Elspeth Mary MacMillan

Born 1876. Died 1956.

and her daughter

Barbara Urquhart Barnetson

Research by Tiana Sidey

 

 

The inscription on this gravestone in the Grange Cemetery includes the following family members:

…Elspeth Mary MacMillan M.B., Ch.B., D.T.M.
died 24th March 1956 aged 78 years
Beloved wife of
Robert Balfour Barnetson M.D…

…Barbara Urquhart Barnetson M.B., Ch.B., D.P.H. born 4th February 1912,
died 3rd January 1987
Beloved wife of Paul Routley.

 

 

 

This gravestone stood out to me because it was unusual in having the qualifications of both males and females on it. The women quite rightly felt that they had something to be proud of, so I was surprised that so little else has been recorded, particularly as references to members of the younger generations of Barnetsons abound. These women, even when not in paid employment, would have been active members of society I am sure.

Who is Elspeth Mary MacMillan?

Elspeth first appears in the Medical Directories in 1905. She is living at Newlands House, Brighton Crescent, Edinburgh having qualified from the Edinburgh Medical College for Women in 1904.
The Medical Directories give the address, qualifications, past and present medical postings of all doctors living in the Edinburgh area who have at one time worked here too. Unfortunately there are no dates for the postings and as doctors remain in the directories even when retired it is impossible to give an accurate picture of their career path.

For some reason Elspeth is absent from the Medical Directories in 1906 though her husband-to-be is there, resident in Joppa. They both appear resident in Morton Street, Joppa the following year too.

Elspeth gained a Diploma in Public Health (DPH) in 1910, and she is shown as a Fellow of the Obstetric Society Edinburgh and Late: Junior Assistant Medical Officer, Stirling District Asylum, Larbert.

No further change in job status is ever recorded and apart from moving house the entry remains the same until her death in 1956.

 

 

Who is Barbara Urquhart Barnetson?

Barbara Barnetson was the daughter of Elspeth MacMillan and Robert Barnetson and followed her parents into the medical profession. Again the Medical Directory is the main (only) source of information on Barbara easily available other than references from the British Medical Journal (BMJ) online.

The BMJ records Barbara‟s graduation in 1937. Like her mother and father she achieves the Degrees of Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery.

1940 brings the following additional information:

Barbara U Barnetson
Asst. MOH Burnley.
Member Edinburgh Obstetric Society.
Late: House surgeon Sick Children's Hosp Bristol.
Resident: Simpson Maternity Hospital Edinburgh. & Lewis Hospital Stornoway

Barbara then disappears from the Medical Directory until 1948 where we find her under her married name living at Brighton Crescent, Portobello. This is the first we hear that she had gained a Diploma in Public Health (DPH). There is no record of a current (medical) job. This seems to be the case until 1972. It's interesting to note how close she is living to where her mother had once lived. She stays in Portobello until 1951.

From 1972 Barbara works as Deputy Medical Officer in Midlothian County Council. These details remain in the directory until her death in 1987. A Google search shows Barbara was a member of the “British Assn of Sport and Medicine” in February 1968.

The only other information I discovered was that Barbara‟s portrait was sold at auction in 1993, six years after her death. This came up (on google) because the painter was Orkney Artist Stanley Cursiter and The Orcadian had espied the painting in a sale at Bonhams in Edinburgh. It is entitled „Miss Barbara Barnetson‟ so I would guess it dates from the 1930s when Stanley Cursiter was Director of the National Galleries of Scotland.

References:

Medical Directories
British Medical Journal
Google