Biography contributed by Katherine Blakeley
Mary Harris was born in 1867 in New Zealand - the daughter of John Harris and Mary Hay Neilson. (See 126 Mary Harris)
She married Joseph Hewson, a farmer, on 7 December 1887 in the Owaka Parish and they had nine children.
When Mary signed the suffrage petition the family was living at Purekireki in the Owaka Valley.
Three of her sisters also signed the petition (See 137 Elizabeth Dick, 126 Catherine Neil Harris and 126 Jeannie Black Harris)
Joseph died at their home in 1923 and Mary died at her daughter’s home in Blenheim on 19 September 1943, they are buried in the Owaka Cemetery.
Sources
BDM online NZ https://bdmhistoricalrecords.dia.govt.nz/
Otago Nominal Index http://marvin.otago.ac.nz
Papers Past https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz
Presbyterian Research Centre https://www.presbyterian.org.nz/archives/
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