The Famous Faces of Clan MacEwen

Elspeth McEwen was an old lady who lived alone in a small house nestled in the hills of Galloway. She was a solitary figure who was known to have possessed ‘superior education,’ displaying a knack for healing any number of ailments with homemade concoctions of herbs and plants. However, rather than respect and admiration, her skills drew building suspicion from other members of the community, who likely had a deep-seated aversion to seeing a woman living and thriving independently.

As time went on, Elspeth began to be blamed for more and more misfortunes in the area. Whispers started to spread that if your chickens would not lay eggs, Elspeth had surely cursed them, and if your livestock had fallen ill, you must have done something to invoke the old lady’s rage. Many even believed that Elspeth had magical tools at her disposal that she used to wreak havoc on her neighbour’s lives. The story went that she had a small wooden peg that she would use to tap a cow’s udders, thereby stealing all the milk for herself.

The rumours grew, and her peers became increasingly spiteful, until in 1696 Elspeth was summoned to the local church to stand trail on charges of witchcraft. She was then imprisoned at the Kirkcudbright Tolbooth where she was questioned and tortured for 2 whole years. Her treatment was so horrendous that Elspeth begged to be put to death, but her tormentors would not give up until they received a confession. Elspeth resisted, appalled by the idea of allowing the slander against her to be validated, but eventually she could no longer withstand the constant torment and cruelty, so she ‘confessed’ to witchcraft in order to end her suffering.

On the 24^th of August 1698 she was taken to Silver Craigs in Kirkcudbright where she was strangled and then burnt at the stake; she was the last woman to suffer this fate in Galloway, and one of the last in Scotland.

Ian McEwan was born in Aldershot, Hampshire, on the 21^st of June 1948. His father, David McEwan, was a Scotsman who worked as a major in the army. The young McEwan spent much of his childhood travelling, living in East Asia, Germany, and North Africa, where his father was posted.

The family returned to England to settle long-term when he was 12. He attended secondary school in Suffolk before going on to study an undergrad degree in English literature at the University of Sussex, and a master’s degree in literature at the University of East Anglia.

McEwan’s talent was recognised from the very start of his career, with his first published book, a collection of short stories called ‘First Love, Last Rites,’ winning the Somerset Maughan Award in 1976. He quickly followed this with two popular novels, ‘The Cement Garden,’ and ‘The Comfort of Strangers,’ which were both adapted into films. His third literary novel, ‘The Child in Time,’ won the 1987 Whitbread Novel Award.

After the success of his early works, McEwan’s career continued to go from strength to strength. His 1997 novel, ‘Enduring Love,’ was extremely popular with readers and critics alike, while ‘Atonement,’ released in 2001, also received considerable acclaim, even being added to the secondary school curriculum.

McEwan’s accolades seem almost endless; he has been nominated for the Booker Prize 6 times, winning once for ‘Amsterdam,’ and he is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, the Royal Society of Arts, and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences!

He has also been awarded an honorary degree of Doctor of Literature by UCL and named among the ’50 greatest British writers since 1945,’ by the Times.

William McEwan was born in 1827 in Alloa to John McEwan, a local shipowner, and his wife, Anne Jeffrey. He was educated locally at Alloa Academy before moving to Glasgow seeking to improve his working opportunities. At first, he joined the merchant firm, Patersons, but found the job to be unstimulating and disappointingly paid, so he spent a lot of time furthering his education by attending lectures at Glasgow University and visiting the theatre.

After a few years, he was offered a new job as a clerk in a mill in Huddersfield, which he decided to take. However, this also proved to be unsatisfying and dull. Luckily, a new opportunity that would prove to be life changing was just about to present itself!

In 1851, McEwan’s uncle, John Jeffrey, asked William to complete a course of technical and management training with him at the Heriot brewery in Edinburgh. He jumped at the chance and was delighted to find that this job finally offered him a great sense of excitement, purpose, and passion. He finished his apprenticeship in 1856, and quickly established his own business at the Fountain brewery, in Fountainbridge, Edinburgh.

He immediately enjoyed a remarkable level of success; within just 4 years, the company’s profits were reported to be around £40,000 per annum!

By the early 1860s, McEwans had expanded from Scotland to Newcastle, Sunderland, Gateshead, Durham, and Carlisle, and by 1870 they had gone global with destinations including India, the Caribbean, Chile, and Egypt!

By 1889, William McEwan and Co was reported to be worth £408,000, and had a capital of £1 million, a truly staggering growth.

As if this wasn’t impressive enough, McEwan also forged a path in politics, becoming a member of parliament for Edinburgh Central after the 1886 general elections representing the Liberal Party. He returned in 1895 and continued to serve in the same position until 1900. He also generously gave back to the city of Edinburgh in a variety of ways: presenting paintings to the National Gallery of Scotland, and donating £115,000 to the University of Edinburgh to build the magnificent McEwan Hall.

Image Sources:

Clock Tower, Tollbooth (Kirkcudbright) - © Billy McCrorie (cc-by-sa/2.0)

Ian McEwan - By Fronteiras do Pensamento - Ian McEwan no Fronteiras do Pensamento São Paulo 2016, CC BY-SA 2.0

McEwan Hall Doorway - By kim traynor, CC BY-SA 2.0