Biography contributed by Katherine Blakeley
Mary Cooper was born on 14 August 1871 in Glasgow, Scotland – the daughter of James Cooper, a bootmaker, and Elizabeth Donley.
The family emigrated to Canterbury in 1874 on the City of Glasgow settling in Dunedin.
Mary did not marry. She was a teacher of music and an accomplished concert singer regularly featuring in the Dunedin Burns Club concerts. She served for many years on the Burns Club committee. Mary's sister Agnes also signed the suffrage petiion.
Mary died after a prolonged illness on 19 June 1899. She is buried in the family grave in the Southern 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
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