Scottishfamily of folk fiddlers. The most celebrated members were Niel (1727-1807), whose distinctive playing style and published collections of strathspey reels (1784, 1788, 1792) gained him widespread recognition, and his son Nathaniel (1766-1831), a dance-band leader, music publisher and composer of airs, reels and strathspeys in the Scottish folk style.(c)Groves Dictionaries, MacMillan Publishers Limited, UK