Biography contributed by Katherine Blakeley
Margaret Mary Adams was born in 1855 in Dunedin – the daughter of John James Adams, a tailor, and Elizabeth Noble.
She married Thomas Buchanan, a carter, in 1874 and they had eight children.
When Margaret signed the suffrage petition they were living in Gore.
In December 1892 they parted company and Margaret took Thomas to court for maintenance. She claimed 'that for years past her husband had only doled out to her a few shillings per week'.
She was permitted to stay in the house with the children and to receive £1 2s 6d per week.
Thomas remained in Gore and died in 1927 – he is buried in the Gore Cemetery.
Margaret lived in Dunedin, Napier, Auckland & Hamilton where she died at her son’s home on 5 July 1947 – she is buried in the Hamilton East 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
Find a Grave https://www.findagrave.com/