Mary Dalrymple Maclagan 25 November 1878 – 7 January 1915

Mary was the daughter of David Douglas Maclagan and Mary Louisa Maclagan and the twin sister of Ann Stewart Maclagan.

Reference to the birth of the twins is given in the biography of the twin’s grandfather, David Maclagan by Rev Norman L Walker:
‘twin daughters! What a traversing of all our family traditions. The Lord bless dear Douglas and Mary and the sweet binary stars’
This was a commentary on the fact that David Maclagan had been one of seven brothers and he himself had five sons. His brothers included William Dalrymple Maclagan, Archbishop of York, and Sir Andrew Douglas Maclagan, Professor of Forensic Medicine at the University of Edinburgh. One of his nephews was Sir Eric Maclagan (1879 – 1951), Director and Secretary of the Victoria and Albert Museum.

Members of the family were well known for their philanthropic work, locally in Comrie and in Edinburgh. It is likely that Mary was the ‘Miss Maclagan’ referred to in ‘The Diary of a Free Kindergarten’ by Lileen Hardy published in 1913. This describes the kindergarten and the St Saviour’s Children’s Garden set up to provide schooling and play areas for children in the then overcrowded slum areas of the Canongate, Edinburgh.

Mary, her mother and sisters were members of the Scottish Episcopal Church. In Edinburgh, where the family lived at 5 Eton Terrace, they attended Old St Paul’s Church and Mary’s death is commemorated in both St Serf’s Comrie and in Old St Paul’s. In each church a plaque states:

‘Placed by her friends to the radiant memory of Mary Dalrymple Maclagan who loving life, left it with a smile because God called. On whose soul Jesus have mercy. We have seen his star in the east and are come to worship him.’

In Old St Paul’s a statue of the Virgin and child, was erected in Mary’s memory. The memorial for Mary was finally completed and placed in the church in 1920. The memorial is a life-sized sculpture of the Madonna and Child. The Old St Paul’s monthly magazine of October 1920 recorded that the figure had been modelled by Mr Deuchars of Edinburgh and the full–sized model of the memorial had been on view in the Royal Academy at its last exhibition and ‘had won considerable comment by its beauty and devotional feeling’.

A later report noted ‘Our memories naturally turn back to the ‘Eager Heart’ of the past, and it is a joy that the Memorial to Miss May Maclagan has been at last completed. All will agree that not only is the group of the Madonna and Child well conceived and devotional, but also that it is a very real enrichment to the Church. The Memorial was dedicated on Saturday 8th December, in the presence of a little company of Miss Maclagan’s friends. It ought to be a perpetual inspiration to the Congregation, both from the subject and its artistic and beautiful execution and a most fitting setting for the unforgettable memory of ‘Eager Heart’. The inscription most happily voices what those of us who knew and loved her’. The statue was the work of the Scottish sculptor, Louis Reid Deuchars, who was born in Comrie in 1870. In St Serf’s, Comrie, the chalice and paten were given in memory of Mary.

The portico over the front door of House of Ross was erected with a bequest in Mary’s will to build a portico ‘to welcome family and friends in the years to come’. It bears the inscription:
‘Matri Filia hunc porticum familiares excepturum erigendum legavit Maria Dalrymple Maclagan in ephiphania Dni MDCCCCXV’.

Mary’s twin sister is buried beside her:

Ann Stewart Maclagan (known as Nan) 25 November 1878 – 6 September 1964
The gravestone bears the following inscription:
‘To the blessed memory of Ann Stewart Maclagan
November 25 1878 – September 6 1964
The souls of the faithful are in the hand of God.’

Nan was a keen amateur photographer and together with her sisters did a great deal to encourage the young girls of Comrie to learn art and needlework. Examples of the Maclagan sister’s needlework were exhibited on the walls of the WRI Hall, Nurses Lane, Comrie.

After their mother’s death, Nan and Haya moved to Earnhope, Dalginross, where they were well known in the village and worked on behalf of St Serf’s Church, the Scottish Episcopal Church and other local organisations.

Nan died at the Sunday morning service in St Serf’s Church just hours before the Bishop of St Andrews the Rt. Rev J. W. A. Howe was to dedicate the church’s new gates, designed by Hew Lorimer, in memory of her sister Harriet, who had died the previous year.

Sir Robert Dundas of Comrie House said of Nan ‘She was one of Comrie’s great benefactors and did a tremendous amount of work for both old and young people’.

To the right of Mary and Nan’s graves is the grave of Mary’s close friend, Georgiana de Vesci.

Georgiana Victoria de Vesci 12 August 1881 – 22 April 1930
The gravestone bears the following inscription:
‘To the dear memory of Georgiana Victoria De Vesci,
daughter of Gerald and Ada H Wellesley
Born 12 August 1881
Died 22 April 1930
‘Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God. And so he giveth unto his beloved sleep.’

Georgiana Victoria Wellesley was born on 12 August 1881. She married Yvo Richard Vesey, 5th Viscount de Vesci of Abbey Leix on 24th April 1906. They were divorced in 1919. Georgiana died in London on 22 April 1930 at the age of 48.

Like the Maclagans, Georgiana was a member of the congregation at St Serf’s Episcopal Church, Comrie. In the summer months, she lived at Earnhope, Dalginross. The oak altar table, the lectern and the candlesticks which are still used in St Serf’s church were given by the congregation in her memory. She designed the Christmas Crib which is still used today.

To the right of Georgiana de Vesci’s grave is that of Mary and Nan’s sister,

Harriet Borthwick Maclagan (known as Haya) 29 May 1880 – 12 April 1963
The gravestone bears the following inscription:
‘To the sweet memory of Harriet Borthwick Maclagan
May 29 1880 – 12 April 1965
Thanks be to God
Rest eternal grant unto her O Lord and let light perpetual shine upon her’

Mary’s Parents
The graves to the left of Mary’s grave are those of her parents,

David Douglas Maclagan and Mary Louisa Maclagan.

David Douglas Maclagan 10 February 1850 - 15 July 1930
The gravestone bears the following inscription:
‘To the loved memory of David Douglas Maclagan
Born 10 February 1850
Died 15 July 1930
Blessed are the merciful with the lord there is mercy and with him is plenteous redemption.’

David Douglas Maclagan was the eldest son of David Maclagan (1824 – 1883), the Manager of the Edinburgh Life Assurance Company 1866 - 1883 and Jane Finlay the daughter of Gilbert Laurie Finlay, Manager of the Edinburgh Life Assurance Company 1833 – 1866 and later Director of the North British Insurance Company. David followed in his father’s footsteps into the world of Edinburgh business and became a stock broker with the firm Torrie, Maclagan and Brodie, with offices at 58 George St, Edinburgh. David was seven times president of the Edinburgh Stock Exchange.

David and Mary Louisa Kerr became engaged on January 2nd 1876 and were married at Bowdon, Cheshire on 7th April 1876. These events were recorded in David’s father’s diary; he wrote of his future daughter in law ‘She is a very sweet lassie and it is a special delight to me to feel that I have in her a true – and my first daughter’.

Mary Louisa Maclagan 7 May 1853 – 29 September 1943
The gravestone bears the following inscription:
‘To the loved memory of Mary Louisa Maclagan wife of David Douglas Maclagan
7 May 1853 – 29 September 1943
With long life will I satisfy her and shew her my salvation
Rest eternal grant unto her O Lord and let light perpetual shine upon her.’

Mrs Maclagan was born, Mary Louisa Kerr, on 7th May 1853 in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Her father, Archibald Kerr, born in Paisley, Renfrewshire, made his fortune as a merchant in Canada; he was involved in the establishment of the Canada Life Assurance Company. Mary’s mother, Catherine Maclaren was the sister of William Paterson Maclaren, originally from Stirling, who became a member of the business elite of Upper Canada.
In 1885 Mary was a founder member, along with Patrick Geddes, of the Edinburgh Social Union (ESU), a philanthropic organisation established to improve living conditions in slum areas of the city through housing provision, education and training, and the decoration of public spaces. She was an active member of the ESU’s Guild of Women Bookbinders, which met regularly at the Dean Studio under the guidance of Phoebe Traquair; and she was an accomplished woodcarver.

Mary’s relatives
The graves along the west wall are those of:

William Edward Maclagan 5 April 1858 – 10 October 1926
William Edward "Bill" Maclagan was a brother of David Douglas Maclagan. He was educated at the Edinburgh Academy and became a stock broker in London where he played rugby for London Scottish. He was one of the longest serving international rugby players during the early development of the sport, and was awarded 25 caps for Scotland. He led the first official British Isles team on its 1891 tour of South Africa and in 2009 his contribution to rugby was recognised with his induction into the IRB Hall of Fame.
The gravestone bears the following inscription:
‘William Edward Maclagan
5 April 1858 – 10 October 1926
He was greatly loved
Eternal rest give unto him O Lord and let perpetual light shine upon him.’
Bill’s wife, Frances, is buried next to him.
Frances Kathleen Maclagan, wife of William Edward Maclagan 3 March 1863 – 29 November 1947
The gravestone bears the following inscription:
‘Frances Kathleen Maclagan
3 March 1863 – 29 November 1947
‘In his presence is the fullness of joy.
Rest eternal grant unto her O Lord and let light perpetual shine upon her.’
The grave to the south nearest the gate is that of:

Nowell Ferguson 28 December 1901 – 30 October 1973
Nowell was the grand-daughter of David Douglas and Mary Louisa Maclagan and the daughter of Archie and Sophie Maclagan who are buried opposite. Nowell and her mother were frequent visitors to Comrie, staying at House of Ross and at Earnhope, Dalginross, Comrie.
The gravestone bears the following inscription:
Nowell Ferguson
28 December 1901
30 October 1973.

The graves along the east wall are those of:

Archibald Douglas Maclagan 9 June 1877 – 25 October 1942
Archie was the eldest child and only son of David Douglas and Mary Louisa Maclagan. Like his father, Archie became a stockbroker and was in business in Edinburgh.
The gravestone bears the following inscription:
‘Archibald Douglas Maclagan
9 June 1877 – 25 October 1942
I have loved thee with an everlasting love.
Rest eternal grant unto him O Lord and let light perpetual shine upon him.’
Archie’s wife, Sophie Mabel Green, is buried next to him.

Sophie Mabel Maclagan 26 October 1875 – 15 November 1966
The gravestone bears the following inscription:
Sophie Maclagan, wife of Archibald Douglas Maclagan
26 October 1875 – 15 November 1966
Blessed are the dead who die in the lord.’

The graves to the south nearest the gate on the east side are those of the Findlater Sisters

Jane Helen Findlater 4th November 1866 – 20 May 1946
and
Mary Williamena Findlater 26th March 1865 – 22nd November 1963

Jane and Mary Findlater were the daughters of Sarah Borthwick, hymn writer, and Eric Findlater, Free Church Minister.
Their mother, Sarah, was the daughter of Sarah Finlay and James Borthwick, insurance manager, and grand-daughter of William Finlay, Minister of Polmont. The Findlater sisters were second cousins of David Douglas Maclagan through relations on his mother’s side of the family. They were also related to Mary Maclagan as her sister, Katherine, had married William Finlay, Secretary of the Scottish Equitable Life Assurance Company.

The Findlater sisters grew up in Lochearnhead where their father was the Minister. They later lived in Prestonpans, Paignton and Torquay Devon, and in Rye before returning to Comrie in 1940. Their biographer, Eileen Mackenzie noted ‘in the early nineties they were seeing much of their mother’s kinswoman, Mary Maclagan, and meeting her friends. Some of these were of a type they had scarcely encountered before and they felt their knowledge of the world, of human nature and of culture was both enlarged and enriched. Here was life and excitement, Prestonpans by contrast seemed dull and flat when they returned to it’

Their mother, Sarah, and their aunt, Jane Borthwick, were well known hymn writers, perhaps best known for their translation from German of the hymn ‘Be Still My Soul.’

Mary Findlater referred to the Maclagans as ‘their Guardian Angels’ – and in the immediate post war years she lived at the Four Hollies, Comrie, a house owned by the Maclagans, across the two adjoining gardens to where Nan and Haya Maclagan lived at Earnhope.

Mary Findlater died in St Fillans at the age of 98. She was the elder of the two sisters and made her name with her first novel ‘The Green Graves of Balgowrie’ in 1896. Between them the sisters produced 23 books including essays, short stories and Mary’s ‘Songs and Sonnets’ (1895). Her ‘The Rose of Joy’ was translated into German and used as a theme of decoration when the sisters were on an American tour in 1905.

The grave of Jane Helen Findlater bears the inscription:
Jane Helen Findlater
4 November 1866 – 20 May 1946
Jesus said I am the light of the world. He that followeth me shall not walk in darkness but shall have light of life.’
The gravestone of Mary Williamina bears the inscription:
Mary Williamina Findlater
26th March 1865 – 22nd November 1963
He that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God.