Margaret Charlotte Carpenter Scott

Charlotte, born in December 1770, was 27 years old. She was of French birth, her surname having been changed from Charpentier, and always retained a light French accent. She had lost both parents and was under the guardianship of Lord Downshire. Scott proposed marriage after only a three-week romance much to the disquiet of his parents. They were unimpressed by Charlotte's national origins, concerned that she might be a Catholic, and desired more information about her family. Charlotte replied that her father had worked for the French Royal Government but died when she was very young, that Lord Downshire had been his intimate friend, and that she had a brother in the East India Company. She was now a British citizen and had been christened in the Church of England. It was primarily, though, the reassurance that Charlotte's financial circumstances were stable that led Scott's parents to withdraw their objection. Their hostility rapidly softened when they learned that Charlotte's brother Charles had been a good friend of Simon Haliburton of Muirhouselaw, a close friend and relative of the Scotts.

In fact, Charlotte's account of her background leaves many questions unanswered. The date and reasons for her arrival in England and the extent and nature of her father's acquaintance with Lord Downshire (thirty years his junior) remain puzzles to this day. It is possible that Charlotte herself was in the dark regarding many aspects of her family history.

With Downshire readily giving his consent, the wedding took place on Christmas Eve 1797 at St Mary's Church in Carlisle. That night Scott returned to Edinburgh with his bride to the house that he had newly rented at 50 George Street (see Homes). The couple remained happy until the death of Charlotte three decades later on 15 May 1826.

From http://www.walterscott.lib.ed.ac.uk/biography/marriage.html ; accessed 8/16/22