Biography contributed by Katherine Blakeley
Sarah Gilligan was born about 1834 in Roxburghshire, Scotland – the daughter of James Gilligan, a clothes merchant from Italy, and Elizabeth.
On 19 August 1855 in Hawick, Roxburghshire, Sarah married Michael Sheeran, a pawnbroker. They had seven children while living in Hawick, then moved to Edinburgh and had another two children there. Only three children appear to have survived infancy.
In 1884 Sarah arrived in Otago on the Victory with her three children and a niece. Michael had presumably come earlier.
In 1889 Sarah was advertising for a 'smart girl to assist in housework' and ,in 1890, she wanted a 'good shirt machinist'.
In the 1893 electoral roll Sarah is listed as a shopkeeper and Michael as a teacher of dancing. In that same year Sarah was advertising 'gentleman’s nightshirts made to order, white shirts repaired' and, in 1894 - 'Mrs Sheeran late of George St, makes Ladies’ and Children’s Underclothing; Machine Knitting done'. Sarah's daughter Elizabeth and her niece Sarah also signed the petition.
Sarah died on 28 August 1898 and Michael died in 1907. They are buried in a family grave in the Northern 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
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