Wow! That a lot to digest, thanks everyone for all that research! Nothing like a good scandal, eh?

It'll take me a few days to go through all of these links, thank you all

The censuses I've found for Peter Allan (1841, '51, '61, '71, '81 (he d. between '81 & '91)) have him married to Margaret Cowe/Allan. She got 6-7 years knocked off her age for the '41 census, but reinstated for the later ones. He is variously listed as a house painter and house painter & musician, and parish entries have him as a painter. Margaret's last census has her listed as a dancing masters widow.
Peter Allan's b. place is listed as Ordiquhill, Banffshire, Scotland.
Thank you Neale1961 for the word "compeared", it was driving me nuts seeing this word over and over again in the kirk sessions and not knowing what it was

and thanks for William Howitt's fate. I couldn't find him in Edinburgh in the '61 '71 censuses, thanks for tracking him down - did he ever really reside in James Square Edinburgh??
Thanks again everyone, there's so much more now in that corner of my tree!
