Biography contributed by Katherine Blakeley.
Mary Jane/May Lunam was born in 1860 in Roxburgshire, Scotland – the daughter of David Lunam and Janet Cameron.
She emigrated to Otago with her extended family later that year on the “Robert Henderson” arriving in September 1860.
Mary married John William Whitehead, a railway guard on 17 August 1877 in the Waitati Parish.
They had three children before William died when he fell from a train in 1884.
Mary re-married in the Caversham parish on Christmas Day 1889 to Thomas Blyth Robertson – they had one daughter.
When Mary signed the suffrage petition the family were living in Bathgate St, South Dunedin and Thomas was working as a cook.
Thomas died in 1928 and Mary died at her daughter’s home on 8 September 1943 – they are buried with John Whitehead 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
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.
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