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Contents:
• Origin and Changes of the Riddle Surname
• Stokes Co. Riddle Family Origins
• A Bicentennial View of the Randolph Riddle Family
• A Few Helpful Genealogy Links
Origin and Changes Of The Riddle Surname
The following is a slightly edited extract from the book Some More Riddles Of North Carolina by Richard Riddle.
Ridlon (G.T. Ridlon's History of the Ancient Ryedales and Their Descendants in Normandy, Great Britain, Ireland, and America, From 860 to 1884) states that the surname Riddle appears on the pages of the Doomsday Book and in a variety of forms, such as Ridle, Ridel, and Ridell. We must look to Norway or Normandy for the origin of the name.
The name Riddle is a local type name (makes reference to a locality or territory) from an area in Scandinavia called Rugdal or Ryedale, the valley of rye. Other Riddle historians have postulated that as the name changed from Ryedale and Riddell to Riddle, as it is pronounced by the Scots, it has not lost any of the original meaning. A riddle was an instrument by which rye and other grains were winnowed and cleansed and the change to Ridler and Riddler denotes one who winnows grain with a riddle or sieve.
When the Riddles began lending their name to the land and estates they owned is not precisely known. However it is known that Walter de Ridale received his lands from David I, King of Scotland between 1124 and 1153 and these lands were called "Baronies of Riddell and Whitton." The family branches have followed the early custom of bestowing their names upon their lands whenever and wherever acquired. In Scotland there is a Cranstown-Riddell, Glen-Riddle, Mount-Riddell and Minto-Riddell.
In the United States we find Glen Riddle, Riddle's Banks, Riddle's Station, Riddleton, and Riddle's Crossroads. The surname used by the Riddells of Roxburghshire, Scotland was originally derived from a locale known as Ryedale and their coats-of-arms consists of three ears of rye and sheaves of grain. Nearly all branches of the Scottish families have spelled their name Riddell, however many old documents spell the name as Riddle. Many small family branches in Scotland and England who claim descent from the Ryedale spell their own name Riddle.
The migration of the original Norman family throughout the world has created over 60 different ways the name has been spelled. The following is a small selected list of examples:
READLAN, REDLAN, RHUDDLAN, RIDAL, RIDALE, RIDDALL, RIDDEL, RIDDELL, RIDDELLE, RIDDELS, RIDDLE, RIDDLETON, RIDDLEY, RIDEL, RIDELEIGH, RIDELL, RIDEY, RIDLAND, RIDLE, RIDLER, RIDLEY, RIDLON, RILLY, RUDDELL, RUDDLE, RUGDAL, RYDDLAND, RYDLEY, RYEDALE
For those interested in the book, History of the Ancient Ryedales & Their Descendants in Normandy, Gt. Britain, Ireland & America, 860-1914, comprising the family of Riddell, Riddle, Ridlon, Ridley, etc., by G.T. Ridlon, it can be ordered from Higginson Books. They also carry The Descendants of Edward Riddle (1758-1826) and Margaret McMillan (c.1769-c.1825) by Joan Riddle Giles.
Stokes Co., North Carolina Riddle Family Origins
The information about our early Riddle line has often been confusing and contradictory. We know that three male Riddles appeared in the 1790 Stokes Co., North Carolina Federal census records. Their names were Tyre, John, and Randolph Riddle. Stokes County is located in the north west corner of North Carolina.
A recently discovered petition from 1795 located in the Maryland Archives proves that Randolph and John Riddle were the grandsons of John Riddle born 1680 in the present day Washington, DC area and Elizabeth Bowman of Prince George’s Co., Maryland. Strong circumstantial evidence indicatets that Tyre Riddle was related to Randolph and John but the connection still remains illusive. The petition was filed by Zachariah Riddle of Loudon County, Virginia, a descendant of John Riddle, on behalf of John Riddle's grandchildren.
This petition connects a number of Riddle lines in the south east, mostly in Maryland, Virginia, and North Carolina.
For the most complete descendant list of John Riddle (1680-circa 1745) visit Stella Cotrill's web site, My Lake, Redman, Riddle, Stephens & Connecting Families. Stella has been collecting John Riddle family information from various Riddle researchers for years and is the one who notified us about the John Riddle petition.
The John Riddle (1680-circa 1745) line, which includes John W., Randolph and Tyre, may be viewed in our Genealogy Database. Because of privacy concerns living people are not included.
For additional information about the Randolph Riddle line see Bicentennial View of the Randolph Riddle Family below.
The Tyre Riddle line can also be found at Kevin Riddle’s web site Owasco, Missouri Families. Kevin is a descendant of Tyre Riddle and was the originator of our Stokes Co. Riddle web site. He has now returned to the WWW with a site dedicated to not only his Riddle line but also the surnames Berry, Cleaton and Morris from Missouri.
In addition to Kevin's Tyre Riddle web site, Wes Patterson also hosts an additional Tyre Riddle page located at WesPatterson.com. Wes and his family live in the Piedmont foothills of North Carolina and Wes' son is a descendant of Tyre Riddle .
The following is an excerpt from G.T. Ridlon's History of the Ancient Ryedales and Their Descendants in Normandy, Great Britain, Ireland, and America, From 860 to 1884 (Comprising the Genealogy and Biography, For About One Thousand Years, of the Families of Riddell, Riddle, Ridlon, Ridley, Etc.) page 350. Randolph Riddle's grandson Martin V. Riddle stated to Ridlon that "Randolph Riddle, son of Samuel Riddle, son of Basil Riddle a native of Ireland who early came to America and settled in Virginia, in Accomac County near the Blue Ridge." Ridlon was wrong. Basil was the son of John Riddle (1708-1794) of Maryland and an uncle of John and Randolph.
From Nettie Lee Benson's newsletter The Riddle Trail, page 23 Vol. IV. "The editor believes that the Riddle men shown in Surry (Stokes) County, North Carolina were relatives of Basil Riddle a native of north Ireland." Page 50, Vol. V, "The John Riddle, b. ca. 1764 and who signs his name is definitely the brother of Randolph Riddle also enumerated."
There is an ongoing DNA Project for the descendants of John Riddle born 1680 in Maryland at Family Tree DNA.
If you would like to participte go to Family Tree DNA, select Surname Projects and then in the search box type Riddle. The search results will list Riddle, click on it for instructions on how to join.
This coat of arms is the one most commonly referred to as the Riddle coat of arms. It is a version of the Riddell of Riddell and is the one that is provided by many commercial heraldry companies in the United States such as The Sanson Institute of Heraldry of Boston, Massachusetts. This illustration was reproduced from Burke's Genealogical and Heraldic History of Peerage Baronetage and Knightage, 1971 edition.
Sir John(3-16) Riddell.X1Riddell, Sir John(3-16)/, of the Riddells of Roxburghshire, Scotland was the oldest son of Andrew(2-15). He was a man of considerable talent. He was knighted at an early age during his fathers lifetime. The title of baronet was conferred on the 14th of May, 1628 under the rule of Charles I, King of England and Scotland. Sir John(3-16) is recognized as the 1st Baron of the .MDUL/"Riddell of Riddell".MDNM/.
The Baronet of Riddell remains with the Riddell family today, under Sir John Charles Buchanan(15-27) Riddell.X1Riddell, Sir John Charles Buchanan(15-27)/, 13th Bt. of Riddell. Sir John Charles(15-27) succeeded his father in 1934.
The Riddells of Roxburghshire line continues on today, not only in the line of the Riddell of Riddell but in the descendants of the more than twenty other Scottish families, all or most of whom trace their ancestry to the Riddell of Roxburghshire.
For additional information dealing with Coats of Arms and Heraldry click here.
The Riddle Newsletter deals mostly but not exclusively with the descendants of Tyre, John and Randolph Riddle and was begun by Richard Riddle in 1994. The PDF files are of the originial printed newsleters which you can download.
• Volume 1 Issue 1 Dec. 1994 PDF File
• Volume 1 Issue 2 Jun2 1995 PDF File
• Volume 2 Issue 1 Dec. 1995 PDF File
• Volume 2 Issue 2 June 1996 PDF File
• Volume 3 Issue 1 Dec. 1996 PDF File
• Volume 3 Issue 2 June 1997 PDF File
• Volume 4 Issue 1 Dec. 1997 PDF File
• Volume 4 Issue 2 June 1998 PDF File
• Volume 5 Issue 1 Dec. 1998 PDF File
• Volume 5 Issue 2 June 1999 PDF File
• Volume 6 Issue 1 Dec. 1999 PDF File
• Volume 6 Issue 2 June 2000 PDF File
• Volume 7 Issue 1 Dec. 2000 PDF File
• Volume 7 Issue 2 June 2001 PDF File
• Volume 8 Issue 1 Dec. 2001 PDF File
• Volume 8 Issue 2 June 2002 PDF File
• Volume 9 Issue 1 Dec. 2002 PDF File
• Volume 9 Issue 2 June 2003 PDF File
Bicentennial View of the Randolph Riddle Family
By: Edward M. Riddle
This page is a speech given by Edward Riddle to celebrate the Andrew Jackson Riddle Family Reunion in Italy, Texas on July 4, 1989. Ed was a third great-grandson of Randolph Riddle.
The accompanying page is a list of researchers who are researching Riddle lines not related to the Stokes Co. Riddle family.
If you are a descendant of William T. Riddle (The Tory) 1740-1781 you will find a number of your cousin's listed.
Click here for information about these researchers. If you would like to be added let me know.
In addition to the above list of Riddle Researchers we now have a list of "Orphaned" Riddle Families that was compiled by Cathy Riddle O'Connor from queries submitted to the Riddle Family Discussion Mailing List. To see the complete list click here.
The following are links to other Riddle family Web Pages. Be sure and pay them a visit.
• Mary E.V. Hill Family Home Page
• Riddle-Young - Scott Ian Riddle Whitney
• Relatives of Truby Petitt & Florence Hall
• The Damron/Dimbat Homepage - Lori Dimbat
• William Julius Riddle - Don Weber
• Solving the Riddles - Danny Riddle
• The Anderson Connection - James J. Anderson
• rpnewspaper.com -Terry Lewis
• Allen-Bertram Genealogy: Brent and Janice Allen Bertram's site is an excellent source for information dealing with Adoniram Allen and Lucinda Riddle.
Anyone interested in the William Thomas Riddle family should obtain a copy of Mary Hill's research report. Mary will be happy to supply a copy for the cost of reproduction plus shipping in the amount of $20.00. See Mary's WEB site above for more information.
For something a little different visit Danny Riddle's Gospel Music site. The following is a brief intro from Danny's site: I have been performing since the age of 15, recording my initial 45 single at that time. I recorded my first full length LP at the age of 18. Other recordings followed through the age of 28. I also hosted Reach Out, a radio show that aired on several stations in Central Florida for over 10 years. Reach Out provided it's listeners a way to get to know local and well-known gospel artists through interviews and songs.
• MD, NC and VA Riddle marriage dates
• Early NC - TN - SC - Records - Military - Marriages
• Stokes County North Carolina Genealogy
• North Carolina Vital Records Information
• Riddell Family Genealogy Forum
• Riddle Family Genealogy Forum
• Riddles Family Genealogy Forum
Tyre Riddle Line:
John Riddle Line:
Randolph Riddle Line:
Comments and Suggestions
E-Mail: Jim Hartung
Copyright James C. Hartung
