Katherine Ramsay (1720s – 28 January 1808) was a milliner and

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

shopkeeper. Records exist of her business off what is now the

Royal Mile The Royal Mile () is the nickname of a series of streets forming the main thoroughfare of the Old Town, Edinburgh, Old Town of Edinburgh, Scotland. The term originated in the early 20th century and has since entered popular usage. The Royal ...

Life

Ramsay was born in the 1720s and she had five sisters Mary, Christian, Ann and Jean who were all involved in making and selling hats and

haberdasher __NOTOC__ In British English, a haberdasher is a business or person who sells small articles for sewing, dressmaking and knitting, such as buttons, ribbons, and zippers; in the United States, the term refers instead to a men's clothing st ...

y. Their parents were Katherine (born Kerr) and Gilbert Ramsay. Gilbert was a solicitor who was a

factor Factor (Latin, ) may refer to: Commerce * Factor (agent), a person who acts for, notably a mercantile and colonial agent * Factor (Scotland), a person or firm managing a Scottish estate * Factors of production, such a factor is a resource used ...

managing the estate of John Ker, 1st Duke of Roxburghe. She and her younger sister were successful shopkeepers. They had a five room shop on Lyon Close accessible from Edinburgh High Street which is now part of the

. They had assistants and servants including a clerk named James Mushet and Isobel Colvin who worked with them for a decade. They frequently appear in court records where they are suing for payment. Katherine and her staff appear as witnesses as their debtors are tried. Marionville_House

Goods were sold and manufactured at their premises which was offered for sale on 20 December 1765. She and Ann bought land called "Kilnacre" at

Restalrig Restalrig ( ) is a small residential suburb of Edinburgh, Scotland (historically, an estate and independent parish). It is located east of the city centre, west of Craigentinny and to the east of Lochend, Edinburgh, Lochend, both of which it ...

near Edinburgh. The land was purchased from their sister Christian's husband, James who was a builder. They had a house built on the land starting in 1769. This house was called Viewfrith or Viewfirth. They sold it in 1783 to Capt. James M'Rae or McRae cousin of the

Earl of Glencairn Earl of Glencairn was a title in the Peerage of Scotland. King James III of Scotland, James III created the title in 1488 by royal charter for Alexander Cunningham, 1st Earl of Glencairn, Alexander Cunningham, 1st Lord Kilmaurs. He held the e ...

who called it Marionville. It is unclear where she then worked but she was still in business in 1771 when she and her sister were selling goods to "Clerk of Penicuik".

Death and legacy

Ramsay died in Edinburgh in 1808 probably at her home in Antigua Street. She left her bible and prayerbook to her niece and she died owning £4,000 worth (equivalent to over £500,000 in 2022) of shares in the Bank of Scotland.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ramsay, Katherine 1720s births 1808 deaths British milliners People from Edinburgh 18th-century Scottish businesspeople 18th-century Scottish businesswomen