Janet Anne Galloway was born in Birdston, Stirlingshire, Scotland on 10 October 1841, the only surviving daughter in four children born to Alexander Galloway a land surveyor and estate factor and his wife, Anne Bald. Janet moved with her family to Glasgow in 1844, where her father worked as a land agent, valuer, and accountant.
Education
Janet was initially educated in Britain, before being sent to schools in France, Germany, and Netherlands where she learnt to speak French and German fluently. She also developed an interest in history and archaeology and was taught bookkeeping and business methods by her father. Janet was known to be an accomplished pianist with an enduring love for music.
As a result of the limited educational opportunities open to women, Janet became an active supporter of the movement for higher education provision for women. In 1877 Janet was appointed as the honorary secretary of the new Glasgow Association for the Higher Education of Women, founded by Jessie Campbell and financed by Isabella Elder. John Caird, principal of Glasgow University at the time, was the first Chairman of its General Committee. Janet was responsible for recruiting teachers lecturers and examiners, and helped to develop and plan teaching methods and standards.
Queen Margaret College
The Glasgow Association for the Higher Education of Women was incorporated into Queen Margaret College in 1833. The college opened in 1884 in North Park House, Glasgow, a merchants' mansion acquired by Isabella Elder and gifted to the college. Janet became the first secretary of the college, though she refused to accept any remuneration for her duties. Following her father's death in 1833, Janet moved into the college premises at North Park House.
Queen Margaret College became part of the University of Glasgow in 1892, following the Scottish Universities Commissioners ordinance to empower Scottish Universities to provide instruction for women and enable them to graduate. At this point Janet became an officer of the university, though she continued to decline payment for her services. Janet took a keen interest in the pastoral life of the university's female students; she organised social events and gatherings, encouraged the formation of societies and unions, and followed their careers after they graduated. In 1885 Janet was one of the founders of the Queen Margaret Guild an organisation that arranged talks for the university extension movement, and in 1894 she helped to found the student residence Queen Margaret Hall. She also helped to establish a women graduates association and was an active member of the executive committee of the Queen Margaret Settlement Association, which was part of the social reform settlement movement established in the 1880s. In 1893 Janet was personally invited to the Chicago Great Exhibition as a representative of Queen Margaret College. Janet was awarded an Honorary LLD by the University of Glasgow in 1907 in recognition of her lifelong dedication to the higher education of women
Politics and Religion
Janet was a political Conservative who opposed both women's suffrage and the employment of female lecturers. She initially believed that Queen Margaret College should educate women in their traditional roles, rather than equip them to enter men's professions. Although she was an advocate of single sex education she also campaigned throughout her life to open universities to women. Janet was baptized within the Church of Scotland but became a devoted member of the Scottish Episcopal Church, attending St Mary's Cathedral, Glasgow.
Death and Memorial
Janet, who remained unmarried throughout her life, continued working right up to her unexpected death on 23 January 1909. She died at her home on Queen Margaret Drive, Glasgow, and is buried in the Campsie Churchyard, Lennoxtown, after a grand funeral in the Bute Hall of the University of Glasgow. Following her death, a fund was raised for a memorial window in the Bute Hall: the Janet Galloway Memorial Window, titled The Pursuit of Ideal Education, pictures Janet alongside Isabella Elder and Jessie Campbell. A former student remembered Janet as being:
"never too busy to see a student, advised as to courses and future careers, encouraged the ambitious, scolded the frivolous, found friends for the solitary, secured posts for those who were ready for them, and smoothed untrodden paths for many a diffident beginner".
