Mary O'Connor was born in Co Clare in 1839, parish unknown. Baptised 24 June 1839 in Clare, Kiddysart, Diocese Killaloe. Her parents were Thomas O'Connor and Johanna McMahon.
In 1862 she emigrated to New Zealand with 200 other young women on board the Pladda from Glasgow, including her cousins Nancy O'Connor and Bedilia O'Connor. The immigration of this large group of young women was organised by the Otago Provincial Govt to try to redress the gender imbalance created by the discovery of gold in the province and the arrival of large groups of miners from all around the world.
The Pladda arrived in Dunedin, Otago on 26 December 1862.
On 2 August 1863 she married Timothy O'Leary (born in St John, New Brunswick, Canada in 1835, parents from Bantry, Cork). Timothy had arrived a year earlier for the Otago goldrush, coming to NZ from Melbourne Australia, where he had been goldmining in the Victoria gold rush.
Timothy and Mary were married by the priest in Milton, Otago, before travelling the considerable distance to the Wetherstones gold field, near Lawrence, Central Otago. They had 8 children but the marriage ended unhappily. After the children had grown they split up. Timothy went across to Hokitika on the West Coast, mining his own gold claim, dying there alone in 1900. Mary was reduced to wandering the streets of Dunedin, eventually making her way up to Wellington (where two of her children lived), dying in the Porirua Asylum 1907.
An unsourced document in the family states that (Bridget) Mary O'Connor, and Bedelia and Nancy were also the cousins of : Elizabeth (O'Connor) Doolaghty, Bridget (Casey) Dimond, Ellen (Casey) Rodgers and Michael Casey
| Additional Information | ||
|---|---|---|
| Date of Birth | 1st Jan 1839 (circa) | |
| Date of Death | 23rd Aug 1907 | |
| Townland born | Co Clare | |
| Father (First Name/s and Surname) | Thomas O'Connor | |
| Mother (First Name/s and Maiden) | Johanna McMahon | |
| Spouse (First Name/s and Maiden/Surname) | Timothy O'Leary | |
| Number of Children | 8 | |
| Place of Death | Porirua Asylum | |
