Margaret Hope MacPherson (born MacLean; 29 June 1908 – 21 October 2001) was a Scottish

crofter A croft is a fenced or enclosed area of land, usually small and arable, and usually, but not always, with a crofter's dwelling thereon. A crofter is one who has tenure and use of the land, typically as a tenant farmer, especially in rural area ...

, politician, author, and activist. During her later life, she was known as the "First Lady of Crofting".

Early life

MacPherson was born Margaret Hope MacLean on 29 June 1908 in

Colinton Colinton ( gd, Baile Cholgain) is a suburb of Edinburgh, Scotland situated south-west of the city centre. Up until the late 18th century it appears on maps as Collington. It is bordered by Dreghorn to the south and Craiglockhart to the north ...

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

, Scotland. Her father,

Norman Maclean Norman Fitzroy Maclean (December 23, 1902August 2, 1990) was a Scottish-American professor at the University of Chicago who became, following his retirement, a major figure in American literature. Maclean is best known for his collection of no ...

, was a minister of the

Church of Scotland The Church of Scotland ( sco, The Kirk o Scotland; gd, Eaglais na h-Alba) is the national church in Scotland. The Church of Scotland was principally shaped by John Knox, in the Scottish Reformation, Reformation of 1560, when it split from t ...

. When she was seven, her father was called to be minister of

St Cuthbert's Church, Edinburgh The Parish Church of St Cuthbert is a parish church of the Church of Scotland in central Edinburgh. Probably founded in the 7th century, the church once covered an extensive parish around the burgh of Edinburgh. The church's current building was ...

. She had a comfortable,

middle class The middle class refers to a class of people in the middle of a social hierarchy, often defined by occupation, income, education, or social status. The term has historically been associated with modernity, capitalism and political debate. Commo ...

upbringing due to her father's position. She stated in an interview in later life: "We were comfortably off, we had three servants, and it was a rich parish". MacPherson was privately educated at a school in Edinburgh. She was also sent abroad to spend nine months at a school in

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

. She then studied at the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

. Her family owned a holiday house on the

Isle of Skye The Isle of Skye, or simply Skye (; gd, An t-Eilean Sgitheanach or ; sco, Isle o Skye), is the largest and northernmost of the major islands in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. The island's peninsulas radiate from a mountainous hub dominated ...

, where she spent her childhood summers.

Adult life

Upon graduating from the

, she travelled to

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

and married Duncan MacPherson. Duncan was the son of

crofters A croft is a fenced or enclosed area of land, usually small and arable, and usually, but not always, with a crofter's dwelling thereon. A crofter is one who has tenure and use of the land, typically as a tenant farmer, especially in rural area ...

who lived up the road from the MacLean's holiday home on

Skye The Isle of Skye, or simply Skye (; gd, An t-Eilean Sgitheanach or ; sco, Isle o Skye), is the largest and northernmost of the major islands in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. The island's peninsulas radiate from a mountainous hub dominated b ...

. He was a

seaman Seaman may refer to: * Sailor, a member of a marine watercraft's crew * Seaman (rank), a military rank in some navies * Seaman (name) (including a list of people with the name) * ''Seaman'' (video game), a 1999 simulation video game for the Seg ...

but returned to his family home during the harvest time. Their relationship first began when Margaret was a teenager. However, because Margaret had come from a well-to-do family and Duncan was working class, the couple felt the wrath of her parents. She later stated: "My father cut me off and never talked to me again for marrying beneath myself". After their marriage in Glasgow, the couple moved to Skye. There, Duncan worked as a drover, moving cattle and sheep from the Isle of Skye to mainland Scotland to be sold. However, their first few years of marriage were spent in hardship. The

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

meant that there was little money to be made in droving. Margaret later recalled; "no matter how cheaply Duncan bought lambs or ewes on Skye, by the time he got them to the mainland the price had fallen". Eventually, they were able to lease a croft on Skye from the

Forestry Commission The Forestry Commission is a non-ministerial government department responsible for the management of publicly owned forests and the regulation of both public and private forestry in England. The Forestry Commission was previously also respon ...

, and they spent the next ten years rearing cattle.

Political career

In 1945, MacPherson defeated Sir Godfrey Fell (a retired colonial official) to be elected to represent

Portree Portree (; gd, Port Rìgh, ) is the largest town on, and capital of, the Isle of Skye in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. Murray, W.H. (1966) ''The Hebrides''. London. Heinemann. Pages 154-155. It is the location for the only secondary school o ...

Inverness County Council Inverness-shire ( gd, Siorrachd Inbhir Nis) is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area of Scotland. Covering much of the Highlands and Outer Hebrides, it is Scotland's largest county, though one of the smallest in populatio ...

. During her time as a

local councillor A councillor is an elected representative for a local government council in some countries. Canada Due to the control that the provinces have over their municipal governments, terms that councillors serve vary from province to province. Unl ...

, her politics changed and she moved from the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

to the Labour Party. She stepped down from the council in 1949. MacPherson was active in her local Labour Party. From 1961 to 1984, she served as Secretary of the Skye Labour Party. She was part of a group known as the "Highland Luxemburgists" (that included

Brian Wilson Brian Douglas Wilson (born June 20, 1942) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer who co-founded the Beach Boys. Often called a genius for his novel approaches to pop composition, extraordinary musical aptitude, and m ...

and

Allan Campbell McLean Allan Campbell McLean (18 November 1922 – 27 October 1989)Brian Wilson, 'Skye dignity and socialism', ''The Guardian'', 2 November 1989. was a British writer and political activist. Biography McLean was born on Walney Island, Barrow-in-Furn ...

), who attempted each year at the

party conference The terms party conference (UK English), political convention ( US and Canadian English), and party congress usually refer to a general meeting of a political party. The conference is attended by certain delegates who represent the party membe ...

to pass a resolution to bring the crofts back into common ownership. However, the Labour Party leadership ignored the resolution and supported right of crofters to purchase their land. In 1991, at the age of 83, she stopped

canvassing Canvassing is the systematic initiation of direct contact with individuals, commonly used during political campaigns. Canvassing can be done for many reasons: political campaigning, grassroots fundraising, community awareness, membership driv ...

door-to-door for the party at elections. In 1951, MacPherson was appointed to the Commission of Enquiry into Crofting Conditions led by Sir Thomas Taylor (and therefore also known as the ''Taylor Commission''). She argued for the nationalisation of all farms above 3,000 acres and against crofters being able to purchase their crofts, as she was a supporter of

community ownership Community-Managed assets or organizations are those that are owned and controlled through some representative mechanisms that allow a community to influence their operation or use and to enjoy the benefits arising. Benefits of ownership in infrastr ...

. The Commission published their report in 1954. This caused the establishment of the

Crofters Commission The Crofting Commission ( gd, Coimisean na Croitearachd) took the place of the Crofters Commission ( gd, Coimisean nan Croitearan) on 1 April 2012 as the statutory regulator for crofting in Scotland. Based in Inverness, it is an executive non-d ...

(the

statutory regulator A regulatory agency (regulatory body, regulator) or independent agency (independent regulatory agency) is a government authority that is responsible for exercising autonomous dominion over some area of human activity in a licensing and regulatin ...

for crofting in Scotland).

Author

From the 1960s, MacPherson wrote children's fiction books. They were inspired by Highland culture and

Scottish history The recorded begins with the arrival of the Roman Empire in the 1st century, when the province of Britannia reached as far north as the Antonine Wall. North of this was Caledonia, inhabited by the ''Picti'', whose uprisings forced Rom ...

. Her initial attempts at publication were unsuccessful but her first book, ''The

Shinty Shinty ( gd, camanachd, iomain) is a team game played with sticks and a ball. Shinty is now played mainly in the Scottish Highlands and amongst Highland migrants to the big cities of Scotland, but it was formerly more widespread in Scotland, an ...

Boys'', was eventually published in 1963. She had another six books published, including ''The Rough Road'' (1965), ''Ponies on Hire'' (1967), ''The New Tenants'' (1968), ''The

Battle of the Braes A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...

'' (1970), and ''The Boy on the Roof'' (1972).

Personal life

Margaret married Duncan MacPherson after she graduated from university. Together, they had seven sons. On 21 October 2001, MacPherson died in

, Scotland. She was 93 years old. Her funeral was held at the Portree Parish Church on 24 October.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:MacPherson, Margaret Hope 1908 births 2001 deaths Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Luxemburgists Members of Inverness County Council Politicians from Edinburgh Scottish children's writers Scottish farmers Scottish Labour councillors Scottish Liberal Party councillors Scottish women novelists Women councillors in Scotland