Jessie Saxby

Jessie Margaret Saxby (30 June 1842 – 27 December 1940) was an author and folklorist from Unst, one of the Shetland Islands of Scotland. She also had political interests and was a suffragette.[1]

Family

Born on 30 June 1842 at Halligarth,[lower-alpha 1] Baltasound, on the Shetland Island of Unst, Saxby's father was Laurence Edmondston, a medical doctor and naturalist; her mother was Eliza Macbrair (1801–1869),[3] a journalist[4] and published author from a Glasgow family.[3] The couple had ten other children including Thomas, a botanist.[4] By her own admission, Saxby received little formal education.[3]

Henry Saxby, a London born ornithologist and doctor, became Saxby's husband on 16 December 1859.[5] The couple had six children but their only daughter died when an infant.[3] They lived on Unst and Henry was a partner in his father-in-law's medical practice until 1871 when poor health necessitated a move to Edinburgh.[5] The following year, in 1872, the family re-located to Inveraray but Henry died aged 37 on 4 September 1873.[5] As a widow with a family to support, Jessie had to rely on the income from her writing[3] and returned to Edinburgh for 17 years before finally moving back to Unst in 1890.[1]

Career

Saxby's career started in the 1860s when several of her tales and some poetry were printed. Lichens from the Old Rock, a poetry book, was published in 1868, the first of the 47 books she authored.[3] The subject matter of her books was varied, covering diverse topics such as romantic fiction, folklore but particularly boys adventure stories.[3] She also wrote around 100 articles that were printed in newspapers, journals and magazines like Life and Work and The Boy's Own Paper.[3]

References

Notes

  1. ↑ Halligarth is the house built for Saxby's father in 1832; it was extended in 1839 with the addition of another house as the family grew in size.[2]

Citations

  1. 1 2 Ewan, Innes & Reynolds (2006), p. 313
  2. ↑ "Baltasound, Halligarth House", Historic Scotland, archived from the original on 30 July 2015, retrieved 30 July 2015
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Smith, Brian (2004), "Saxby, Jessie Margaret Edmondston (1842–1940)", Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.), Oxford University Press, retrieved 29 July 2015 (subscription or UK public library membership required)
  4. 1 2 Allen, D. E. (2004), "Edmondston, Thomas (1825–1846)", Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.), Oxford University Press, retrieved 29 July 2015 (subscription or UK public library membership required)
  5. 1 2 3 Woodward, B. B.; Wallis, Patrick (2004), "Saxby, Henry Linckmyer (1836–1873)", Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.), Oxford University Press, retrieved 29 July 2015 (subscription or UK public library membership required)

Bibliography

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