Stevenston Church ministers 1740s

[Vida's granddaughter]

Hello,
I am seeking information about my gggggggrandfather, William Reid, b. approximately 1678. He was minister of Stevenston church until his death in 1742. His birthplace is unknown, he married Sarah Bogle from Kilwinning, b. about 1675. There is a possibility her father's name was John. William and Sarah were married in Stevenston Oct. 23, 1702. They had 10 children: Alexander b. 1675, my gggggrandfather Thomas, b. 1705, Mary b. September 1706, Anna and William b. 17808. John b. 1711, James b. 1713, Alexander b. 1714, Robert b. 1716, and David b. 1718. Their son John married heiress Anna Cunninghame; John and Anna's son Robert Reid Cunninghame ( I am told the most important figure in the Threetowns area) married his cousin Annabella. Annabella is the daughter of my ggggggrandfather Thomas, a prominent businessman in Saltcoats, married to Eliabeth Boyd of Kilmarnock. It is my understanding that William may not have been born in Ayrshire, he might have been there as that was the parish to which he was sent. I would like to trace this part of my lineage back as far as possible, any information would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you!
Kathy

[Julia]

Hi Kathy,
I've also been looking into the Reids and Cunninghame's a bit as my ancestor was also Rev William Reid, through his son John, who married Anna Cunninghame. I found a good book on the history of Ayr and its families. You may have already seen it, but if not then its accessible on Google as an eBook. This is a link to the page where Rev William Reid is mentioned: http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=E4pF ... #PPA447,M1
I don't know if the link works straight away, but if not then google: "History of the County of Ayr", it a book written in 1852 by James Paterson, and the page you want is 447. If you search for stevenston and rev william reid once in the ebook then you should find it ok.
I'm afraid though that I've not been able to go beyond william reid yet, but if I make any headway then I'll pass on the details.
Hope thats slightly useful,
Julia

[Vida's granddaughter]

Hi Julia,
Thanks so much for getting in touch! Sorry it took so long to reply, I have been away for a few days. Thank you also for the information, I will definitely check it out. I think I have hit a brick wall, it was relatively easy to get this far, but without knowing where William was born, or the names of his parents,I don't know where to go from here.

I think my next step will be to go the National Archives in Edinburgh, and the archives of the Church of Scotland, as they are not online yet. I am in Canada, and won't be going to Scotland again until October. A genealogist advised the best place to search would be throught the church connection.

Do you have any information on William? I have a bit, he was born about 1678, married Sarah Bogle of Boglsehole. There is some speculation that her father may also have been a minister. He was minister of Stevenston Church until his death in November, 1742.

I will certainly be in touch if I make any new discoveries.

All the best,

Kathy

[Guest]

Hi Julia,
I sent a reply to you recently, but don't see it posted. Please let me know if you received it.
Thanks!
Kathy

[Julia]

Hi,
Yes the post has worked well. I'm afraid I don't really have any further information, but I'll look into the Church of Scotland link and see what I can find. That sounds a good place to work from, and I think there are lists of previous ministers since the reformation in various libraries. I'll let you know of any discoveries!
Julia

[Guest]

Thanks so much Julia!

Kathy

[KenBurt]

Hi there

I also have John REID b 2 sept 1751 in Stevenston in my family line. He married Jean HAMILTON 4 Feb 1774

I will keep an eye on this link

Thanks again Julia

[stieglitz]

Hi William Reid co-descendants !
My connection is a John Reid (1771?-1831) marr.1800 with Elizabeth McKerrel (of Hillhouse). He is the brother of Robert Reid , who bought Adamton. Both are sons of a Thomas (*1702), the first son of the Minister. I am rare unsure with the dates that I have. Could somebody please help me ?? Thanks Leo

[Guest]

Hi Julia,

That John Reid is my gggggrandfather, the lineage for my branch is William, b. about 1678, Thomas, 1705, John, 1751, Thomas, 1790, (he is the one who moved to Paisley from Stevenston), Alexander, 1830, (he and his wife and children emigrated to Nova Scotia sometime around 1870, my greatgrandfather John Cochrane Reid was born in Paisley in 1855.) Then is my grandmother, Vida Voss, born 1895 and my dad, Harold Irving Pridham, born 1927.

I will keep you posted about any more discoveries I make. Are you in Scotland? I am in British Columbia, Canada, but grew up and spent most of my life about 40 miles from where Alexander and John lived in Oxford, Nova Scotia.

Talk to you soon!

Kathy

[stieglitz]

Hi Leo, (and Julia),

Here is the information I have for Thomas and family. Thomas was born July 1705, Stevenston, died July 5, 1785 in Saltcoats. He married Elizabeth Boyd of Kilmarnock Oct, 13.1739. Elizabeth was born about 1715. Thomas and Elizabeth had Sarah, b. Oct. 23, 1740, Elizabeth, b. July 3, 1742, Thomas, b. July 14, 1747, Mary b. March 2, 1749/50, Ann b. Feb 27, 1750/51, Margaret b. Sept 14, 1752, John, b. May 1, 1754, Boyd, b. May 24, 1756, Jane b. Aug. 19, 1757, and James, b Aug. 22, 1761. I don't have a Robert being born to them, the only Robert is the son of William and Sarah, b. April 17, 1716. Also, Thomas and Elizabeth had another daughter, Annabella, she married her cousin Robert Reid Cunninghame, the most prominient citizen in the Three towns area. Leo, possibly your John Reid is the grandson of Thomas, considering the date of birth you have is 1771. Have you looked on Scotland's People?
Also, Thomas was the second son of William, the minister. Their first son was Alexander, born January 1703/04. He must have died young, as they had another son they named Alexander, b. Oct. 1714. Apparently it was common to use the same name twice if the first child with that name died. The naming pattern was to name the first son after the paternal grandfather, the second after the maternal grandfather, which leads me to believe that William's father's name was Alexander, which doesn't help a lot, as I don't know where he was born. If anyone has any clues as to his birthplace, I would love to know!

I have been in touch with a lady who is looking for descendants of William and Sarah, she would love to hear from both of you. She already has over 3000 names on the family tree. Her email address is deleted by Admin

All the best, good luck with your searches!

Kathy

[stieglitz]

Dear Kathy, thank you !
These Reids are a complicate family ! I will sure connect this line.
Just to informate: Probably I found this John Reid, he was Col. in the E.I.S. in the wills of the National Archives. The Robert Reid Esq. of Adamton bought this lands from the Blairs. Hewas two times married 1st with Helen Campbell of Treesbank, 2nd Barbara McCredie. Only from the first marriage he had a daughter, who died young. Under his sisters are noticed: Sarah married James M'Call of Braehead, another without forname a McKerrel of Hillhouse. The seat Adamton herited (in parts ?) my xxmother Elizabeth McKerrel Reid and was probably soon after bought from George A. Baird, who built the new Adamton House.
Best wishes to Canada !
Leo

[Guest]

Hi Leo and Julia,
Leo, than you for the interesting information. You are so right about the lineage being complicated.
Julia, do you know if the estate, or remains of it that is mentioned in the link you gave me is still there? I would love to see it when I go to Ayr.
It is unfortunate that administraion deleted the email address I gave you for the lady who is compiling the names of the descendants of William and Sarah, she would love to hear from you.
I will be in touch if anything of note comes up in my research. Still looking for William's parents, no luck yet. I can't find a birth record for Sarah either. I hope I can find something in Edinburgh.
Best wishes from Canada,
Kathy