Biography contributed by Katherine Blakeley
Mary Young was born about 1840. She married Robert Miller in New Zealand in 1858 and they had three children before Robert died in 1864 – he is buried in the St John’s Cemetery, Milton.
Mary re-married on 6 February 1868 in the Tokomairiro parish to John Porter and they had 10 children together.
When Mary signed the suffrage petition she was living at Southbridge near Milton.
John died at their home 'Atwell Farm' in 1900 and Mary died on 12 June 1917 at her son’s home at Tokoiti, they are buried together in the Fairfax Cemetery, Milton.
Sources
BDM online NZ https://bdmhistoricalrecords.dia.govt.nz/
Family Search https://www.familysearch.org
Otago Nominal Index http://marvin.otago.ac.nz
Papers Past https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz
Presbyterian Research Centre https://www.presbyterian.org.nz/archives/
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