Mrs M. Rough

Signed family name

Rough

Signed given name

Mrs M.

Given address

Ravensbourne

Sheet number

Town/Suburb

Ravensbourne

City/Region

Dunedin

Notes

Biography contributed by Katherine Blakeley

Mary Jane Erridge was born in 1854 in Dover, England — the daughter of Joseph Thomas Erridge, a fisherman, and Mary Jane Cavell. (See 61 M J Erridge)

Mary emigrated to Otago about 1860 with her family and they settled in Port Chalmers.

She married William Ross Rough, a carpenter, on 19 November 1874 at All Saints’ Church.

They had nine children and lived in Rothesay, Ravensbourne where Mary signed the suffrage petition.

William was a member of the Psychological Society and regularly held a 'trance address'at the Society’s meetings.

Mary and William celebrated their silver wedding at the Psychological Society’s rooms in 1899, they were presented with 'a handsome piece of plate, bearing a suitable inscription'.

The following year William was involved in a court case involving the death of a young woman who he had been 'consulting and had given some herbal medicine. The death was deemed to be due to natural causes with a rider concerning steps to be taken to prevent unlawful prescriptions being given by spiritualists.

Two months later the family left Dunedin and moved to Wellington.

Mary died on 31 December 1923 and William died the following year. They are buried together in the Karori Cemetery.