Editing Clan McDuck (section)

=== Hortense McDuck ===
'''Hortense Duck''' (née ''McDuck''; b. 1876) was introduced as a relatively well-connected member of her family. A daughter-in-law of Humperdink Duck and [[Duck family (Disney)#Grandma Duck|Elvira Duck]], a younger sister to Matilda McDuck and [[Scrooge McDuck]], wife to [[Duck family (Disney)#Quackmore Duck|Quackmore Duck]], sister-in-law of [[Duck family (Disney)#Goostave Gander|Goostave Gander]] and [[Duck family (Disney)#Daphne Duck|Daphne Duck]], aunt to [[Duck family (Disney)#Gladstone Gander|Gladstone Gander]], mother of [[Della Duck]] and [[Donald Duck]], and finally maternal grandmother of [[Huey, Dewey, and Louie]].

Hortense was born in 1876 in [[Glasgow]], Scotland as the youngest child of Fergus McDuck and Downy O'Drake. In Barks' tree, her oldest brother was [[Scrooge McDuck]] and her older sister Matilda McDuck. Some non-Barks writers gave Scrooge two half-brothers, Rumpus McFowl and Gideon McDuck, though these do not appear in Barks' conception of the family. De' Paperoni is a twin of Scrooge in a story. Jake McDuck, her paternal uncle, was also living with them.

Hortense was born in a [[working class]] family living in relative poverty. In 1877 her ten-year-old brother Scrooge started working as a shoe polisher in an effort to help support his family. At the time Hortense was merely an infant sucking on her thumb. She observed from a distance with her father and sister while her brother earned the [[Donald_Duck_universe#Number_One_Dime|number one dime]]. Scrooge would spend some of his leisure time with his younger sisters, and occasionally repaired their [[doll]]s. Otherwise Hortense spent most of her time clinging to her older sister.

By 1880, Scrooge came to realize that his earnings were not enough despite his hard work and efforts. He emigrated to the United States in hopes of earning his own fortune. He was hired as a [[cabin boy]] on a merchant ship heading to [[New Orleans]]. Scrooge noted that Hortense's "Bye, Scroogey" were her first spoken words. Before that, all she could say was "glxblt".

From an early age it was obvious Hortense had a fairly nasty temper combined with considerable strength, and on at least one occasion (in The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck, Chapter 10) she has been called a spitfire. In 1882, Scrooge was hired as a [[cowboy]] by [[Murdo MacKenzie]]. To do this he had to ride Widow Maker, a mare who had already managed to dispose of five other cowboys. Scrooge soon managed to become her rider although he never really managed to tame her. He renamed the horse [[List of Donald Duck universe characters#Hortense|Hortense]] after his spirited six-year-old sister. The latter found this idea unflattering at best.

In 1885, the Clan McDuck's hereditary lands were in danger of being seized due to her father being unable to pay taxes. The lands also included Dismal Downs, the Clan's castle which had been abandoned since 1675. The Whiskervilles, traditional enemies of the McDucks since the 15th century, planned to gain ownership of the lands and were already trying to plunder the castle and its graveyard in search of old relics and treasure. Fergus and Jake guarded the Castle in order to stop them. Nine-year-old Hortense offered to help them and proved more effective in conflict than either of the elder McDucks. The Whiskervilles came to fear her.

In 1902 Scrooge McDuck returned to Scotland to fetch Hortense and their sister Matilda McDuck. When Scrooge established [[Donald Duck universe#Duckburg|Duckburg]], [[Donald Duck universe#Calisota|Calisota]] as his home base he started journeying the world trying to expand his financial empire. One of her proudest moments was when she single-handedly caused the entire [[United States Armed Forces|US military]] to flee Killmotor Hill armed only with a broom and her bad temper, much to the shame of the current president, [[Theodore Roosevelt]], and the fear of the soldiers. From 1902 until 1930, she and Matilda ran Scrooge's empire from his home base while he was away. During these years Hortense met her boyfriend, Quackmore Duck, whom she married in 1920. Later the same year she gave birth to twins. Her son was named Donald Duck and her daughter Della Duck. Of the two only Donald inherited his mother's temper. A [[The Empire-Builder from Calisota#Plot|fight with Scrooge in 1930]] ended all relationships between Scrooge and his family and she retired.

Scrooge may have claimed that he is the last McDuck, as he is the only male left. Hortense and Matilda changed their names to Duck after marriage, so, technically, Scrooge is the last McDuck.

Hortense is mentioned and pictured in the ''[[DuckTales (1987 TV series)|DuckTales]]'' 2017 premier "Woo-oo!", where [[Webby Vanderquack]] cites her as a connecting link between the triplets and Scrooge.

In a 2024 comic, Hortense was revealed to be an adventurer and a scientist, who studied apes, until she disappeared, Scrooge traveled to Africa to investigate, however she still wasn't found, but Donald read her letters she wrote to him over the years. She was hinted to still be alive, with her brother saying she could return.<ref name="Mr. Adventurer">{{cite web |url=https://inducks.org/story.php?c=D+2023-173 |title=Mr. Adventurer |access-date=27 September 2024 |author=Korhonen, Kari |author-link=Kari Korhonen}}</ref>