Though it is apparent that James Hutton never married, he did describe himself while farming in Berwickshire as
“now I am ee’nn wedded and so must endeavour to restrain the wandering infidelities of the heart”.
He had a son during his early twenties by a Miss Edington in c.1747 It is arguable that this ‘social misdemeanor’ (as it will have been considered at the time), was the reason for his decision to leave Edinburgh for a life of farming in Berwickshire.
His son, James Smeaton Hutton was a post-office clerk in London and had five children. It is apparent, that while his father gave him occasional financial assistance, he had very little to do with him. It is not known if indeed they ever met. After his death, James Hutton senior’s sister Isabella was generous to her brother’s grand-children, as was Joseph Black, Hutton’s close friend.
