Margaret was the on­ly daugh­ter of Cap­tain Ro­bert Mac­kay of Hedge­field. In 1820, she mar­ried Ma­jor Will­iam Mac­kay of the 68th Light In­fan­try, a dis­ting­uished of­fi­cer who died in 1845. Her works in­clude:

• Sabbath Mus­ings, 1844
• The Wy­cliff­ites, or Eng­land in the Fif­teenth Cen­tu­ry, 1846
• The Fam­i­ly at Hea­ther­dale, third ed­i­tion, 1854
• Thoughts Re­deemed; or Lays of Lei­sure Hours, 1854
• False Ap­pear­anc­es, a Tale, 1859

• Julian, pp. 86, 708

1. Asleep in Je­sus