Biography contributed by Katherine Blakeley.
Mabel Gregory was born in 1875 in New Zealand – the eldest child of George Gregory, a platelayer, and Rebekah Sarah Thomas. (See 171 Rebekah Gregory)
When Mabel signed the suffrage petition she was living with her family in Rutherglen St, Kaikorai in Dunedin.
Her mother died in childbirth in 1897 leaving 11 children and Mabel must taken a large part in looking after her siblings.
She married wool dyer James Brownlee, a widower with two children, in 1910 and they lived in Oamaru.
Mabel died at her home on 10 July 1912 – she is buried in the Green Island Cemetery.
James re-married in 1919 – he died in Christchurch in 1949 and was cremated.
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
Otago Nominal Index http://marvin.otago.ac.nz
Papers Past https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz
