Glad they weren't my parents...

[Shona]

Originally Posted by tenterfieldjulie

Was it normal in those days for parents to choose the husband? Lots of cultures have arranged marriages and still do. Was it part Scottish culture in the 1700s?

Royalty and nobility had arranged marriages to enhance power and protect land and property - same all over the UK. The merchant classes in Scotland tried to do the same, particularly if they'd made money, as the McNair's had. But is that any different from anywhere else? It would have been unlikely that the daughter of a solicitor married the son of an illiterate agricultural labourer. Even if the McNairs disapproved of Jean's marriage, it seems a bit much to me to denounce her and threaten the other children via an advert in the newspaper.