She was exceptional in her knowledge of art, music, literature, science, philosophy and history; additionally she spoke Italian, French and German.

[6] Sir William Fraser, the Scottish historian, said that "to her loveliness were added the more valuable attractions of genius and great accomplishment."

[9] When Susanna's father consulted him as to the propriety of the match, the earl, whose second countess was then alive but in a long-continued state of ill health, purportedly replied, "Bide awee, Sir Archie, my wife’s very sickly."

[13] The Gentle Shepherd, first published in 1725, was dedicated to her by Allan Ramsay and Hamilton of Bangour wrote flattering verse to Susanna, Lady Eglinton and her daughters.

[5] Ramsay referred to her penetration, superior wit and sound judgement ........ accompanied with the diviner charms of goodness and equality of mind.

[20] Susanna retained her figure and complexion until her death, supposedly because she never used paint or cosmetics and daily washed her face with sow's milk and drank it, recommending this treatment to others.

It was believed that Susanna had discovered the secret of eternal youth, showing no signs of her beauty lessening even at the age of sixty.

[8] Dr. Robert Chambers recorded that "In her bed-rooms was hung a portrait of her sovereign de jure (in principle), the ill-starred Charles Edward, so situated as to be the first object which met her sight on awaking in the morning.

[10] A full-length portrait (97" by 53") of Susanna as Countess in her robes was painted by Allan Ramsay and was sold at the 1925 auction of the contents of Eglinton Castle.

[27] The Montgomerie family owned a number of coal mines or pits and Susanna was involved in the general supervision of miners on the estate as shown by her correspondence and the fact that she intervened in the 1749–50 labour unrest.

The lawyer who dealt with the case stated that it is probable a Lady of great Beauty of Address might prevail with some of the old Coalziers to sign any paper.

[31] She was very industrious and even established a distillery, later a brewery at the family's Burgh and Regality of Montgomeryston inside the walls of Cromwell's old Citadel fort at Ayr to increase her income.

[34] On 24 October 1769, near Ardrossan, travelling in his carriage and four servants following him, Alexander met two men, one of whom was Mungo Campbell, an officer of excise at Saltcoats, and son of a Provost of Ayr, one of twenty-four children.

He left the following note - Susanna never quite recovered from the sight of her dying son being carried into Eglinton Castle and wrote I shall endeavour to bear my suffering with as little trouble to my fellow creatures as possible.

[39] Millar records that after the murder, by Mungo Campbell, of her son Alexander, tenth Earl of Eglintoun, in 1769, she retired from the position which she held in society.

[20] The murderer was tried before the high court of justiciary at Edinburgh, and condemned to death, but prevented a public execution by hanging himself in prison.

[43] Wilson records that "This sad affair , which took place on the grounds between Saltcoats and Ardrossan, was long the topic of discourse in town and country, .."[44] Dying unmarried, the earl was succeeded by his brother, Archibald.

[14] The carriage door, inscribed with the details of the tragedy, was retained by the Montgomerie family until the great sale of Eglinton Castle's contents in the 1920s.

In 1762 she writes in a letter to her son-in-law James Moray of Abercairney that her son (the tenth Earl) has given her Auchans House and that she was about to repair it.

[21] In 1773 James Boswell and Samuel Johnson visited Lady Susanna, now the Dowager Countess, at her home, Auchans, near Dundonald.

Lady Susanna is also remembered for taming a number of rats at Auchans to come for food at her table when she tapped on the oak wall panel and opened a small door.

[51] These ten or twelve rats would leave when instructed to; she commented that she valued the gratitude they showed, something she had rarely received from humans.

of Whitmuir Hall near Selkirk, who lived to sixty one years of age, was the onetime Factor to Susanna Montgomery at Auchans Castle.