Biography contributed by Katherine Blakeley
Mary Ann Armstrong was born in London, England between 1834 and 1842.
Her daughter Eugenie Gray Caspari was born in 1859 when she was working as housekeeper for Alexander Caspari, a merchant.
Minnie Gray Caspari was born in 1860 and both girls were living as nurslings with Jane Smith, a midwife, in 1861 under the name of Gray. (See 98 Jane Smith)
Ada Caspari was born in early 1862 and about the same time Minnie died at the age of 15 months.
Ada died in May 1863 at the age of 17 months about the time that Albert Caspari was born, he died two months later.
All the children were buried in the Victoria Park Cemetery, Hackney.
Eugenie stayed with Jane Smith for at least the next ten years.
Mary Ann and Eugenie, along with Jane Smith, emigrated to Otago in 1877 on the Marlborough and settled in Dunedin.
When she signed the suffrage petition Mary Ann was living in Halfway Bush Rd working as a dressmaker.
She died on 30 November 1912 and is buried 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
Family Search https://www.familysearch.org
Free BDM https://www.freebmd.org.uk
GRO England https://www.gro.gov.uk
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