Biography contributed by Katherine Blakeley.
Mary Jane Campion was born about 1846 in Gibraltar.
She married Samuel Charles Phillips on 20 February 1864 at the Methodist Chapel in Gibraltar.
Samuel was working as a warder in the convict prison service. About 1875 Samuel was transferred to England then shortly after he was appointed as gaoler at the Lyttleton Gaol.
In 1882 they moved to Dunedin and when Mary signed the suffrage petition they were living in Stuart Street.
Samuel died in 1909 and the following year Mary had the honour of laying the foundation stone at the new hall at the Woodhaugh Methodist Church.
Samuel had supported the building fund and the stone was laid in his memory.
Mary died at her niece’s home in Outram on 5 July 1936 – she is buried with Samuel in the Northern Cemetery.
Sources:
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
The 1893 electoral roll confirms Mary Jane domestic duties Stuart St