I would not give any credence whatsoever to this without some independent piece of evidence to link the Rennie family in Kilsyth with the Rennie family in Kinnell.
Never believe anything you find online unless it is an image of an original document. Especially online family trees. Some of these are meticulously researched and accurate in every detail but others can most politely be described as figments of imagination.
In the 17th century the proportion of baptism and marriage records actually surviving is very much the minority. Just because there is only one possible candidate in the surviving records is a very long way from meaning that (s)he is the right person.
In 17th century terms Kinnell is quite a long way from Kilsyth - the best part of 100 miles - and it seems to me rather unlikely that a family would move from Kilsyth to Kinnell, which was and is a very rural parish, though of course it isn't impossible.
Also the surname Rennie is more common in Angus than in Stirlingshire (227 results for r*nn* compared with 104) and specifically in Kinnell than in Kilsyth, albeit only just, from 1600 to 1680.
What was Andrew Rennie's occupation (if stated on the baptisms of his children)? Where in Kinnell did they live?
I see from the IGI that there were three children whose baptism records have survived
Isobell, 23 May 1695 (the eldest, not the youngest, sibling)
Andrew, 4 March 1698
James, 4 May 1701
This implies that Andrew Rennie and Jean Cowper were married no later than say July 1694. It is unusual for a young man to marry at 18 or 19, because at that age few would be able to support a wife or children. It's far more likely that he was 25 or older.
Bear in mind that there could have been other children whose baptism records, if they ever existed, have not survived. If there had been one or more older siblings, that would push the possible birth date of their father further back.
I see that there was an Andro Renie baptised in Kinnell in 1664, father George. Could he have been 'your' Andrew? Or what about the one baptised in 1654 in Monikie, father John? Monikie isn't next door to Kinnell, but it's a lot closer than Kilsyth.
There are no records on Scotland's People of the baptism of any children Rennie (or variants) with mother Agnes or Graham in Kilsyth between 1600 and 1680, and there is no baptism of an Andrew with father James unless there has been some seriously creative spelling of the surname. What evidence is there that this family actually existed?
To sum up, I think the chances that Andrew Rennie in Kinnell, husband of Jean Cowper, is the son of Andrew Rennie in Kilsyth and Agnes Graham are very small indeed. You need to ask the people who think that he was why they think so, and what evidence they have in support of this theory. Otherwise you risk going off on a wild goose chase.
Sorry to be so negative, but facts are chiels that winna ding.
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Topic: Rennie family of Kinnell (Read 1332 times)