Catherine Forrester Paton (1 June 1855 – 8 August 1914) was a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

philanthropist, temperance campaigner and the founder of women's missionary training in Scotland.

Life

Paton was born in

Alloa Alloa (Received Pronunciation ; educated Scottish pronunciation /ˈaloʊa/; gd, Alamhagh, possibly meaning "rock plain") is a town in Clackmannanshire in the Central Lowlands of Scotland. It is on the north bank of the Forth at the spot where ...

. Her parents were Alexander and Mary Forrester, but the family changed their name to Forrester Paton. Her mother's birth name was Paton and her father John Paton employed Alexander as an accountant at his large woollen business John Paton & Son. She was brought up in a religious household and she had the ambition to be a missionary but her health was considered poor. Aged fifteen she returned home from education to the family home which she inherited in 1883. In 1880 she took a leading role in the

YWCA The Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA) is a nonprofit organization with a focus on empowerment, leadership, and rights of women, young women, and girls in more than 100 countries. The World office is currently based in Geneva, Swi ...

and she would host tea on Sundays for the young women. She inherited a fortune from her parents and that enable her to concentrate on her interest in temperance. In 1876 she joined the

British Women's Temperance Association The White Ribbon Association (WRA), previously known as the British Women's Temperance Association (BWTA), is an organization that seeks to educate the public about alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs, as well as gambling. Founding of British Wom ...

and served as the secretary of the newly formed branch in Alloa. In 1906 she was elected as the President of the temperance organisation BWTA Scottish Christian Union. She stressed in her acceptance speech that she was driven entirely by her Christian faith. She allowed her home in Glasgow to be used as a training location for women who wanted to be missionaries. Women came from Britain and abroad and during her life 220 people were trained there. Paton died in

Grantown-on-Spey Grantown-on-Spey ( gd, Baile nan Granndach) is a town in the Highland Council Area, Counties of Scotland, historically within the county of Moray. It is located on a low plateau at Freuchie beside the river Spey at the northern edge of the Cairng ...

whilst suffering with pleurisy. Her nephews included

Ernest Forrester Paton Ernest Forrester Paton (1891–1970), also known by the Thamil name Chinnannan, was a Scottish United Free Church medical missionary to Pune, part of then-Bombay Presidency. He was the co-founder of ''Christukula Ashram'', the first Protestan ...

and Colin Forrester-Paton.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Paton, Catherine Forrester 1855 births 1914 deaths People from Alloa Scottish philanthropists British temperance activists 19th-century British philanthropists