Biography contributed by Jessica Colquhoun.
Charlotte Gleeson was born in March 1847, to Thomas James Gleeson and Charlotte Ann (née Morris) Gleeson. Some sources list her date of birth as the 17th of March, while some say the 19th. Thomas was born in 1806 in Tipperary, Ireland, while Charlotte was born in 1821 in Windsor, England. Thomas and Charlotte were married on the 13th of November 1839 in Capetown, South Africa, when he was 33 and she was 18. Their marriage certificate lists both of their occupations as domestic servants.
Only a few years after their marriage, Thomas and Charlotte made the decision to emigrate to New Zealand in 1841 with their newborn son, Frederick James (1841), Charlotte’s oldest brother. After arriving in New Zealand, Thomas and Charlotte went on to have eight more children: Ellen Eliza (1842), Charles (1845), Charlotte (1847), Mary Anne (1849), Thomas Peter (1852), Arabella (1854), Louisa Jane (1857), and Joseph (1861). In 1848, the family was recorded as living in Mechanics Bay. Charlotte signed the Suffrage Petition alongside her younger sister, Arabella.
Charlotte had no children and never married. She passed away on the 16th of September 1922 at the age of 75, and was buried in Waikumete Cemetery & Crematorium, Glen Eden. Her death notice lists her place of residence as Arthur Street, Ponsonby.
Sources
- FindaGrave
- Eadie Forbes, ‘Roll of early settlers and descendants in the Auckland Province prior to the end of 1852,’ Auckland Libraries Heritage Collections (1940)
- FamilySearch