Biography contributed by Katherine Blakeley.
Mary Ann Littlefield was born on November 29th 1846 in London – the daughter of William Littlefield, a ship’s caulker, and Charlotte Frances Haynes.
She emigrated to New Zealand where she married James Cocksedge in 1877. They had 3 children, one who died in infancy.
When Mary signed the suffrage petition they were living in Palmerston and James was working as a railway guard.
They moved to Oamaru in 1898, then two years later they moved to Outram.
They retired to Timaru where James died in 1915 and Mary died on August 21st 1921. They are buried together in the Timaru Cemetery.
Sources
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