Biography contributed by Katherine Blakeley.
Mary Swan was born on December 17th 1837 in County Antrim, Ireland – the daughter of William Swan and Elizabeth.
She married Henry John Wardell, a farmer, on July 29th 1858 in Hillsboro, Ireland and they had 5 children.
When Mary signed the suffrage petition she was living with her husband and daughter in Latimer Square, Christchurch.
Mary died on July 7th 1908 in Christchurch, at the next meeting of the Christchurch Women’s Christian Temperance Union a “motion of sympathy was passed with the relatives of Mrs Wardell, an old member of the Union, and one who took an active interest in its work”.
Henry died at their son’s home in Dunedin in 1919, they are buried together in the Linwood Cemetery in Christchurch.
Sources
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