Biography contributed by Katherine Blakeley
Mary Allan was born on 11 April 1835 in Lesmahagow, Lanarkshire, Scotland – the daughter of Gavin Allan, a farmer, and Jean Miller.
Mary married Alexander Gunn Rutherford, a farmer, on 24 February 1863 in Fenwick, Ayrshire. The family farmed in West Linton, Peebleshire then moved to Cockpen in Midlothian.
They had seven children, one dying in infancy. The family emigrated to Otago in 1881 on the Jessie Readman and settled in the Musselburgh area of Dunedin. Mary's daughter Helen also signed Sheet 34 of the petition.
Mary died on 1 February 1904 and Alexander died in 1914. They are buried in the family grave in the Southern 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
Scotlands People https://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk
