 Agnes's grandmother was a repository of much oral tradition, including Scottish songs and ballads that influenced Agnes and encouraged her to pass them on to her children.Agnes's father Gilbert remarried twice, Margaret Blaine (1718–1751) and then Catherine Mott (1747–1820).Agnes reportedly had no great liking for her stepmothers, the latter of whom was several years her junior and this may explain why Robert Burns had little or no contact with his maternal grandfather.