My name is Cressida Potter (or Judd) and I am a Reid through my mother Margaret Grant Reid, who was born in Alford Aberdeenshire in 1911 to William Alexander Reid and Elizabeth Nicol of Shannoch Farm. My mother died in 2004 and this site is in dedication and tribute to her and our remarkable family.

I started work on the history of the Reid family some ten years ago and didn't do very much more to it until the death of my mother. Although she lived in England virtually all her adult life, she remained inherently Scottish. Her upbringing, schooling and background making her the strong, independent, brave, feisty and unique character that she was. The accent remained, I never noticed it, but each new person she met would remark on the soft brogue. I felt that her history and that of her family needs to be recorded, along with stories and tales of their lives, before they are forgotten for ever.

Since then, I have continued to add to the site and it now includes the Nicol and Grant families, from the Alford, Glenkindie, Auchindoir, Kildrummy and Logie Coldstone areas, who married into the Reid family. I am currently working on the Tough family.

I have therefore attempted to record everything that I can recall (I wish that I had listened more) along with all the research that I have undertaken over the last few years. I have a large and unwieldy family tree going back to the 17th century that include the Reids and the intermarrying families, notably Nicols and Grants, but many others too. At present I have to decide how best to add this to the site.

If you would like to contact me, please e-mail me at: cressnick@googlemail.com

Latest News - January 2010

Well another year and another decade, just one year to go until the Scottish 1911 Census becomes available, although England and Wales have been able to search for a year or so now. And two years till the US Federal Census for 1940 is released from its 72 year privacy mandate, offering more information on my three great uncle/aunt Reids, who emigrated in the first decade of the 20th century.

New Nicol info - It is now confirmed that we have another minister in the family, this time Rev'd Harry Nicoll (1812-1891) Free Church Minister of Auchindoir. The additional 'L' affixed to his surname occurred in his father's generation, where the first 6 children were baptised in Kildrummy with the double 'L', but by the time of my great, great grandfather's (the youngest child) christening, the family had moved to Auchindoir and an 'L' had been omitted. This learnéd cleric went on to amass a library of 17,000 books, most of which he obtained second hand and which must have proved problematical to house in his small manse. His son Sir William Robertson Nicoll (1851-1923) gives us an insight into his life in his interesting book "My Father, An Aberdeenshire Minister", published after his father's death in 1908. This was just one of 41 books written by this prolific author. His brother Henry James Nicoll (1858-1885) also published at least two books before his premature death from consumption aged only 26. The fact that they both followed careers in literature is a legacy, I feel, of being brought up surrounded by so many books. Their father's taste could be described as 'Catholic' his library included works on theology, philosophy, history, biography, science, novels and poetry, in addition he collected newspapers and periodicals.

New Reid info - confirmation that the Reids were in situ at Rinmore in 1797 has now come my way. The first UK census of 1841 being the furthest back definite confirmation I had that the Reids were at Rinmore until now. But James Reid (my great, great, great grandfather) is listed under Rinmore for a Horse Tax of 1797, where he had to pay the sum of 2s duty for one horse. Also listed are Hary (sic) Reid from Tollafraike and John Reid from Glencuie.

Thank you

Since setting up this site in 2005, I have been contacted by a variety of people, many of them descendents of the Reid, Nicol and Grant families, all offering encouragement and some, valuable information and photographs. I have discovered many 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th cousins (albeit a few times removed in some cases), in the UK, the USA and Australia and the link-up has given us all an added impetus to continue our genealogy research.

Other contacts have included descendents of Glenbuchat and Glenkindie families and Gallowhill school teachers, inhabitants of Glenkindie and Alford, a present day resident of Rochester, New York and those just interested in genealogy.

I must also thank Jonathan Hopkins and Richard Earlam respectively, for providing information and pointing me in the right direction of two of my ancestors - viz. Rev'd Harry Nicoll M.A. and Maj. Gen. Alexander John Forsyth Reid M.A., K.C.B., LLD.

I would like to thank them all unconditionally for taking the time to get in touch with me, sharing memories, information and photographs and their kind comments on the site; each one has given me a great boost and encouraged me to keep on digging.

Cressida