Mary inherited the Gairbraid Estate from her father, Hew Hill, who had no surviving male heirs.
[1] Generally spoken of as Captain Graham, Robert had been captured by the pirates of Algiers and was their prisoner for some time, being treated as a slave.
On his return home there was considerable interest in his adventures and it was said that Mary was so impressed by his romantic story that she chose him for her husband.
[3] The Grahams ran into money troubles after speculating in coal-mining for which their land proved to be too damp.
A village began to grow up and the Grahams feued more land for its development “from Glasgow to Garscube Bridge” with the condition that it would be “in all times called the town of Mary Hill”.