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http://www.freeafricanamericans.com/Pettiford_Ridley.htm
RIDLEY FAMILY
1. Margaret Redley, born say 1692, was presented by the churchwardens of Washington Parish, Westmoreland County, Virginia, on 28 June 1710 for having a bastard child. She may have been identical to “Margrett a Servt. to Calleb Butler” who was presented by the churchwardens of Washington Parish on 28 May 1707 and 22 February 1710 for “fornication & haveing a Mulatto bastard.” On 24 June 1713 she and Edward Buss “a Mulatto” were presented by the grand jury for fornication and cohabiting together [Orders 1705-21, 58, 66, 136a, 140a, 143a, 145a, 155a, 217]. She was probably the mother of
i. Moses, born say 1710, owned land in Orange County, North Carolina, adjoining George Gibson and Thomas Collins [Orange County Loose Papers, vol. V, no. 131; vol.VI, no. 579]. He and his wife Mary were “Mulatto” Orange County taxables in 1755 [N.C. Archives T&C 1, p.8]. He was called a poor debtor in February 1761 when William Chavis sued him in Orange County court [Haun, Orange County Court Minutes, I:459]. He was probably related to Moses Ridle, an “Indian” tithable in John Wilson’s Pittsylvania County tax list for 1767.
I am also looking for information on George Ridley.
Born in 1730 or 1737 to “obscure bastard parentage.”
Lived in Pittsylvania County, VA (Camden Parish) and Amelia Co., VA.
‘George Ridley lived in Halifax Co., VA from 1772 until he moved to Wake Co., NC. He went with Robertson to the Watauga area in about 1768, migrated to East TN (Sullivan Co.) until 1790 when he moved on to Nashville where he remained until his death in 1835. His first wife was Elizabeth Weatherford and second wife was Sarah Vincent. George is referred to as a Senr. in his 1784 letter to his lawyer, James Johnson.”
Some names connected with him are:
Bevley Ridley – relation unknown
John Butler – his uncle
Martha Butler – his aunt
Sarah Drinkwater – sister to John Butler
Josiah Drinkwater – nephew to John Butler
Price Butler Penel – nephew to John Butler
John Wingo – nephew to John Butler
Thomas James – second husband of Martha Butler, bought land from George Ridley
I’d like to see what his relationship to Moses Riddle or William Riddle was.
While some extrapolation in this specific time period may be called for when a genealogy is being traced within the same geographic area, I would ask how you or others suspect Margaret Redley of 1710 Westmoreland Co., Va might be the mother of Moses Ridley taxed in 1755 Pittsylvania Co., Va and later Orange Co., NC? My question relates to the geographic, as well as, the distance in time.
Bill
Bill,
I don’t know if Margaret Redley is Moses’ mother. My first post is information that Mary Hill shared with me. My second post is simply text I cut and pasted from the posted website. I didn’t mean to imply that it was my opinion. I guess I should have stated as much in my post.
I was excited when I found it, thinking maybe there was some truth to it. I’ll be honest with you I am not familiar with these locations in VA or NC and am quite new to this. In researching my great-great-great grandpa, I luckily stumbled across many people who happen to know of his great-grandpa, William Riddle.
Can you steer me to a good source for these counties in VA and NC that may have changed names over time (like Pittsylvania Co.)?
Thanks,
Brandon
Brandon,
Please don’t mistake a critical question for a criticism. We’re here to help.
Here are a couple sites for Virginia county formation:
http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Acres/1419/county.htm
If that link doesn’t work, ‘google’
chronology of county formations in virginia
another one is
http://www.rootsweb.com/~vagenweb/county2.htm
or google
Va Gen Web Counties and Cities
I haven’t tried it, but you might substitute “north carolina” for “virginia” and come up with NC’s.
Bill
Bill I have Ridley’s too and I’ve “heard” things about them. My Robert Ruffin married Elizabeth Prime. Elizabeth’s mother was a Ridley. Peter Ridley was her father. Do you by chance know anything about this Peter Ridley? This was back in the early 1600’s.
Linda
Here are some links to info. on Moses and the Riddle family….
http://www.rootsweb.com/~vapittsy/tith.htm
A List of Tithables for Pittsylvania County Taken by John Wilson, Gentl, in Year 1767
And includes the following interesting “Indian” notation:
Moses Ridle (Indian)
William Ridle
Jack Goins work includes a lot of information on the Riddles, including Indian Moses Riddle:
“The following excerpts are from Jack Goins book, Melungeons: and Other Pioneer Families, which he has kindly granted me permission to enter here. If you would like additional information or to purchase your own copy of his excellent research, please contact him at: jgoins@usit.net“
“Micajer Bunch was one of those who migrated from the Flat River in Orange County, North Carolina to the New River. He lived in Fincastle County and later owned land in Wilkes County, North Carolina on Elk Creek. Micajer Bunch may have been one of the members of Tory Capt. William Riddle’s gang. Micajer went into Lee County, Va. near the same time as the orphan children of William Riddle. Micajer Bunch and William Ingram (Ingraham) were signers of the petition to form Lee County, Va. Ingraham was married to Happy Riddle, widow of William Riddle. Micajer Bunch also appears on a Cumberland County, Ky. tax list in 1799. … Micajer Bunch and William Riddle were at the battle of Point pleasant in 1774, and they were also defendants in a lawsuit with their commanding officer William Herbert.”
pp. 78-79
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“The Melungeons began selling their land on the Flat River in Orange County beginning about 1767 and moved to the back woods section of the New River in Virginia and North Carolina. They moved from the Pamunkey River area of Virginia to the Flat River beginning in about 1747-9. These families included Collins, Gibson, Bunch, Bolen, and possibly Moses Riddle. They were of the Baptist faith, some joined at Stony Creek by letter from another Baptist Church.”
http://www.fialcowitz.com/Bunch/other9.html
Also the Riddle Family Newsletter has published some good stuff on this family which is informative of the migration routes taken by them and possibly other associated neeighbors/family:
“The first record which appears to definitely be this William Riddle is the 1767 tax list, Tithables of Pittsylvania County, 17676 of persons residing in the newly formed Pittsylvania County, Virginia. He is listed as “William Ridle” and next to him on the list is “Moses Ridle (Indian).”
As far as can be determined, Moses Ridle was the father of William Riddle and was of Scotch-Irish, Indian and Portuguese (Melungeon) ancestry.7″
http://www.jimcal.com/v04is01.htm
Brenda
The style of the listing does however, raise the question of why William Riddle is not listed as an Indian, since Moses Riddle is listed that way. It is POSSIBLE that Moses Riddle, the Indian, was working for Willaim Riddle as a tenant, and simply took his name from his employer.
Their shared surname and geographic nearness would, however, seem to imply a relationship of some sort.
Would it also be possible that Moses, IF father, was full-blood, and William IF son was not full blood and was living as a “white” or Christian???? It gets so tricky to understand…….
Brenda
Brenda,
It IS tricky. At this point in time, unfortunately, we will probably never know for certain, barring the discovery of some obscure, here-to-fore unnoticed document.
oh heck LOL I dated a guy named Riddle in high school. I have read that Ridley and Riddle are possibly the same family. Peter Ridley born in James City Virginia in 1625 is my ancestor but we have no idea who he married but we know he had a daughter because she married Edmund Prime. And I have 2 lines of Wynnes in my family Thomas the indian interpreter for the Nottoway is one of them. He married Agnes Stith and I have heard the Stiths are mixed indian/white as well. Mary Wynne married Nathaniel Malone.
Linda
Originally posted by Brenda Ferrell Sampsel
Would it also be possible that Moses, IF father, was full-blood, and William IF son was not full blood and was living as a “white” or Christian???? It gets so tricky to understand…….
Brenda
I think Moses is listed as mulatto elsewhere. This may mean that Moses was half-Indian/half-white, and therefore if he married an Indian woman, their children would be considered “white.”
I have more information on William Riddle, his wife Happy Roberts/Rogers, and the rest of the gang that I found via Mary Hill and/or here on Saponitown. 🙂
I’d like to hear more about these Riddles and Ridleys that you guys and gals are claiming to be related to. Where exactly did they live? Do you have all of their descendants figured out? How do you link yourself with them?
There were a group of Riddles on my side that left NC/VA, went to Bledsoe County, TN, and then on to Pulaski Co, MO. Some went from TN to Walker Co, AL, while others went out to MO for a bit, and then on to Walker Co, AL.
I must have had more Indian blood venture in somewhere because my great-great grandmother looked to be full blooded. Her son also claimed to be Cherokee (he spoke fluent Cherokee), which is why I always thought I was Cherokee…boy, it gets confusing.
Bill, thank you for the help. I will look into it. Everyone on this forum is very helpful and even-keeled. I appreciate that. 🙂
Rockhound,
Peter Ridley b.1625 Charles City County Virginia was my ancestor his daughter married Edmund Prime and their daughter Elizabeth Prime married Robert Ruffin. I think my Peter Ridley is the one who was in the Virginia House of Burgess in the 1640’s. I have not checked the rest of the Ridley clan because it was the first generation here in America that I decsend. Now Peter Ridley wife is not known so I have no idea if she was indian or white. Elizabeth Prime married a Watkins first and then she married my Robert Ruffin. Some of the Ruffin’s did marry mixed bloods later down in our lines but I’m not sure if it happened as early as Peter Ridley or not, perhaps, because I have found if you can’t find the wives name often it is because she was native. The Ruffin’s were a very prominent family in fact one of them fired the first shot of the Civil War for the confederate side. They owned many plantations throughout the south and still own several today. Evelynton in Charles City County still belongs to one line of my family. Greenwood on River Rd between New Orleans and Baton Rouge is still in our family as is Marlbourgh in New Hanover County Virginia. Evelynton and Greenwood are opened to the public but Marlbourgh is still private. They are all still working plantations. I said all this to say this if Peter Ridley’s wife was native then her granddaughter married very well and many genereations thereafter had very few money problems…..she like many other native women in my family married well and did not suffer in many of the ways some of our other Saponi relatives did…all I can say is I am glad many Wynne’s and Ruffin did not hold many of the same prejudice that some of the others had against the NA’s. Now I will admit my Ruffin’s had prejudice against African Americans and for that I am sadden but they didn’t hold the same comtempt for indians and for this I am glad. My grandfather was a real racist when it came to blacks:( but when you mentioned an indian he would say they are just like me I married one didn’t I. I have to admit this line of reasoning makes no sense to me and never will as a racists is someone i have a tough time dealing with (except my grandfather that is I loved him despite his attitude).
Linda
Thanks for the information. I don’t know how Peter might fit in with my side, but every little bit we share might help us find out more about each other’s side.
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