Ewha has completed a project to trace the descendents of Ewha’s founder, Mary Fletcher Scranton. Eight of Scranton’s descendents visited the Ewha campus from October 5 to 8 to participate in various ceremonies commemorating the 100th anniversary of Mary Scranton’s death.
"It was a great pleasure to invite the Scranton’s family at Ewha,” said President Lee Bae-young. “I believe that part of the true path to globalization is to continue the dedication and the work of Mary Scranton.”
The oldest living member of the Scranton family is Daphne Lamb, one of the children of Scranton’s fourth granddaughter, Helen. Lamb could not visit the campus, but her grandson, Paul Addington, a 30-year-old solicitor (attorney) from London, is one of the eight relatives who visited Ewha.
“My grandmother (Daphne Lamb) used to talk about her childhood and often mention the achievements of Mary Scranton, my great great grandmother,” said Addington during a news conference in October 6.
Sally Gale, 47, is a descendent of Mary Scranton’s second granddaughter, Marian. She works in the field of bio medical sales and lives in the state of Ontario, Canada with her husband, Kevin Gale, a director of Marketing. The Gales were also among the eight Scranton family members visiting Ewha.
Two years ago, the Gales were the first descendents of Mary Scranton to be located. “We thank President Lee for inviting us to Ehwa. I was overwhelmed to find the same spirit of my great grandmother still present in Ewha students,” said Sally Gale.
Another descendent of Scranton’s second granddaughter is Thomas Davies, who visited Ewha with his wife Henrietta Davies. Thomas is 47 and works as a business director in France. His wife is a 47-year-old veterinary nurse.
The final three Scranton family members were London-based fund manager, Ben Paton and his wife, Andrea Paton, a consultant, and their baby daughter, Julia Paton. Paton is the 48-year-old grandson of Mary Scranton’s third granddaughter, Katherine. Julia Paton is one of the youngest generation of the Scranton family. She is now 8 months old.
“I was most impressed by a tree Mary Scranton planted almost 120 years ago. The tree had grown very large, just like Ewha University,” said Ben Paton.
Andrea Paton recalled memories of her first meeting with her husband and said, “My husband told me the stories of Mary Scranton and what she had done in Korea. After hearing the stories, I could not help falling in love with him.”
Ewha faculty and students welcomed Scranton’s relatives at daily Chapel services. Most of the family members seemed surprised of the huge result of the small seed their ancestor planted over a century ago, and said that they were ready to support Ewha themselves.
“We are proud to have the Ewha emblem pinned on our jackets,” said Kevin Gale pointing at the badge he received from President Lee. Gale added, “We will all work as ambassadors for Ewha in the future.”