Margaret Ann Bagnall was born in 1859, the daughter of George Bagnall (1818-1889) and Martha Stevenson (1824-1906). In December of 1863, Margaret, along with her parents and 11 siblings set sail aboard the "Pakeha" for New Zealand. They arrived in Auckland, NZ, on 24 May 1864 where George worked as a shipbuilder. They later lived in Matakana, Kaipara, and Thames, where Margaret taught school for a short time. Margaret would have been approximately seventy-eight years old when she wrote her memoirs. It is not known if she married or when she died.