Niniane Reid, Resident of Eastpans in Prestonpans

NINIANE REID

Resident of Eastpans in Prestonpans parish in East Lothian

Niniane Reid (1597) Niniane Reid (1598) Niniane Reid (1600) Ninian Reid (1607) Ninian Reid (1611) Ninian Reid (1613)

Bogus Genealogy

Niniane Reid, here treated, is misidentified as William "Niniane" Reid in an imaginative pedigree invented by Stevenson Browne which he published on WikiTree. Reid is said to have been born at Dunfermline in Fife on or about 23 September 1576, but the birth or baptismal date cited belongs to William Reid, the second son of Henry Reid, merchant in Dunfermline, and his second wife Margaret Tod. It should be noticed, however, that there is no mention of anyone named Ninian Reid or William "Ninian" Reid in the published Registers of the parish of Dunfermline, 1561-1700. Register of Dunfermline

It should also be noticed that Henry Reid and his second wife Margaret Tod had three sons named William whose baptisms were registered on 7 January 1573, 23 September 1576, and 16 March 1578, respectively. The first two children probably predeceased the third, but there is no mention of the third son named William in his deceased mother's testament dative, or in the last will and testament of his deceased father, and it seems quite likely that he too predeceased his parents.

Marriage

Niniane Reid, here treated, married Jonet Hamilton. They were booked for proclamation on 25 August 1597, at Prestonpans in East Lothian, in the pre-union Kingdom of Scotland, and they were married there on 27 August 1597. The Marriage record reads as follows: "Mariage 27 Augustj 1597. Niniane reid and Jonet hamiltoun under promeis of mariage and to be proclaimed on Sonday nixt to cum 25 of this instant pro primo and to compleit the bands wt possibill diligence". [National Records of Scotland, Prestonpans Marriages, 1596-1620, reference OPR.718/1] Image of Marriage Record

Children

1. James Reid
2. Master Alexander Reid of Barra
3. Jerome Reid
4. John Reid
5. Jean Reid
6. Thomas Reid

Research Notes by John Sandberg

Niniane Reid was often referred to as either or both William and Niniane across marriage and baptism records. In the Society of Advocates, an entry was was typical Scot use of names. For this reason, this man is referred to as William Niniane by his actual descendants to identify his spot in family trees. Per the Society of Advocates in Aberdeen in 1598: William Reid, advocate (1589). Information from Dr. Littlejohn, Sheriff Clerk.

302 SOCIETY OF ADVOCATES IN ABERDEEN

1589 appears to be the date of Niniane's admission to the Society

SECOND CITATION (same source): Reid, William. 1 1589

Critical Commentary by Neil Reid Ford

It is difficult to make sense of what John Sandberg has written, because he speaks of Ninian Reid as if he was the same person as William Reid, notwithstanding the fact that no mention is made of anyone named Ninian Reid in the source cited by him, that is in the biographical summary of the man named William Reid who is mentioned by him. Nor is there any mention of the suggested interchangeability of the Christian names Ninian and William. History of the Society of Advocates in Aberdeen: p. 304

Ninian Reid, here treated, cannot possibly be the same person as William Reid, that second son of Henry Reid, merchant in Dunfermline, and his wife Margaret Tod, whose baptism was registered at Dunfermline on 23 September 1576. The Christian names Ninian and William are quite different. Register of Dunfermline It should also be said, that the child referred to died before 16 March 1578. Henry and Margaret did also have a third son named William, whose baptism was registered on that last date, but neither he or his two brothers of the same name are mentioned in their mother’s testament dative dated 18 March 1586 and it seems that they died before this date.This conclusion is confirmed by their father's last will and testament dated 19 December 1588, from which their names are similarly absent. It follows, therefore, that Henry Reid and Margaret Tod's second son William cannot possibly be the same person as the Aberdeen advocate named William Reid. In any event, the Aberdeen man appears to have been entered as an apprentice writer with Patrick Cheyne in 1570, seven or eight years before his namesake was born. History of the Society of Advocates in Aberdeen: p. 304