Biography contributed by Katherine Blakeley
Mary Ann Baker was born about 1855 in England, she arrived in New Zealand about 1874.
She married John Fairley, a storeman, in 1879 and they had six children.
When she signed the suffrage petition Mary was living with her family in High St, Roslyn, Dunedin.
In 1903 their house was destroyed by fire, the only thing to be saved was the piano.
They later moved to Milton in South Otago where John died suddenly in 1920.
Mary re-married in 1922 to Robert James Stuart, a compositor and widower, they lived in Dunedin.
Robert died in 1929, he is buried with his first wife in the Southern Cemetery.
Mary Ann died on 19 June 1934 she is buried with John in the Andersons Bay Cemetery.
Sources
BDM online NZ https://bdmhistoricalrecords.dia.govt.nz/
DCC Cemetery Records http://www.dunedin.govt.nz/facilities/cemeteries/cemeteries-search
Otago Nominal Index http://marvin.otago.ac.nz
Papers Past https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz
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