The Mackay sisters

http://catalog.digitalarchives.tw/item/00/08/36/de.html

This is a photo of Dr and Mrs George William Mackay偕叡廉 and their children. The three daughters were Anna Helen Mackay (偕安理，1912-2012), Isabel Minnie Mackay (偕明利，1917-2012), and the youngest Margret Mackay (偕瑪烈). Both Helen and Isabel passed away in Toronto and were buried in Mackay Cemetery in their hometown Tamsui. They were home-schooled in English but spoke fluent Taiwanese and were well-versed in Pe̍h-ōe-jī白話字 (language of the Holy Bible in Taiwanese).

On 7/19/2009 Michael Turton posted in his The View from Taiwan blog (http://michaelturton.blogspot.com/2009/07/previously-unrevealed-2-28-account.html) a letter written by someone who was "for years a marine advisor in the principal Chinese ports". The letter appeared to have been forwarded by Kenneth W Dowie, through Margaret Mackay, to a Dr Cameron. The letter described the 228 Incident of 1947 in great detail. [Note: Mr Dowie羅虔益 was the geometry teacher from 1913-1924 at Tamkang High School (founded by Dr George William Mackay) who had designed the well-known landmark on its campus, the Eight-cornered Tower八角塔.]

The 228 Incident did have an immense impact on every single Taiwanese at that time, and the Mackays were no exception. Indeed, Dr George William Mackay had to deal with the garrison commander 柯遠芬 on the release of Mr 陳能通, the principal of Tamkang High, who intervened and was immediately arrested when the military came to search for students allegedly involved in the uprising. Mr Tan was never seen again.

To make the story complete, Miss Isabel Mackay recalled in 1999 that her father and a brother were en route from Shanghai to Keelung when the Incident took place. The ship they were on had to turn back; although for unknown reasons, it turned around to resume its course a short time later, and eventually arrived in Port Keelung. They then traveled from Keelung to Taipei, and from Taipei to Tamsui. On the way, they witnessed common people indiscriminately shot and killed by the military. "慘不忍睹", they told the family. Miss Mackay lamented years later, "太悲哀,太悲哀".