advertised as manager in March 1913, but another proprietor had taken over by October. Jessie’s place in this history is therefore not that of a proven hotel manager or proprietress. However it is the story of a woman who had publicly supported women’s political citizenship and later became part of a family hospitality enterprise whose advertising recognised her husband while leaving her own contribution unrecorded.
Jessie and John remained connected with Timaru after their short period at the hotel. They celebrated their golden wedding anniversary in 1937. John died in 1943.
Jessie died on 18 September 1957. She and John were buried together in Timaru Cemetery.
What changed because Jessie contributed? Jessie added her name to the national movement that secured women’s right to vote. She also helped sustain a family of nine through years of work, relocation and change, including a brief period connected with one of Timaru’s important accommodation businesses.
What remains uncertain? Jessie’s precise duties at Werry’s Hotel, whether the family lived on the premises, and whether she participated in guest care, food service, accounts or staff supervision.
Why does this uncertainty matter? If the hotel story records only “J. A. Dewar”, Jessie disappears completely. If we claim without evidence that she managed the hotel, we replace silence with invention... so as I have found with many of these women who I have been learning about, her story asks us to notice both the woman who is present in the family history and the work that the surviving business records fail to describe.
Related WuHoo stories
Quinn’s Corner: the Irish brothers, the railway hotel and the Timaru corner that keeps sending me on side quests
https://wuhootimaru.co.nz/blog/1340-quinn-s-corner-the-irish-brothers-the-railway-hotel-and-the-timaru-corner-that-keeps-sending-me-on-side-quests
Werry’s Private Guest Hotel
https://wuhootimaru.co.nz/cbd-heritage-walk/232-werry-s-private-guest-hotel
Biographical and suffrage evidence
NZHistory, “Jessie Dewar” Supports Jessie’s birth in 1867, parents Gilbert Brown and Helen Logan, marriage to John Adamson Dewar, their seven children, East Gore residence, suffrage involvement, move to Timaru, association with Werry’s Hotel, golden wedding anniversary and death on 18 September 1957. https://nzhistory.govt.nz/suffragist/jessie-dewar-0
NZHistory, 1893 Women’s Suffrage Petition database. Explains that the database is derived from the main petition submitted to Parliament in 1893 and that the recorded names and addresses come from the surviving petition sheets.
https://nzhistory.govt.nz/page/1893-suffrage-petition-database
Hotel evidence
Werry’s Private Hotel advertisement, Timaru Herald, 10 April 1912. Supports J. A. Dewar having taken over the hotel and publicly presenting himself as responsible for guests and cuisine. https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/THD19120410.2.2.7
Werry’s Temperance Hotel advertisement, Timaru Herald, 16 April 1912. Supports the hotel being under J. A. Dewar’s management. https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/THD19120416.2.2.7
Werry’s Temperance Hotel advertisement, Timaru Herald, 27 April 1912 Again supports J. A. Dewar being the publicly named manager. https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/THD19120427.2.2.1
Werry’s Hotel advertisement, Timaru Herald, 26 March 1913 Supports John remaining publicly identified as manager in March 1913. https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/THD19130326.2.6.4
A. T. Lake takeover advertisement, Timaru Herald, 16 October 1913 Establishes that the Dewars’ management had ended by October 1913. https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/THD19131016.2.51.6