Also signed as 101 Mary Freeman
Biography contributed by Katherine Blakeley
Mary Shays was born about 1846 in Ireland.
She married Thomas Freeman, a labourer, in 1864 in New Zealand and they had 15 children, three who died in infancy.
When Mary signed the suffrage petition the family were living in Duncan St, North East Valley, Dunedin.
Thomas died at their home in 1902 and Mary died on 25 June 1904, also at their home. They are buried 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