Life

Born in Lurgan

Lurgan

Lurgan is a town in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. The town is near the southern shore of Lough Neagh and in the north-eastern corner of the county. Part of the Craigavon Borough Council area, Lurgan is about 18 miles south-west of Belfast and is linked to the city by both the M1 motorway...

, County Armagh

County Armagh

-History:Ancient Armagh was the territory of the Ulaid before the fourth century AD. It was ruled by the Red Branch, whose capital was Emain Macha near Armagh. The site, and subsequently the city, were named after the goddess Macha...

, he was son of Forest Reid, master of a grammar school there, and Mary Weir, his wife. Left fatherless at an early age, James spent much of his youth at Ramelton

Ramelton

Ramelton is a town in County Donegal, Ireland. Its population is 1,088 .Ramelton is situated at the mouth of the River Lennon, 11 km north of Letterkenny and 4 km east of Milford, on the western shores of Lough Swilly. The town is named from Ráth Mealtáin, , an early Gaelic chieftain...

, County Donegal

County Donegal

County Donegal is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Border Region and is also located in the province of Ulster. It is named after the town of Donegal. Donegal County Council is the local authority for the county...

, under the care of his brother Edward, minister of the presbyterian congregation there. At the age of fifteen he entered the University of Glasgow

University of Glasgow

The University of Glasgow is the fourth-oldest university in the English-speaking world and one of Scotland's four ancient universities. Located in Glasgow, the university was founded in 1451 and is presently one of seventeen British higher education institutions ranked amongst the top 100 of the...

, where he graduated M.A. in 1816, and afterwards attended the divinity hall.

He was licensed to preach by the presbytery of Letterkenny

Letterkenny

Letterkenny , with a population of 17,568, is the largest town in County Donegal, part of the Province of Ulster in Ireland. The town is located on the River Swilly...

 in 1818, and in the following year was ordained, and inducted to the presbyterian church of Donegore

Donegore

Donegore is the name of a hill, a townland, a small cluster of residences, and a civil parish in the barony of Upper Antrim, County Antrim, Northern Ireland. Donegore lies approximately 5 miles east of Antrim town. The largest settlement in the parish is the village of Parkgate...

, County Antrim

County Antrim

County Antrim is one of six counties that form Northern Ireland, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland. Adjoined to the north-east shore of Lough Neagh, the county covers an area of 2,844 km², with a population of approximately 616,000...

. Four years later he was translated to the presbyterian church at Carrickfergus

Carrickfergus

Carrickfergus , known locally and colloquially as "Carrick", is a large town in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It is located on the north shore of Belfast Lough, from Belfast. The town had a population of 27,201 at the 2001 Census and takes its name from Fergus Mór mac Eirc, the 6th century king...

. He began preparation for a history of the Irish presbyterian church, collecting materials from the records of church courts and other manuscripts, and visiting to Dublin, London, and Edinburgh to pursue his researches in libraries.

In 1827 he was unanimously elected moderator of the synod of Ulster, aged 28. It was a time of bitter controversy, and, though himself an upholder of the catholic doctrine of the Trinity, Reid had the respect of the Arian

Arian

Arian may refer to:* Arius, a Christian presbyter in the 3rd and 4th century* a given name in different cultures: Aria, Aryan or Arian...

 party, which was then on the eve of secession. During his term of office he preached before the synod a sermon on the controversy, which he published, with a preface and historical notes. In 1829 the Orthodox Presbyterian was started by Reid and others, and he was a frequent contributor. In 1833 the University of Glasgow conferred on him the honorary degree of D.D. In 1837 he was appointed professor of ecclesiastical history, church government, and pastoral theology, in the Royal Belfast College.

In 1841 he was presented by the crown to the professorship of church history in the University of Glasgow. He spent part of 1845 and of 1846 on the continent, visiting Germany, France, and Italy.

Reid died on 26 March 1851.

Works

In 1834 he published the first volume of the History of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland. It was at once recognised as valuable, and the Royal Irish Academy

Royal Irish Academy

The Royal Irish Academy , based in Dublin, is an all-Ireland, independent, academic body that promotes study and excellence in the sciences, humanities and social sciences. It is one of Ireland's premier learned societies and cultural institutions and currently has around 420 Members, elected in...

 unanimously elected him a member. The second volume, containing many original documents relating to the War of the Three Kingdoms and Oliver Cromwell

Oliver Cromwell

Oliver Cromwell was an English military and political leader who overthrew the English monarchy and temporarily turned England into a republican Commonwealth, and served as Lord Protector of England, Scotland, and Ireland....

's rule in Ireland, appeared in 1837, Some of the third volume of his History was ready for the press on his death, and it was completed by Professor Killen of Belfast.

Reid published in 1824 a ‘Brief Account of the Irish Presbyterian Church in the Form of Question and Answer;’ ‘The Sabbath, a Tract for the Times;’ and ‘Seven Letters to Dr. Elrington, Professor of Divinity in Trinity College, Dublin, “occasioned by his Animadversions in his ‘Life of Ussher’ on certain Passages in the History of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland,”’ Glasgow, 1849 (addressed to Charles Richard Elrington

Charles Richard Elrington

Charles Richard Elrington was an Irish Protestant churchman and academic, regius professor of divinity in the University of Dublin. -Life:...

). In 1848 he edited James Murdock's translation of Johann Lorenz von Mosheim

Johann Lorenz von Mosheim

Johann Lorenz von Mosheim or Johann Lorenz Mosheim , German Lutheran church historian, was born at Lübeck on 9 October 1693 or 1694.- Biography :...

's Church History, to which he added notes.

Family

Reid married, in February 1826, Elizabeth, daughter of Samuel Arrott, a Belfast surgeon, and had eleven children, of whom five survived him. In acknowledgment of his literary services a pension was settled by government on his widow and family.

Attribution