See also Caversham research databases
Biography contributed by Katherine Blakeley
Mary Ann Dyer Fry was born on 11 October 1839 in London – the daughter of Joseph Fry and Mary Ann.
She married blacksmith Cornelius Payne Bird on 25 December 1861 in St Pancras, London.
Their first child, a daughter, was not born until 1870 and their next daughter arrived in 1874.
In March 1875 the family boarded the Earl of Zetland bound for Otago. Their youngest daughter died on board from scrofula, or cervical tuberculosus - she was buried at sea.
They settled in Dunedin and had a further four children, two of these children died in infancy or childhood.
When Mary signed the suffrage petition they were living in Sydney St, Caversham.
Mary died soon after on 14 October 1893 and Cornelius died in 1928 – they are buried together in the Southern Cemetery.
Sources
BDM online NZ https://bdmhistoricalrecords.dia.govt.nz/
DCC Cemetery Records http://www.dunedin.govt.nz/facilities/cemeteries/cemeteries-search
Family Search https://www.familysearch.org
Free BDM https://www.freebmd.org.uk
GRO England https://www.gro.gov.uk
Otago Nominal Index http://marvin.otago.ac.nz
Papers Past https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz
Click on sheet number to see the 1893 petition sheet this signature appeared on. Digital copies of the sheets supplied by Archives New Zealand.
Community contributions