Today I spent time looking at the Last Will and Testament of my ancestor, named on the will as Dame Mary Aitken. Dame because she lived in Quebec, and retaining her maiden name though she was twice married to Messrs Cowan and Mair, as is the custom in that area of Canada.
This formidable lady was my great great aunt on my maternal side. A lady who set herself against the conventions of the time and sought to make an early stand for feminism. She was certainly not one to walk a number of steps behind either of her husbands, and chose conduct her own affairs using what must have been an admirable intellect.
As I transcribed her will from the copies from the original documentation( taking me no less than three hours) My admiration for her grew. She had three notaries present with her, and with them covered every eventuality governing the conveyance of her Estate. Her love for her sisters was evident as she made them sole beneficiaries and chose also to provide for them during their lifetimes with considerable annuities. Sadly she had no children of her own, but her nieces and nephews and their children would come to realise how astute this business woman had been when her legacy finally impacted on their lives.

I imagined her in her drawing room with her notaries and her new husband, taking tea as they drafted her testament. A great sense of relief must have been hers as the paper was finally signed and all of her affairs were put in order.
It was only 1864. She lived on for another 27 years, outliving her younger sister and second husband, and being survived by her elder sister.
When we first saw her picture, we knew only that she was an aunt in Canada. Now we are beginning to discover who this Aitken woman was, and how much her life and lifestyle would set her apart from the ordinary.