Ishbel Hamilton-Gordon, Marchioness of Aberdeen and Temair

Isabella Weir-Hogg
Signature

Ishbel Maria Hamilton-Gordon, Marchioness of Aberdeen and Temair,

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]

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.

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]

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

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 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]

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.