Biography contributed by Katherine Blakeley
Mary McGill was born on 6 August 1831 in Stoneykirk, Wigtownshire, Scotland, the daughter of David McGill, a hand loom weaver, and Agnes Nish.
On 12 September 1854, Mary married Charles Groves in Stoneykirk. Later that year, they emigrated to Victoria, Australia on the Champion of the Seas. They had three daughters in Victoria, one dying in infancy.
Charles disappears from the records at this time. In November 1862 Mary, with her two young daughters, travelled to Otago on the City of Hobart. When Mary signed the petition, the family lived in Cargill St, Dunedin. Mary's daughter Margaret also signed the petition.
Mary died in Cargill Street on 19 November 1921. She is buried in the family grave in the Andersons Bay Cemetery.
Sources
BDM online NZ https://bdmhistoricalrecords.dia.govt.nz/
BDM Victoria https://online.justice.vic.gov.au
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
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