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Elizabeth Catherine "Ella" Carmichael (9 August 1870 – 30 November 1928), also known after 1906 as Mrs. W. J. Watson, was a Scottish editor and scholar, remembered as a supporter of the
"Gaelic poem dedicated to Miss Ella Carmichael"
Edinburgh University Library Special Collections. {{DEFAULTSORT:Carmichael, Ella 1870 births 1928 deaths Scottish Gaelic language activists 19th-century Scottish women 20th-century Scottish women People from Lismore, Scotland
Scottish Gaelic
Scottish Gaelic ( gd, Gàidhlig ), also known as Scots Gaelic and Gaelic, is a Goidelic language (in the Celtic branch of the Indo-European language family) native to the Gaels of Scotland. As a Goidelic language, Scottish Gaelic, as well a ...
language.
Early life
Carmichael was born 9 August 1870 inLismore, Scotland
Lismore ( gd, Lios Mòr, possibly meaning "great enclosure" or "garden") is an island of some in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. The climate is damp and mild, with over of rain recorded annually. This fertile, low-lying island was once a maj ...
, the only daughter of four children born to Alexander Carmichael
Alexander Carmichael (full name Alexander Archibald Carmichael or Alasdair Gilleasbaig MacGilleMhìcheil in his native Scottish Gaelic; 1 December 1832, Taylochan, Isle of Lismore – 6 June 1912, Barnton, Edinburgh) was a Scottish excis ...
, an exciseman and author, and Mary Frances MacBean Carmichael. She was raised in the Uist
"Uist" is a group of six islands and are part of the Outer Hebridean Archipelago, part of the Outer Hebrides of Scotland.
North Uist and South Uist ( or ; gd, Uibhist ) are two of the islands and are linked by causeways running via the isles of ...
s. She was one of the first women undergraduates enrolled at the University of Edinburgh
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 15 ...
.
Career
Carmichael founded the Celtic Union in 1894, and the Women Students' Celtic Society at the University of Edinburgh, after being barred from joining the all-male University Celtic Society. She helped her father to transcribe and edit the ''Carmina Gadelica
''Carmina Gadelica'' is a compendium of prayers, hymns, charms, incantations, blessings, literary-folkloric poems and songs, proverbs, lexical items, historical anecdotes, natural history observations, and miscellaneous lore gathered in the Gaelic- ...
'' (1900), and later worked on a revised edition of his landmark work. She supported the study and preservation of the Scottish Gaelic language as the acting editor of the ''Celtic Review'' from 1904 to 1916. Gaelic scholars consider her the likely model for John Duncan John Duncan may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* John Duncan (painter) (1866–1945), Scottish painter
* John Duncan (artist) (born 1953), American artist and musician
* Big John Duncan (born 1958), Scottish punk musician
* John Duncan (harpist ...
's illustration, ''St. Columba on the Hill of Angels'' (1904).
In 1904, Carmichael attended the annual meeting of the Caledonian Medical Society, in her role as editor of the ''Celtic Review''. She lectured in Glasgow on "The Evil Eye" in 1906. She also contributed articles to the ''An Deo-Ghreine'' magazine; her 1905 essay, "Some Things Women Can Do", begins: "It is no exaggeration to say that, if our women would put their hearts into the Gaelic movement, the future of the language would be assured, and there could be no talk of Gaelic being doomed.
Personal life
Carmichael marriedWilliam J Watson
William is a masculine given name of Norman French origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conq ...
, a professor of Celtic at the University of Edinburgh, in 1906. They had two sons; the older son died in childhood. Their younger son, James Carmichael Watson
James is a common English language surname and given name:
*James (name), the typically masculine first name James
* James (surname), various people with the last name James
James or James City may also refer to:
People
* King James (disambiguat ...
, a Celtic scholar who was killed in World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
in 1942. She died 30 November 1928 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 ...
, aged 58 years. In 1974, a portrait of Carmichael was presented to the Department of Celtic at the University of Edinburgh, by her nephew, Michael Carmichael.
References
External links
* Donald Lamont"Gaelic poem dedicated to Miss Ella Carmichael"
Edinburgh University Library Special Collections. {{DEFAULTSORT:Carmichael, Ella 1870 births 1928 deaths Scottish Gaelic language activists 19th-century Scottish women 20th-century Scottish women People from Lismore, Scotland