Biography contributed by Katherine Blakeley
Mary Gray Moffat was born about 1849 – the daughter of Matthew Moffatt, a ship’s engineer, and Jane Forbes.
In 1866 Mary married Captain Thomas Hart, a Master Mariner. They had four daughters before August 1874, when Thomas died from an accident on board the S.S. 'Beautiful Star' of which he was in charge. The following year in March, two of Mary’s daughters, aged three and six, died a week apart.
Mary’s father died in 1879 and her mother died in 1886.
On 23 February 1887 Mary married James Kilgour Paton, an accountant, who was 12 years younger than her. They had a daughter in 1890.
Mary died on 6 September 1897 at Christchurch. As a mark of respect the flags at the Otago Harbour Office and vessels at the Dunedin wharves were hoisted at half-mast. Mary is buried in the Southern 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