Inside the Aberdeen Female Orphan Asylum

Laying the Foundations

Placing implicit reliance on Almighty God, I implore a continuance of His Blessing on the Asylum; and the little ones fostered within its walls- may they, through Grace, be trained for this life, and for a more enduring existence hereafter - Mary Elmslie, 1^st October 1845.

 

The Aberdeen Female Orphan Asylum was founded by Mary Elmslie in 1840, an affluent, childless widow. Mary was born on 17th September 1780 to parents John Calder, a Wine Merchant, and his wife Anne. In 1811 Mary married James Elmslie who, like her father, was a successful partner in a firm of East India Merchants who had offices in London and Gibraltar. The couple moved to London and settled in Epsom. Mary's husband died in 1833 and desired that a portion of his wealth be put towards the establishment of a poor asylum. Throughout Mary's life she felt compassion towards orphans and during her husband’s final months a passing conversation between them regarding that class of society in Aberdeen led her to establish the institution. 19 Albyn Place was designed by Archibald Simpson and within two years the entire building was complete, with the foundation stone laid on 26^th July 1837.

The orphanage had capacity for up to 100 girls. According to the 1883-1884 Aberdeen Post Office Directory the purpose of the orphanage was to maintain clothe and educate “orphan girls whose parents lived in the parishes of St Nicholas, Old Machar, Nigg, or Banchory Devenick, for three years previous to their decease.” Based on Lambeth Female Orphan Asylum in London, the regulations were as follows:  the child had to be aged between 4 and 8 and have had parents who were married prior to their deaths. In exceptional circumstances orphans were admitted if they were out-with the age limit or if they did not live in the parishes for the designated three-year period. While attending the orphanage the girls were instructed in writing, reading, arithmetic, and domestic tasks. By age 16 they were required to leave with most finding employment in service in the households of affluent families across the UK, others trained as teachers and nurses.

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The above admission dates from 1843 and shows three orphans accepted into the asylum: Elizabeth Diack, Hannah McKenzie and Ann Gillespie. 

The institution had a sizeable staff consisting of, a resident Physician, a Matron, Teachers, a Porter and Gardener, a Nurse, a Chaplain and several domestic servants. On 12^th June 1849, 39-year-old Emma Langley approached the gates of the orphanage to began her new role as a teacher in the Aberdeen Female Orphan Asylum, where she would receive a yearly salary of around £20-25 per annum along with room and board. Little is known of Emma’s life prior to her appointment except that she was from London. What is certain, is that her life would take a drastic turn in little over a year’s time. 

 

Emma Langley

For reasons that remain unclear, Emma’s mental health began to suffer by June of 1850. According to the Trustee’s minutes on 3^rd July 1850, Emma “became disordered in her reason” and Dr Williamson, resident physician at the orphanage, recommended her immediate removal from the institution. On 5^th July, following a Sheriff warrant and a signed medical certificate from Dr Williamson and fellow clinician Dr Alexander Harvey, it was determined that “she was labouring under such mental derangement, as required her immediate removal to the Lunatic Asylum.” Emma was transferred to the Aberdeen Royal Lunatic Asylum (now Cornhill Hospital) the next day.

The admission register records Emma entering the lunatic asylum on 6^th July 1850, aged 40. The ‘form of insanity’ was given as ‘melancholia’ and it was noted that she had been ill for 10 days. The subject of her delusions was observed to be ‘despondency’ and that she had a predisposed cause to insanity because both her father and sister had spent time in lunatic asylums. The orphanage was responsible for her care at the cost of £40 per annum. Emma’s case notes detail her physical health as good. However, she was of a “decidedly melancholic temperament…observed to be silent and listless, frequently sitting for half an hour at a time.” Not only was Emma observed to be semi-catatonic, but she also suffered from delusions. She believed her class were disrespecting her and during religious services she was convinced that the sermons were about her. Throughout her confinement Emma had bouts of insomnia and attempted suicide. She was released into the care of relatives in London on 28^th September 1850 with her condition noted as ‘improved.’ Below is an excerpt from the minute book detailing Emma's deteriorating mental health and transfer to the Royal Lunatic Asylum.

Dealing with Disease

Over the years of its operation the Female Orphan Asylum suffered outbreaks of various diseases. In January 1856 the institution was afflicted by a minor outbreak of scarlet fever and one of the orphans, Ann Baxter, died in the infirmary in 1855. As a result of another scarlet fever outbreak in 1870 it was decided that orphans labouring under such contagious diseases were to be sent to the Royal Infirmary to prevent further cases. Orphans suffering from consumption (tuberculosis) were sent to a country house in Skene. At the time, clean country air was thought to remedy the effects of the disease. If you would like to read more about tuberculosis, this journal article Even in Death she is Beautiful: Confronting Tuberculosis in Art, Literature and Medicine explores representations of the disease and how it impacted female beauty standards. 

The orphanage purchased a lair in Nellfield Cemetery in 1853 (number 1/273) at the price of £3.6/-. A gravestone was erected in April 1854 to mark the “burial ground of the Aberdeen Female Orphan Asylum opened 29^th August 1853”. This is the final resting place of some of the orphans who died within its walls, and these are their names:

Ann Law interred 29^th August 1853 cause of death unknown.

Ann Baxter died of scarlet fever on 20^th November 1855.

Elizabeth Grant died of consumption on 14^th February 1857.

Barbara Donaldson died after a short illness on 25^th October 1860.

Catherine Edmond died after a short illness on 22^nd January 1865.

Jessie Catto died unexpectedly in 1871.

Ann Johnston died after a prolonged illness in October 1871.

Helen Christie died 1^st May 1872 cause of death unknown.

Isabella Watson died 5^th December 1872 cause of death unknown.

Mary Rattray died 19^th July 1882 cause of death unknown.

Lavinia McKillain died on 30^th January 1870 cause of death unknown.

Christina Brown died 3^rd February 1873 cause of death unknown.

Selina McDougall died 28^th January 1876 cause of death unknown.

Isabella Mundie died 19^th January 1880 cause of death unknown.

Williamina Ross died 5^th February 1879 cause of death unknown.

You can view the catalogue entry for this collection here: Aberdeen Female Orphan Asylum. If you are interested in researching the admissions of the orphanage, there is a transcribed spreadsheet which will soon be made available online, or you can visit us at our Old Aberdeen House Archives site to view the records in person.

Ashleigh Black, Archive Assistant.