Biography contributed by Katherine Blakeley
Mary Leitch Henderson was born on 10 December 1863 in Edinburgh, Scotland – the eldest child of Allan Henderson, a farmer, and Agnes Hunter.
She emigrated to Otago in about 1879 with her parents and four brothers.
Mary married Rev Robert Fairmaid on 30 October 1891 at Ravensbourne, Dunedin. They had five sons. The family lived in Kaitangata in South Otago, South Taieri and West Taieri then finally moved to South Dunedin in 1909.
The Fairmaids served the South Dunedin parish until Robert retired in 1924 due to ill health. A farewell social was held and Mary was presented with a gold expanding wristlet watch on behalf of the ladies of the parish. Mary had contributed greatly to the Ladies’ Guild, the Presbyterian Womens Missionary Union and the cradle roll.
The following week the Ladies’ Guild and Missionary Union held a function to farewell Mary, where she was presented with a 'well-filled purse'.
Robert died the following year and Mary died on 27 November 1942. 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
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