Background
She was born Priscilla Bright in Rochdale, Lancashire. Her father, Jacob Bright, had risen from weaver to bookkeeper to wealthy cotton manufacturer.
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Priscilla McLaren
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She came from a Quaker family that believed in educating its women. Skills that they developed in addressing an audience were later put to use by the daughters Margaret and Priscilla, as well as the most famous of the Bright sons, Radical Member of Parliament John Bright. Duncan McLaren was a twice-widowed Edinburgh merchant.
Foreign accepting Duncan on his third proposal, Priscilla was disowned by the Society of Friends (though she ignored this for the most part, continuing to attend Quaker meetings).
They worked together on many campaigns, described by contemporaries as "equal partners". They had three children together and lived at Newington House.
Eliza Wigham and McLaren"s step-daughter Agnes McLaren became the secretaries, Priscilla McLaren was the president and Elizabeth Pease Nichol was the treasurer. McLaren died in Edinburgh on 5 November 1906, shortly after giving her written support for more suffragettes who had been imprisoned for their militancy.
Four of the women associated with Edinburgh were the subject of a campaign by Edinburgh historians in 2015.
The group intend to gain recognition for Priscilla Bright McLaren, Elizabeth Pease Nichol, Eliza Wigham, and Jane Smeal – the city"s "forgotten heroines".
Membership
She was a member of the Edinburgh Ladies" Emancipation Society and, after serving on the committee, became the president of the Edinburgh Women"s Suffrage Society. Duncan built a political career as an alderman, Lord Provost, and then Liberal Member of Parliament in 1865.
