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Ishbel Hamilton-Gordon, Marchioness of Aberdeen and Temair

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Ishbel Maria Hamilton-Gordon, Marchioness of Aberdeen and Temair, GBE (née Isabel Maria Marjoribanks; 15 March 1857 – 18 April 1939)[a] was a British writer, philanthropist, and an advocate of women's interests. As the wife of John Hamilton-Gordon, 1st Marquess of Aberdeen and Temair, she was viceregal consort of Canada from 1893 to 1898 and of Ireland from 1906 to 1915.

The Most Honourable
The Marchioness of Aberdeen and Temair
GBE
Lady Aberdeen by W.J. Byrne & Co., 1899
Born
Isabel Maria Marjoribanks

15 March 1857
London, England
Died18 April 1939(1939-04-18) (aged 82)
Rubislaw, Aberdeen, Scotland
Other namesIshbel Hamilton-Gordon
Isabel Aberdeen
Occupation(s)Author, philanthropist
SpouseJohn Hamilton-Gordon, 1st Marquess of Aberdeen and Temair
ChildrenGeorge Gordon, 2nd Marquess of Aberdeen and Temair
Marjorie Sinclair, Baroness Pentland
Dudley Gordon, 3rd Marquess of Aberdeen and Temair
Lord Archibald Gordon
Parent(s)Dudley Marjoribanks, 1st Baron Tweedmouth
Isabella Weir-Hogg
Signature

Early life

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Born in London, Isabel Maria Marjoribanks was the third daughter of the 1st Baron Tweedmouth and Isabella Weir-Hogg (daughter of Sir James Weir Hogg).[1] A sometimes "anxious" child, she had enjoyed escaping to the mansion her father had built amidst the "rugged splendour of Glen Affric" in the Scottish Highlands.[2] She received a well-rounded education in English, French, mathematics, history, and geography, and was such a good student that her teacher recommended she attend college. However, Lady Aberdeen's father shared the widely held opinion that university was no place for a woman.[3] Instead, her education continued at home at her parents’ social events, where she met the famous politicians of the day.[4] This experience helped prepare her for a lifetime of political involvement. Isabel became an evangelical at an early age, believing like many Victorians in a life dedicated to good works, as well as social and moral reform.[5]

After a six-year acquaintance, she married John Campbell Hamilton-Gordon, the 7th Earl of Aberdeen (later the 1st Marquess of Aberdeen and Temair), on 7 November 1877 in St. George's Church, St. George Street, Hanover Square, London. The couple had four surviving children: George (1879), Marjorie (1880), Dudley (1883), and Archibald (1884).[6] Lady Aberdeen's daughter has written that "Ishbel interpreted the duty of wife as one who not only provided for her husband a serene background in private life, but as one who also thought and fought for him in all his affairs."[7]

Social activism in England and Scotland

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Lord Aberdeen was a Liberal and a member of the House of Lords, and Lady Aberdeen supported him by hosting social events. An intelligent and determined woman, she soon established her own political life as an activist. Because of political obligations, the family divided their time between London and their Scottish estate in Aberdeenshire. They called their home Haddo House, and it was here that Lady Aberdeen began her involvement with social reforms. She organized a Household Club that held classes for servants to learn singing, carving, reading, and other activities. The Aberdeens often attended their servants’ evening socials and meetings, and in London society it was rumoured that they had even dined together. They also funded a local school and hospital—healthcare was a cause that Lady Aberdeen supported throughout her life.[8]

Lady Aberdeen's influence also extended beyond her country estate. She established the Onwards and Upward Association, which provided servant girls with postal courses on topics ranging from geography to literature to domestic science. This program spread from Aberdeenshire to include thousands of servants.[9] Lady Aberdeen founded the Aberdeen Ladies' Union, an institution to help young women in Scotland.[10] In 1883 she became the first president of the Ladies’ Union of Aberdeen, an organization that focused on the well-being of young women living in cities. An Emigration Committee chose suitable women and sponsored them to move to the colonies, especially Canada.[11] Lady Aberdeen was also the head of the Women's Liberal Federation, which advocated for women's suffrage.[12]

Her commitment to housing improvement and fascination with the work of Octavia Hill is recorded by her daughter Baroness Pentland who wrote in a 1952 biography of her mother: 'In February 1939 she presided at the showing (for the first time outside London) of a centenary exhibition illustrating the life of Hill's work which had been brought north and explained by Miss Anne Lupton'.[13][14]

Time in Canada

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Lady Aberdeen by William James Topley, c. 1900.

In 1893, Lord Aberdeen was appointed the Governor General of Canada, a post he would occupy until 1898. The Aberdeens were no strangers to the country, as they had visited several times before; during their cross-Canada tour of 1890 they had even purchased a homestead in British Columbia.[15] On that same visit they crossed the prairies, and Lady Aberdeen was struck by the difficult and isolated lifestyle of pioneers. She subsequently founded the Aberdeen Association for Distribution of Good Literature to Settlers in the West, which sent settlers packages of books and magazines.[16]

Lady Aberdeen was dedicated to her role as Governor General's wife (Viceregal consort of Canada). She hosted many popular social events, such as winter festivals and costume balls, and was more politically involved than her predecessors. She travelled extensively, attending events and collecting information for her husband.[16] She regularly offered him advice, and in fact newspapers commented (sometimes critically) that it appeared she held the power in their relationship.[17]

In 1893, the year she arrived in Canada, Lady Aberdeen was named the first president of the International Council of Women, an organization that campaigns for women's rights. Consequently, she organized the National Council of Women of Canada and travelled the country establishing local branches.[18] One of the activists she worked with was Adelaide Hoodless, who went on to found the Women's Institute.[19]

Lady Aberdeen was the first sponsor of the Women's Art Association of Canada, founded in 1892.[20] Yet another of her endeavours was the May Court Club, an association that enabled well-off young women to do charitable work.[21] A key organization that she helped establish is the Victorian Order of Nurses, which aimed to give women better training and a higher salary so they could provide services to rural and disadvantaged populations. Lady Aberdeen and the group's supporters had to overcome resistance from the medical community before receiving the organization's royal charter in 1898.[16] That same year, Lord and Lady Aberdeen returned to England.

Time in Ireland

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Lord Aberdeen belonged to the Liberal Party, and when it regained power in parliament in 1906 he was named the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland for the second time. He had previously been Lord Lieutenant, or viceroy, for approximately six months in 1886. True to her nature, Lady Aberdeen identified herself with the cause of the Irish people and contributed to Lord Aberdeen's success over the course of his six months in office.[22] During that time, Lady Aberdeen had promoted Irish crafts and became chairman of the Association of Irish Industries.[23]

Their second term in Ireland lasted from 1906 to 1915, and this time she focused on healthcare and social well-being. Lady Aberdeen was involved with medical organizations like the Women's National Health Association of Ireland that were dedicated to treating and preventing tuberculosis and improving children's health. Her name lives on in Lady Ishbel Avenue, part of the former Purdysburn Fever Hospital site in south Belfast.

In 1911 she served as the first president of the Housing and Town Planning Association of Ireland, advocating for better housing and public spaces to address the prevalent poverty.[24] Lady Aberdeen's Cottages in Mullingar are named after her. Although she had been quite popular during her first stint in Ireland, she faced a different reception upon her return.

By 1906 nationalist sentiment had increased significantly in Ireland, and her ties to Britain were held against her. Furthermore, her determination to have her way meant that she was not always sensitive to the Irish perspective.[25]

Later life

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Ishbel, Marchioness of Aberdeen and Temair, by Ida Thoresen, 1935

Lord and Lady Aberdeen retired to their home in Scotland, but continued to be involved in social causes. Together they wrote a memoir, We Twa, that was published in 1925 to a positive reception and was followed by several expanded editions.[26] The Canadian Journal of Lady Aberdeen, 1893–1898, was edited by John Saywell and published by the Champlain Society in 1960, after her death.[27]

In 1931, Lady Aberdeen presented to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland a petition of 336 women calling for women to be ordained to the ministry, diaconate and eldership of the Kirk.[28] This resulted in a special commission, which recommended only that women should be ordained to the diaconate. It was not until 1968 that the Church of Scotland passed acts allowing women to become elders or enter the ministry.[29] She continued to serve as the president of the International Council of Women until 1936. She died of a heart attack on 18 April 1939 at Gordon House in Rubislaw, Aberdeen.[30][31]

Recognition

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Lady Aberdeen was the first woman to receive an honorary degree in Canada.[32] She is shown here in Queen's University robes.

In 1894, she received the Freedom of Limerick; she received the Freedom of Edinburgh in 1928 and was invested Dame Grand Cross in the Order of the British Empire (GBE) in 1931.[32]

The Lady-Aberdeen Bridge, which is the first bridge upstream to cross the Gatineau River, in Gatineau, Quebec, was renamed in her honour. After falling through the ice at the confluence of the Gatineau and Ottawa Rivers, Lady Aberdeen was rescued by locals.[33]

Lady Aberdeen is credited with introducing the Golden Retriever to Canada; her father, Sir Dudley Coutts Marjoribanks, 1st Baron Tweedmouth, a Scottish aristocrat, is best known as the originator of the breed.[34]

Aberdeen Avenue in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, was named after Lord and Lady Aberdeen who lived on Bay Street South between 1890 and 1898. They presided over the opening of the Hamilton Public Library on 16 September 1890.[35] Aberdeen Avenue in Toronto is also named after them. Aberdeen Street in Kingston, Ontario, is named for the couple; it is located near the Queen's University campus. Her popularity in Canada led to her being given 18 elaborate tea sets by the Canadian government. This gift was nothing to do with her title or marriage and was purely because of her own work and impact.

She was the first woman to be made an honorary member of the British Medical Association.[1]

The Ontario Heritage Trust erected a plaque for Lady Aberdeen 1857–1939 on the grounds of Rideau Hall, 1 Sussex Drive, Ottawa. "Widely respected for her organizational skills and strong commitment to public service, Lady Aberdeen served as president of the International Council of Women from 1893 to 1939. During the Earl of Aberdeen's term as governor-general, she helped to form the National Council of Women of Canada."[36] Lady Aberdeen was also named a National Historic Person with a plaque on Sussex Drive in Ottawa.[37]

Robert Gordon University has a campus building on its Garthdee campus named after her.

Party political offices
Preceded by President of the Women's Liberal Federation
1893–1894 		Succeeded by
Preceded by President of the Women's Liberal Federation
1902–1906 		Succeeded by

Notes

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  1. ^ later she used Ishbel, the Gaelic for Isabel[1]

References

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  1. ^ a b c Marjoribanks, Roger. "Ishbel Marjoribanks", The Marjoribanks Journal Number 4, August 1996; accessed 22 May 2010.
  2. ^ Welfare, Simon (2021). Fortune's Many Houses. Atria Books. p. 12. ISBN 9781982128647. Retrieved 28 September 2022.
  3. ^ Doris French Shackleton, Ishbel and the Empire: A Biography of Lady Aberdeen (Toronto: Dundurn Press, 1988), 19, 27. ISBN 9781550020380
  4. ^ Merna Forster, "Lady Aberdeen: A Lady of the Empire," 100 Canadian Heroines: Famous and Forgotten Faces, 23–25 (Toronto: Dundurn Press, 2004), 23. ISBN 9781550025149
  5. ^ Saywell, John T., ed. (1960). The Canadian Journal of Lady Aberdeen, 1893–1898. The Publications of the Champlain Society. p. 14. doi:10.3138/9781442618015. ISBN 978-1-4426-1801-5.
  6. ^ Anne-Michelle Slater, "The Noble Patroness Lady Aberdeen," in Learning from the Lasses: Women of the Patrick Geddes Circle, Walter Stephen (Edinburgh: Luath Press Limited, 2014), 166. ISBN 9781910021064
  7. ^ Saywell, John T., ed. (1960). The Canadian Journal of Lady Aberdeen, 1893–1898. The Publications of the Champlain Society. p. 15. doi:10.3138/9781442618015. ISBN 978-1-4426-1801-5.
  8. ^ Slater, "The Noble Patroness Lady Aberdeen," 166.
  9. ^ Slater, "The Noble Patroness Lady Aberdeen," 167.
  10. ^ "«Рівні права та можливості». Як Національна рада жінок в Оттаві змінила ставлення до слабкої статі? - ottawa1.one". 7 November 2022.
  11. ^ Shackleton, Ishbel and the Empire, 99.
  12. ^ Val McLeish, "Sunshine and sorrows: Canada, Ireland and Lady Aberdeen," in Colonial Lives Across the British Empire: Imperial careering in the long nineteenth century, David Lambert and Alan Lester (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2006), 261. ISBN 9780521612371
  13. ^ Pentland, Baroness (1952). A Bonnie Fechter: The Illustrated Life of Ishbel Marjoribanks, Marchioness of Aberdeen and Temair. Batsford. p. 231. Retrieved 29 September 2022. [Ishbel] presided at the showing (for the first time outside London) of a centenary exhibition illustrating the life of Hill's work which had been brought north and explained by Miss Anne Lupton. Ishbel presided at its opening on March 2nd...
  14. ^ "Octavia Hill Exhibition To Visit Aberdeen". Aberdeen Press and Journal. 9 February 1939. Retrieved 29 September 2022. OCTAVIA HILL EXHIBITION TO VISIT ABERDEEN ...yesterday... Lady Aberdeen opened the proceedings. which were carried on... [Also – The Scotsman Midlothian, Scotland 8 Mar 1939 OCTAVIA HILL – Edinburgh Exhibition HOUSING PIONEER ...In many ways Miss Octavia Hill was far ahead of us, even to-day, said Miss A. M. Lupton, vice-chairman of the Housing Centre, London, when yesterday morning she outlined the career of Octavia...]
  15. ^ Shackleton, Ishbel and the Empire, 103-4.
  16. ^ a b c Forster, "Lady Aberdeen," 24.
  17. ^ Shackleton, Ishbel and the Empire, 136.
  18. ^ Shackleton, Ishbel and the Empire, 152.
  19. ^ Crowley, Terry. "HUNTER, ADELAIDE SOPHIA". Dictionary of Canadian Biography. University of Toronto/Université Laval, 2003–. Retrieved 27 December 2016.
  20. ^ "Women's Art Association of Canada". Canadian Museum of History. Retrieved 5 July 2014.
  21. ^ Shackleton, Ishbel and the Empire, 252.
  22. ^ Saywell, John T., ed. (2013). The Canadian Journal of Lady Aberdeen, 1893–1898. The Publications of the Champlain Society. p. 19. doi:10.3138/9781442618015. ISBN 978-1-4426-1801-5.
  23. ^ Corrigan, Vawn (2020). Irish Tweed: History, Tradition, Fashion. O'Brien Press. ISBN 9781788490214.
  24. ^ Slater, "The Noble Patroness Lady Aberdeen," 168, 170, 171, 176, 179.
  25. ^ McLeish, "Sunshine and sorrows," 277, 283.
  26. ^ Marjorie Pentland, A Bonnie Fechter: The life of Ishbel Marjoribanks (London: B.T. Batsford Ltd, 1952), 201, 202.
  27. ^ The Man From Halifax: Sir John Thompson, Prime Minister, by Peter Busby Waite, Toronto 1985, University of Toronto Press, p. 527.
  28. ^ Pentland, A Bonnie Fechter, 207.
  29. ^ "Acts of the General Assembly – Legislative acts: 1931 to 2015". Church of Scotland. 21 March 2011. Retrieved 19 August 2015.
  30. ^ Pentland, A Bonnie Fechter, 235.
  31. ^ "Lady Aberdeen and Temair". The Times. No. 48283. London. 19 April 1939. p. 16.
  32. ^ a b (2013) Ishbel Hamilton-Gordon Undiscovered Scotland, Retrieved 10 April 2013
  33. ^ "Pont Lady-Aberdeen". Commission de toponymie du Québec (in French). Government of Quebec. Retrieved 19 October 2011.
  34. ^ Baldwin, Lorna (7 August 2013) Golden Retrievers Go ‘Home’ for Gathering in Scottish Highlands Public Broadcasting System, Newshour; retrieved 4 July 2014.
  35. ^ Houghton, Margaret (2002). Hamilton Street Names: An Illustrated Guide. James Lorimer & Co. Ltd. ISBN 1-55028-773-7.
  36. ^ (2015) Plaque information – Lady Aberdeen 1857–1938 Ontario Heritage Trust, an agency of the Canadian Ministry of Tourism, Culture & Sport, Retrieved 4 September 2015
  37. ^ "Parks Canada – Aberdeen, Lady (Ishbel Maria Marjoribanks) National Historic Person". Parks Canada. Retrieved 17 August 2017.

Bibliography

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  • G.E. Cokayne; with Vicary Gibbs, H.A. Doubleday, Geoffrey H. White, Duncan Warrand and Lord Howard de Walden, editors, The Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom, Extant, Extinct or Dormant, new ed., 13 volumes in 14 (1910–1959; reprint in 6 volumes, Gloucester: Alan Sutton Publishing, 2000), volume I, p. 18.
  • G.E. Cokayne; with Vicary Gibbs, H.A. Doubleday, Geoffrey H. White, Duncan Warrand and Lord Howard de Walden, editors, The Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom, Extant, Extinct or Dormant, new ed., 13 volumes in 14 (1910–1959; reprint in 6 volumes, Gloucester: Alan Sutton Publishing, 2000), volume XIII, page 209.
  • Ishbel Gordon, The Canadian Journal of Lady Aberdeen, 1893–1898, edited by John T. Saywell, Publications of the Champlain Society, № 38 (1960), ISBN 978-1-4426-1801-5.
  • Peter W. Hammond, editor, The Complete Peerage or a History of the House of Lords and All its Members From the Earliest Times, Volume XIV: Addenda & Corrigenda (Stroud, Gloucestershire: Sutton Publishing, 1998), p. 5.
  • Charles Mosley, editor, Burke's Peerage and Baronetage, 106th edition (Crans, Switzerland: Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd., 1999), volume 1, p. 11.
  • Veronica Strong-Boag, Liberal Hearts and Coronets: The Lives and Times of Ishbel Marjoribanks Gordon and John Campbell Gordon, the Aberdeens (University of Toronto Press, 10 March 2015), ISBN 978-1442626027
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