Bessie Craigmyle (1863–1933) was a Scottish poet who lived in
Aberdeen
Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...
.
Bessie was the daughter of an elderly schoolmaster, who retired when she was still a child. He was able to devote his energies to her education, providing an extensive library and a number of greenhouses in the family home for her use.
After qualifying as school teacher, she taught in the
Dr Williams School
Dr Williams' School was a school founded in Dolgellau in 1875. It opened its doors in 1878 and continued until it was closed in 1975.
Samuel Holland was actively involved in setting the school up and became its first Chairman of the Board of Gov ...
,
Dolgellau
Dolgellau () is a town and community in Gwynedd, north-west Wales, lying on the River Wnion, a tributary of the River Mawddach. It was the traditional county town of the historic county of Merionethshire ( cy, Meirionnydd, Sir Feirionnydd) un ...
,
[ which was a pioneering secondary school for girls.]Presbyterian
Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...
faith but came to question this as a teenager. At this time she met Margaret Dale, another daughter of a schoolmaster. They became close friends, but Bessie wanted more from the relationship. They shared an ambition to become doctors, and Dale accepted a well-paid job at St. Andrew's Scots School
)
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, Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...
. While in Argentina
Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...
she was engaged to be married, but then died. When news of this reached Craigmyle, she suffered from a breakdown. Following an accident on the 46th anniversary of Margaret's death in 1933 Bessie herself died.[
]
Works
* ''Poems and Translations'' 1886
* ''A Handful of Pansies'' 1888
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Craigmyle, Bessie
1863 births
1933 deaths
Scottish women poets
Scottish LGBT poets