Biography contributed by Katherine Blakeley
Mary Muir was born on 6 April 1857 in Dalmllington, Ayrshire, Scotland – the daughter of Hugh Muir, a baker, and Janet Mitchell/Mitchellson. Mary’s sisters, Agnes Phinn and Kate Muir, and their mother Janet, all signed the same petition sheet.
Mary emigrated to New Zealand with her family in 1864 on the Andrew Jackson and settled in Dunedin.
On 1 March 1876 Mary married Thomas Aitchison, a dairy farmer, at her parent’s house. They had 11 children and lived in North East Valley, Dunedin.
Thomas died in 1917 and Mary died on 4 June 1927. They are buried in the family grave in the Northern Cemetery.
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