Biography contributed by Katherine Blakeley
Mary (May) McKenzie Brown was born on 17 August 1872 at Cromwell, the daughter of James Miller Brown and Mary McKenzie.
May’s mother died five days after her birth. Her father re-married in 1879.
May did not marry. When she signed the suffrage petition, she was living in London St with her aunt Margaret Miller Brown (who also signed the petition).
In 1932 May and Mary were each presented with a bible to mark 25 years of service collecting for the Otago Bible Society.
May died on 19 April 1943. She is buried in the family grave in the Andersons Bay Cemetery, Dunedin.
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