John Reid, the gard’ner

John Reid, author of The Scots Gard’ner, was born in 1655 at Niddry Castle near Kirkliston in West Lothian, where both his father and grandfather were gardeners to the Seton family. He was apprenticed in 1668 to Andrew Wardlaw, a merchant in Edinburgh, but by the 1670s had turned decisively to horticulture. His early career was spent in some of the great gardens of Scotland’s landed estates – first as under-gardener to Quaker Hew Wood on the Duke of Hamilton’s estate, then as gardener to James, Earl of Perth at Drummond Castle, and later to Sir George Mackenzie of Rosehaugh at his estate at the Shank near Gorebridge, Midlothian.

Reid became a Quaker while in Hamilton and married Margaret Miller at the Friends’ in 1678. Around this time he began writing The Scots Gard’ner, the first practical guide to gardening and horticulture published in Scotland. It was issued in Edinburgh in 1683, shortly after his departure for East Jersey. The book distilled his knowledge, providing advice on soils, kitchen and flower gardens, orchards, and the setting-out of grounds.

‘Overseer’ for the first emigrants

John had gained the confidence of influential employers and also leading Quakers including Robert Barclay, prime mover in the East Jersey venture. This resulted in his appointment as one of two ‘overseers’ appointed by the Scots Proprietors to travel with the first shipload of emigrants aboard the Exchange of Stockton which left from Aberdeen in August 1683. Their role was to manage the initial settlement, ensure that provisions and resources were properly distributed, and supervise early agricultural activity. He was indentured for four years but, like his fellow overseer John Hamton, he was granted an salary of £25 and provided with a house and livestock. Hamton was also a gardener and a Quaker, gardening being an activity of great appeal to the early Quakers as a source of spiritual meaning and a way to contribute to society.

Surveyor, landowner and public official

Gardening was a highly skilled occupation requiring going beyond botany to encompass mathematics, physics and the science of weather. Not only did Reid make a practical contribution to the laying out of land and cultivation but his skills led him to be appointed Surveyor-General of East Jersey. He helped to establish the system of surveys and boundaries that underpinned East Jersey’s land administration and later assisted in defining the line dividing East and West Jersey, work for which his accuracy and fairness were commended.

Gardening was a highly skilled occupation requiring going beyond botany to encompass mathematics, physics and the science of weather. Not only did Reid make a practical contribution to the laying out of land and cultivation but his skills led him to be appointed Surveyor-General of East Jersey. He helped to establish the system of surveys and boundaries that underpinned East Jersey’s land administration and later assisted in defining the line dividing East and West Jersey, work for which his accuracy and fairness were commended.

Reid also played a role in the governance of East Jersey as a member of the Board of Proprietors from 1692, serving as proxy for William Dockwra, holding this position until 1705. He also served as a County Court judge and as commissioner of roads.

Religion and family

Reid was one of the Quakers who, following the criticisms of George Keith over doctrinal practices left for the Church of England. He received his first Anglican Communion in 1703 and remained a communicant thereafter.

Reid died in 1723 at Freehold, Monmouth County and was buried at Topanemus, at the Old Scots Burying Ground. His library, inventoried after his death, reflected both his scientific and literary tastes, containing books on law, theology, astronomy and history, as well as Scotland’s sovereignty asserted by Sir Thomas Craig and the novels of Aphra Behn.

He had travelled in 1683 with his wife Margaret to East Jersey with three daughters under four. Tragedy struck when the youngest, Margaret died within three months of their arrival, and six months later another child was stillborn. Two years on they had a son, John, who trained as a lawyer and practised in Westchester, New York. Their daughters were schooled in Philadelphia and the elder, Anna, married John Anderson, the master of the Unicorn, one of the ships that had been part of the Darien expedition in 1698, and later a prominent New Jersey politician. Their other daughter, Helen, married Reverend John Bartow. He had been sent in1702 as a missionary by the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in London and two years later became Anglican rector of Westchester.

Other close kin also emigrated in 1683: two of John’s brothers: James who travelled as a free emigrant with his wife and two children, and George, an indentured servant, as well as John’s brother-in-law, James Miller of Gartshore and wife, Margaret Robinson.

See database entry for John Reid

David Falconar played a significant role in the East Jersey venture as a promoter and investor and was a leading member of the Quaker community in Scotland.

David Falconar (or Falconer) was born around 1632, the eldest son of Sir John Falconer, Master of the Cunziehouse (the Scottish Mint), and Sibil Ogilvy. Though he never emigrated himself, Falconar played a pivotal role in facilitating early Quaker settlement in East Jersey.

In 1646 when he was about 14, he was granted a right to succeed his father as Master of the Mint, and was trained in the role, and furthered his education in England, France, and Holland. However, he became estranged from his father and in 1672, having joined the Society of Friends (Quakers), he renounced his claim to his position at the Mint. The role passed to his younger half-brother, John, later Sir John Falconer of Balmakellie.

Falconar was one of the earliest Scots to join the Quakers and one of the earliest to be imprisoned for his faith, in Edinburgh in 1664. He became a significant figure within the movement, becoming a proselytiser while working as a factor for Colonel David Barclay of Ury and Anthony Haig of Bemersyde. With Colonel David’s son Robert, Falconar organised Quaker meetings around Aberdeen in 1667 and established himself in business there, becoming a burgess in 1671.

On 7 March 1672 he married Margaret Molleson, daughter of Gilbert Molleson, prominent merchant burgess and bailie of Aberdeen. This was two years after Robert Barclay had married Margaret’s sister Christian.

By 1674 Falconar was back in Edinburgh as a merchant. There he purchased land for a Quaker burial plot in The Pleasance and was appointed by fellow Quakers to oversee the construction of a meeting house.

By the early 1680s, Falconar was showing considerable interest in Quaker plans for a new colony in America, and volunteered to act as an emigration agent for the plantation of West Jersey in 1671, one of the three in Scotland along with Hew Wood, gardener at Hamilton Palace, and John Cowie, merchant in Aberdeen.

Being close to Robert Barclay he was much involved in the subsequent plans for the Scots emigration to East Jersey, and again acted as an emigration agent. He was in a position to encourage several relatives in this direction, such as the merchant Patrick Falconar and the Fullarton of Kinnaber brothers, Robert and Thomas.

He acquired land in East Jersey from Robert Barclay in 1682 and shipped goods aboard the first emigrant vessel, the Exchange of Stockton in August 1683. He later obtained more land from Sir John Gordon of Durno in 1685 and Robert Barclay junior in 1701.

This was a difficult time personally, for his half-brother, John of Balmakellie was embroiled in a scandal fighting accusations of malversation (corruption) at the Mint, along with two other Falconer cousins. Falconar had other close cousins in important positions, including Sir David Falconer of Newton who was made Lord President of the Court of Session and a Privy Councillor in 1682. Newton was at the heart of the authorities’ response to the Argyll rebellion and Covenanters in 1685 as a member of the Secret Committee.

In 1689, Falconar and his growing family moved from Edinburgh to Kirktonhill, Marykirk parish, Kincardineshire in 1691 he took on the role of factor to his brother-in-law Gilbert Molleson who was already established in London as a silk draper. This Molleson bought an East Jersey fraction in 1696 and was one of the Proprietors of East Jersey who agreed to give up their rights when New Jersey was created a royal province in 1702. His three surviving sons all went to America. His eldest son John built a substantial transatlantic business in London while Gilbert and Alexander settled permanently as merchants in Kent County, Maryland.

David Falconar died on 18 April 1713 at Kingswells, near Newhills in Aberdeenshire, and was buried at Ury two days later.

See database entry for David Falconar

William Ridford [or Reidford] was one of the first Scots emigrants to East Jersey in the 1680s. He was born around 1642 in Friershaw, near Lilliesleaf in Teviotdale, Roxburghshire. He was a Quaker, a member of the Kelso Monthly Meeting.

By 1682, tenant farmer Ridford was in negotiation with Arent Sonmans, one of the East Jersey proprietors, to emigrate to the American colonies. Under their agreement, Ridford was promised 100 acres of land in East Jersey rent-free for ten years, a significant incentive.

Ridford left Scotland from Aberdeen aboard the Exchange of Stockton on 31 August 1683. After a transatlantic crossing, he arrived in Staten Island, New York, on 19 December 1683. He and his family (his wife Margaret and their seven children) initially settled in Elizabethtown, New Jersey. On 26 September 1685, the family was granted a survey warrant for 250 acres of headland, recognising their arrival and settlement.

Ridford had joined the Kelso Monthly Meeting sometime before 1682 and was to remain a Quaker until his death.

Later records show Ridford in Freehold, Monmouth County, where he was still farming as a yeoman by 1720. He maintained his Quaker faith throughout his life, leaving a legacy to the Monmouth Meeting of Friends in his will.

William Ridford died in 1726 and was buried in the Old Scots Burying Ground in Freehold. His will, dated 27 February 1720/21, named his wife Margaret and sons-in-law Gideon Craford and James Lowrey (Lawrie) as executors, though Margaret later declined due to infirmity. His property and legacies, including his religious bequests, testify to a life of persistence, belief, and quiet influence in early East Jersey society.

See database entry for William Ridford