Margaret Mackay (
pen name
A pen name, also called a ''nom de plume'' or a literary double, is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name.
A pen na ...
, Mrs. Colonel Mackay; 1802–1887) was a Scottish author of several books.
[ ] ''Her Thoughts Redeemed; or, Lays of Leisure Hours'' (1854), contained 72 of her
hymns and poems. Among her prose works, ''The Family at Heatherdale'' (1837) was most widely read. Of all funeral hymns in her era, none was sung more often than Mackay's, "Asleep in Jesus! blessed sleep";
it was first published in ''The Amethyst: or Christian's Annual'' (
Edinburgh, 1832).
Biography
Margaret Mackay was born at
Inverness
Inverness (; from the gd, Inbhir Nis , meaning "Mouth of the River Ness"; sco, Innerness) is a city in the Scottish Highlands. It is the administrative centre for The Highland Council and is regarded as the capital of the Highlands. Histori ...
, Scotland, in 1802.
Her father, Captain Robert Mackay of Hedgefield, near Inverness, was a native of
Sutherland
Sutherland ( gd, Cataibh) is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area in the Highlands of Scotland. Its county town is Dornoch. Sutherland borders Caithness and Moray Firth to the east, Ross-shire and Cromartyshire (later ...
-an old officer who served in several South American campaigns. Her mother was connected with one of the older leading families of Inverness. When attending the first General Assembly of the
Church of Scotland at Inverness, Dr.
Alexander Chalmers, being a friend of the family, resided at Hedgefield.
In 1820, she married Lieutenant Colonel William Mackay, an officer in the English army
in the Sixty-eighth Light Infantry,
who served in the
Peninsular War.
Mackay spent her limited income in helping every good cause. She had a wide circle of acquaintances in the north of Scotland and in different parts of England, where she often resided.
She was the author of a number of volumes, which were well received—all of them being of an evangelical, thoughtful, and instructive nature. These included: ''The Family of Heatherdale'', ''The Wycliffites'', ''Christian Life in the Camp'', ''Sabbath Musings'', and others.
In the introduction to her book-''Thoughts Redeemed, or Lays of Leisure Hours'' (Edinburgh: W. P. Kennedy, 1854) she remarked:-
In a measure, Mackay shared with her reader the background to this hymn which went around the world, and was sung in churches of all communions.
Smith included the hymn in his ''Songs from the Hearts of Women: One Hundred Famous Hymns and Their Writers'' (1903).
Margaret Mackay died January 5, 1887.
She was interred in the family burying ground at Inverness. On her grave are simply inscribed the first words of her hymn, "Asleep in Jesus!"
Selected works
* ''The Family at Heatherdale: Or, the Influence of Christian Principles'', 1837
text
* ''The Wycliffites, Or, England in the Fifteenth Century'', 1846
text
* ''Thoughts Redeemed, or Lays of Leisure Hours'', 1854
text
* ''Sabbath Musings throughout the Year'', 1854
text
* ''False appearances'', 1859
text
* ''Clifford Castle: A Tale of the English Reformation'', 1867
text
* ''Christian Life in the Camp''
See also
*
Mackay of Aberach
Notes
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mackay, Margaret
1802 births
1887 deaths
19th-century Scottish writers
19th-century Scottish women writers
19th-century hymnwriters
Scottish hymnwriters
British women hymnwriters
People from Inverness