The satisfactory results of his zealous practice, and of his skill and
industry in his profession, together with the prospect of increasing
artistic work, enabled him to bring to a happy conclusion an engagement
he had entered into before leaving Edinburgh for Italy. I mean his
marriage to my mother--one of the greatest events of his life which
took place on the 3rd of January 1786. Barbara Foulis was a distant
relation of his own. She was the daughter of William Foulis, Esq., of
Woodhall and Colinton, near Edinburgh. Her brother, the late Sir James
Foulis, my uncle, succeeded to the ancient baronetcy of the family.
See Burkes's Peerage and Baronetage*
[footnote...
In Burke's Peerage and Baronetage an account is given of the Foulis
family. They are of Norman origin. A branch settled in Scotland in
the reign of Malcolm Canmore. By various intermarriages, the Foulises
are connected with the Hopetoun, Bute, and Rosebery families.
The present holder of the title represents the houses of Colinton,
Woodhall, and Ravelstone.
...]

My mother did not bring with her any fortune, so to speak, in the way
of gold or acres; but she brought something far better into my father's
home,--a sweetness of disposition, and a large measure of common
sense, which made her, in all respects, the devoted helpmate of her
husband. Her happy cheerful temperament, and her constant industry and
attention, shed an influence upon all around her. By her example she
inbred in her children the love of truth, excellence, and goodness.
That was indeed the best fortune she could bring into a good man's
home.

During the first year of my father's married life, when he lived in