Other formats

    Adobe Portable Document Format file (facsimile images)   TEI XML file   ePub eBook file  

Connect

    mail icontwitter iconBlogspot iconrss icon

Salient. Official Newspaper of the Victoria University Students' Association. Vol 41 No. 18. July 24 1978

Reared in Poverty

Reared in Poverty

Born in a two-roomed basement situated in Middle Arthur Place, Edinburgh, on March 29th 1900, she had been reared amid sordid surroundings and in abject poverty. Yet that poor home had held its treasures. Margaret herself, in after years, would sum it up by saying of a wealthy family;

'They may be richer than we but we have the richest of all riches and the best happiness, for we are Catholics and have such a good father and mother.'

Her mother, a Catholic, had won Andrew Sinclair to the faith before her marriage to him. As a scavenger or dustman earning twenty-one shillings a week, theirs was a hard struggle for they had six children, John, Bella, Margaret, Andrew, Lizzie and Lawrence. At times their good and hard-working mother was subject to fits of depression. Kneeling beside her the three-year-old Margaret would plead:

'Dinna gave way, Mother. Beat me if you like, Mother, but Dinna give way.'

At other times she would murmer: 'I wish I was a big girl so that I could help you.'

'Always trying to do something for ye from her youngest day,' declared the mother afterwards.

Image of Margaret Sinclair holding books