Biography

Janet Caldwell Mitchell née Smith was the youngest of six children, born on 26th September 1839 in Tarbolton, Ayrshire, Scotland, to James Smith and Mary Dempster. On 15th April 1860 she married John Mitchell at St Quivox Church, Ayrshire, Scotland. Their daughter Elizabeth Runciman Mitchell was born at Anderson, Glasgow, Lanarkshire on 22nd July 1863.

On Monday 11th April 1864 at 10am they left on the steamer Nealson to Greenock. On 17th July 1864 the family arrived on the ship Andrew Jackson with her sister-in-law Janet Mitchell and husband Hugh Muir and family at Port Chalmers, Dunedin. The two families had been sponsored by another brother-in-law, John Runciman and his father who were farming in Green Island. Upon arrival they stayed with the Runcimans at Green Island, then moved to Dunedin, where John found employment as a carpenter, building a wooden key for the ships. Soon after he worked as a deckhand on a coastal steamer, returning home every Friday. He then worked on a dairy farm, Kelvin Grove in North East Valley for nine years until shifting to the dairy farm “River Bank” in the Shag Valley near Palmerston, where he also started a milk cart round as well which served the hundred locals in Palmerston. By 1886 the family had shifted back to North East Valley Dunedin.

During this time Janet had 10 more children; one died in childhood, three in their late teens, and one aged 21. The remaining children, except the youngest daughter, all married and had families. Janet died on 5th October1910 at Leith Valley, Dunedin.