Mary Erskine

Scottish Country Dance Instruction

MARY ERSKINE (R8x32) 3C (4C set) R Goldring 15 Social Dances

1- 8 1s+2s turn on sides 1½ times (Men RH and Ladies LH), 1s cast down behind 3s, meet and dance up to 2nd place facing own sides ready for...
9-16 1s dance Double Triangles and end by turning right about to face each other (remaining in middle)
17-24 1s slip step down centre and back
25-32 1L dances LH across on Men's side as 1M dances RH across on Ladies side and dance ½ Fig of 8 round 2s

(MINICRIB, Dance crib compiled by Charles Upton. Deeside Caledonian Society.)

Dance Information

Mary Erskine (1629–1708) was a Scottish businesswoman and philanthropist, who donated money to set up the girls' school which is now known as The Mary Erskine School.

Mary Erskine lived on a close off the High Street in Edinburgh, to the east of St Giles Cathedral, and close to the Cowgate, then a fashionable suburb. Little is known of her early life, but in 1661 she married Robert Kennedie, a writer. He died in 1671 leaving her with considerable debts, although she managed to pay these off through careful management.

On 23 September 1675, Mary Erskine married her second husband, James Hair, in North Leith. James Hair was a chemist, and owned a chemist's shop on the High Street. He was considerably younger than Mary Erskine, but he too died in 1683. By the contract of marriage, Mary Erskine inherited most of what belonged to her husband. It seems that this was not a large sum of money, but she used the money to set up a private bank, and built up a considerable fortune.

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Text from this original Mary Erskine article on Wikipedia.

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