Five Generations in the Aberdeen Family

With Scottish universities opening to women from 1892 onwards, his great-great-grandmother was one of the first women to enjoy higher education. In 1892 and ’93, she passed her local examinations at the University of Aberdeen. Local examinations were administered by universities on behalf of local schools to supply a test of attainment for their pupils, mainly for women who were not yet allowed entry to higher education.

Olive Stephen, 1930

Marjory Miller, 1991

Charles Bruce Miller, 1959

Though she did not go on to study at the University of Aberdeen, Maggie Mary Russell graduated with a Lady Literate in Arts from St Andrews in the late 1800s, marking the first in a line of university graduates that continues to the present day.

The first member of Ross’s family to receive a degree from the University of Aberdeen was Maggie’s daughter, Olive Stephens, who graduated with a Master of Arts in 1930.

Although not much else is known about her time at University, Ross’s great-grandmother must have been particularly interested in sporting activities as she received Blues Awards for Hockey and Tennis.

Olive’s daughter, Marjory Miller, shared her mother’s athletic talent. In 1960, she was Scottish Athletics Champion and in 1963 she represented Scotland on a hockey tour to the USA, mere weeks after marrying her husband Charles Bruce Miller in King’s College.

After years of working as a PE teacher in Aberdeen, Marjory began her studies at the University in 1986.

Her husband, Charles Bruce Miller, graduated before her, in 1959, with a Bachelor of Science in Zoology. He played in the University’s jazz band and participated in the Air Squadron, which was the “highlight of his university days”.

Interestingly, their daughter Susan Miller graduated before her mother, who earned a Master of Arts in 1991, as well. Susan recalls bumping into her mother, a first-year at the time, during her own senior year and introducing her to her friends, saying, “This fresher is my mum!”.

Susan, who contacted us to share this extraordinary story, continued her family’s line of University of Aberdeen graduates by pursuing a Master of Arts in Geography and graduating in 1987. She says she loved every moment of her time at the University, particularly the many memorable field trips - including to Greenland, Iceland, and the Outer Hebrides - she went on as part of her degree.

As a member of the University’s Lairig club, she also discovered many parts of Scotland she had never visited before. After travelling the world, she studied as a primary school teacher and now lives and works in Edinburgh.

Her husband, Roy Macnaughton, graduated from the University of Aberdeen with a BSc in Engineering in 1985. He has just retired after 37 years of working in the electronics industry. As both Susan and Roy were graduates of the University of Aberdeen, they were able to follow in her parents’ footsteps and marry in King’s College in 1990. A reception in Elphinstone Hall followed the ceremony. Susan jokes that their wedding was a much more joyful occasion than the last time the couple had been there, which had been while sitting their final examinations!

Sue Miller, 1987

Roy Macnaughton, 1985

So when Ross, Susan and Roy’s youngest son, celebrated his graduation, receiving an LLB Law with English Law, in 2021, there were five University of Aberdeen graduates present - his two grandparents, his parents and himself, the fourth generation to graduate from the University.

However, Ross’s family’s connection to the University of Aberdeen stretches even further. While researching the family’s history, Susan discovered that Ross’s great-grandfather’s three brothers and their sister received degrees in the 1930s.

What’s more, Ross’s grandfather’s two brothers also graduated from the University in the 1960s.

Although in the past, it was not uncommon for family members to study in the city they were born in, the Macnaughtons’ extensive connection to the University is striking, and part of the reason why Ross wanted to pursue his degree in Aberdeen. Susan and Roy were certainly pleased that their youngest child decided to study at the University they went to as it gave them a chance to relive and recount many happy memories.

Ross, who joined his family’s tradition of being active members of the University community, was a committee member of the Aberdeen Debaters and performed in his second BBC Prom with the University Chamber Choir. He was also the principal bassoonist of the Marischal Chamber and Symphony Orchestras.

His grandfather on his father’s side studied law in Edinburgh and would end up becoming the Chief Executive of the Grampian Regional Council. So, to Ross, reading law in Aberdeen was a way to connect both to his family’s past and his grandfather, who passed away before he was born.

Ross is currently completing a graduate scheme with Santander Consumer Finance and, in his role, co-chairs a multinational social responsibility project. He says he’s immensely proud of having attended the University of Aberdeen and of all his family’s history with the institution and observes that should he have children in the future, there may well be another generation of his family graduating from the University.

The Macnaughton family’s remarkable story reflects the University of Aberdeen’s enduring connection with the Aberdeenshire community and the wide variety of degrees and extracurricular activities that help make the Aberdeen family as strong and diverse as it is.