The grave of Sarah Siddons Mair, St Cuthbert's Churchyard, Edinburgh

Dame Sarah Elizabeth Siddons Mair (23 September 1846 – 13 February 1941) was a Scottish campaigner for women's education and

women's suffrage Women's suffrage is the right of women to vote in elections. Beginning in the start of the 18th century, some people sought to change voting laws to allow women to vote. Liberal political parties would go on to grant women the right to vot ...

. She was active in the

Edinburgh Association for the University Education of Women The Edinburgh Association for the University Education of Women (EAUEW), originally known as the Edinburgh Ladies' Educational Association (ELEA), campaigned for higher education for women from 1867 until 1892 when Scottish universities started ...

and the Ladies' Edinburgh Debating Society, which she founded before she was 20.

Life

Born into a well-to-do family in

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 ...

, Sarah was the daughter of Major Arthur Mair of the 62nd Regiment and Elizabeth Harriot Mair (''née'' Siddons). She was the granddaughter of actor

Henry Siddons Henry Siddons (4 October 1774 – 12 April 1815) was an English actor and theatrical manager, now remembered as a writer on gesture. Life Siddons was the eldest child of Sarah Siddons, and was educated at Charterhouse School, being intend ...

and great-granddaughter of actress

Sarah Siddons Sarah Siddons (''née'' Kemble; 5 July 1755 – 8 June 1831) was a Welsh actress, the best-known tragedienne of the 18th century. Contemporaneous critic William Hazlitt dubbed Siddons as "tragedy personified". She was the elder sister of John ...

. The family lived at 29 Abercromby Place in Edinburgh's Second New Town. When Mair was 19, she started the Edinburgh Essay Society, soon renamed the Ladies' Edinburgh Debating Society. She became its president and remained so for 70 years. The society met in the spacious Mair family home in the

New Town New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...

and offered Edinburgh women of a certain background the chance to discuss social questions, while learning public speaking and debating skills. They published ''The Attempt'', renamed the ''Ladies' Edinburgh Magazine'' in 1876, which linked them with readers across the country. It was edited by Mair and Helen Campbell Reid.

Charlotte Mary Yonge Charlotte Mary Yonge (1823–1901) was an English novelist, who wrote in the service of the church. Her abundant books helped to spread the influence of the Oxford Movement and show her keen interest in matters of public health and sanitation. ...

contributed and Mair reviewed in it

Josephine Butler Josephine Elizabeth Butler (' Grey; 13 April 1828 – 30 December 1906) was an English feminist and social reformer in the Victorian era. She campaigned for women's suffrage, the right of women to better education, the end of coverture ...

's essay collection ''Women's Work and Women's Culture''. The society and its headquarters in the Mair dining-room were the focus of much effort to promote women's rights and education, spearheaded by women from usually prosperous professional families. Louisa and

Flora Stevenson Flora Clift Stevenson (30 October 1839 – 28 September 1905) was a British social reformer with a special interest in education for poor or neglected children, and in education for girls and equal university access for women. She was one of t ...

were early members, as were

Louisa Lumsden Dame Louisa Innes Lumsden (31 December 1840 – 2 January 1935) born in Aberdeen, Scotland, was a pioneer of female education. Lumsden was one of the first five students Hitchen College, later Girton College, Cambridge in 1869 and one of the fi ...

, founder of

St Leonards School St Leonards School is an independent boarding and day school for pupils aged 4–19 in St Andrews, Fife, Scotland. Founded in 1877 as St Andrews School for Girls Company, it adopted the St Leonards name upon moving to its current premises, the s ...

St Andrews St Andrews ( la, S. Andrea(s); sco, Saunt Aundraes; gd, Cill Rìmhinn) is a town on the east coast of Fife in Scotland, southeast of Dundee and northeast of Edinburgh. St Andrews had a recorded population of 16,800 , making it Fife's fou ...

, and Charlotte Carmichael, mother of

Marie Stopes Marie Charlotte Carmichael Stopes (15 October 1880 – 2 October 1958) was a British author, palaeobotanist and campaigner for eugenics and women's rights. She made significant contributions to plant palaeontology and coal classification, ...

. The society debated at intervals the question of women's suffrage, with Mair a lifelong supporter of it. In 1866 and 1872, she found that she and her fellow-

suffragist Suffrage, political franchise, or simply franchise, is the right to vote in public, political elections and referendums (although the term is sometimes used for any right to vote). In some languages, and occasionally in English, the right to v ...

s were in the minority, but from 1884 onwards motions in favour of women's suffrage were carried by rising majorities. Mair belonged to the

Edinburgh National Society for Women's Suffrage The Edinburgh National Society for Women's Suffrage was a leading group for women's rights in Scotland. It was one of the first three suffrage societies to be formed in Britain. History The Edinburgh Ladies' Emancipation Society was at one time t ...

, which had been founded in 1867 as the first Scottish society to campaign for votes for women, and sent speakers to events all over Scotland, including Dr

Elsie Inglis Eliza Maud "Elsie" Inglis (16 August 1864 – 26 November 1917) was a Scottish doctor, surgeon, teacher, Women's suffrage, suffragist, and founder of the Scottish Women's Hospitals for Foreign Service, Scottish Women's Hospitals. She was the ...

, its honorary secretary from 1906. Mair later became its president, and then president of the Scottish Federation of Women's Suffrage Societies. She often managed to mediate between groups with different approaches to campaigning for the vote. Once women over 30 were enfranchised in 1918, she led the Suffrage Society into a new phase as the Society for Equal Citizenship. Sarah Mair was an important member of the Edinburgh Ladies' Educational Association in 1867, present at the founding meeting, but not considered a founder member, presumably because she was unmarried and rather young. She and

Mary Crudelius Mary Crudelius (née McLean) (23 February 1839 – 24 July 1877) was a British campaigner for women's education who lived in Leith, Edinburgh in the 1860s and 1870s, and was a supporter of women's suffrage. She was a founder of the Edinburgh ...

were willing to take one step at a time towards their goal of equal access to university education for both sexes, with Mair believing a practical approach would bring the right results. However, they ultimately wanted more than a separate system for women, however good the teaching. In 1876 came an effort to improve women's pre-university education. Classes were offered in St George's Hall to help them gain university entrance, with correspondence courses for those unable to attend. In 1886 she was involved with Mary Russell Walker and others in setting up St George's Training College, followed by St. George's High School for Girls in 1888. The training college was the first Scottish institution to train women to teach in secondary schools and the high school the first Scottish day school for girls that taught them up to university entrance level. Girls from St George's were among the first female graduates of

Edinburgh University 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 1582 ...

. Mary Russell Walker returned from London in 1885, qualified to lead the college and later the school. During the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

Mair's association with

, begun as fellow suffragists, continued as she was president of the Hospitals Committee of the Scottish Women's Hospitals for Foreign Service, whose funding was raised from contacts in Edinburgh and beyond. Mair also acted as treasurer of the

's Masson Hall project, and chaired committees of the

Bruntsfield Hospital Bruntsfield Hospital was a women's hospital based in the Bruntsfield area of Edinburgh, Scotland. History The hospital had its origins in public dispensary opened by Sophia Jex-Blake at 73 Grove Street in September 1878. It moved to 6 Grove St ...

for Women and Children and the

Elsie Inglis Memorial Maternity Hospital The Elsie Inglis Memorial Maternity Hospital was a maternity hospital in Holyrood, Edinburgh, Scotland. History The hospital was established with surplus funds arising from disbandment of the Scottish Women's Hospitals for Foreign Service, an o ...

. She also found time to prove a woman could have skill in both

archery Archery is the sport, practice, or skill of using a bow to shoot arrows.Paterson ''Encyclopaedia of Archery'' p. 17 The word comes from the Latin ''arcus'', meaning bow. Historically, archery has been used for hunting and combat. In m ...

and

chess Chess is a board game for two players, called White and Black, each controlling an army of chess pieces in their color, with the objective to checkmate the opponent's king. It is sometimes called international chess or Western chess to disti ...

, and belonged to the Ladies' Chess Club.

Awards

Mair's work for women's education led to an honorary

LLD Legum Doctor (Latin: “teacher of the laws”) (LL.D.) or, in English, Doctor of Laws, is a doctorate-level academic degree in law or an honorary degree, depending on the jurisdiction. The double “L” in the abbreviation#Plural forms, abbrev ...

from Edinburgh University in 1920 and a DBE in 1931.

Remembrance

Mair's death at her niece's home in

Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (), abbreviated Bucks, is a ceremonial county in South East England that borders Greater London to the south-east, Berkshire to the south, Oxfordshire to the west, Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-ea ...

was followed by a funeral service in St Mary's Cathedral, Edinburgh. An obituary in ''

The Scotsman ''The Scotsman'' is a Scottish compact newspaper and daily news website headquartered in Edinburgh. First established as a radical political paper in 1817, it began daily publication in 1855 and remained a broadsheet until August 2004. Its par ...

'' called her a "woman pioneer" and a "venerable and notable Edinburgh lady, one who has helped make history in her time." She is remembered also on her paternal family's memorial in St. Cuthbert's Churchyard, Edinburgh, and as her family's nurse, which is noted on the stone. The grave lies on the north wall of the north section, backing onto the adjacent churchyard at St Johns.

References

Sources

*Elizabeth Crawford, ''The Women's Suffrage Movement: A Reference Guide 1866–1928'' (Routledge 1999), ISBN 184142031X

External links