Mary was born in 1817, to James Shankland and Margaret Cumming. She worked for a wealthy family and their son Robert Dalziel abused her. Meaning she was raped.
She had a daughter in 1845 who was known on the Scotland Birth Register as Margaret Dalziel, daughter of Robert Dalziel & Mary Shankland.
There are no records of a marriage. In 1847, Robert was convicted of “ criminal intercourse” and ordered to pay child support for Margaret.
In 1848, Mary died, Margaret lived with her maternal grandparents James & Margaret ( Cumming) Shankland.
Mary was never physically married to Thomas Todd, her sister Margaret’s husband, Thomas Todd. It may have been that Mary’s sister wanted to have her sister have a good husband in heaven that she requested that the marriage happen by proxy. Mary would then have the choice of accepting or rejecting the offer.