Biography contributed by Katherine Blakeley
Mary Donelan was born about 1859 in County Clare, Ireland. She emigrated to New Zealand about 1878 and married Bartholomew Daly, a wharf labourer, in 1878.
They had eight children and, when Mary signed the suffrage petition, the family were living in Vire St, Dunedin.
In 1893 the family suffered a tragedy, Mary left the house to do some shopping leaving three of her children behind. The eldest was eight-years-old and during the 90 minutes she was away the youngest, three-year-old Annie was fatally burnt when her clothes caught fire. The inquest returned a verdict of accidental death.
Mary died on 12 September 1914 and Bartholomew died in Christchurch in 1941, they are buried with Annie in the 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
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