Biography contributed by Katherine Blakeley
Mary Cochrane was born on 6 November 1870 in Perth, Scotland – the daughter of John Cochrane and Margaret Stewart.
She emigrated to Otago with her widowed mother, grandparents and two sisters in 1877 on the Canterbury and they settled in Dunedin.
When Mary signed the suffrage petition she was living with her family in Grosvenor St, Kensington working as a tailoress.
She married Thomas Bennet, a carpenter, in 1897.
Mary and Thomas had 11 children, this included triplet daughters who died in infancy.
Mary died at her home on 3 October 1845, Thomas died the following year – they are buried in the family grave in the Andersons Bay 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