Out of the box
I wrote a bit about this workbox ages ago and promised a follow-up post with the rest of the story; now thanks to Carol's gentle prompting, here it is.
I bought the box in an antiques shop in Ballater, on Deeside, and I was intrigued by the inscription on the lid: it had come from Oldmeldrum (not far from Ballater) but who was Elizabeth MacPherson and why was there a school prize, and a handsome one at that, awarded in her memory?
I got in touch with the village through their website and asked if anyone knew anything at all about Maggie Innes or Elizabeth MacPherson. They were eventually able to tell me that Maggie's niece had recently sold the box, but that was all they knew. However, it seems I started something as the Meldrum and Bourtie Heritage Society got involved, and coincidentally a dilapidated seat bearing the following inscription was discovered on the outskirts of the village just after my inquiry: "Elizabeth MacPherson Memorial, gifted to the town of Oldmeldrum, 1906, by her husband and children in Manchester".
The seat and its immediate site were then restored and the Heritage Society set about discovering the identity of this lady who had left her mark on the community. Research has revealed that Elizabeth was born in Oldmeldrum in 1860, and in 1886 she married Evan MacPherson who later became a cotton manufacturer in Manchester. She died there in 1904 leaving her husband and two children. Apart from one or two other facts, little else had been discovered about the family, though research was continuing when I was last in touch with Oldmeldrum, but I'm happy that my curiosity prompted a bit of delving and the unearthing of some facts of local interest, and I continue to use the workbox with great pleasure.