298
RIDDELLS OF SOMERSET COUNTY, NEW JERSEY.
great persecution" for their sincere devotion to the Presbyterian Church;
two of these are particularly mentioned in history, and judging from the
clannish spirit of the old Scottish families, we may believe that all members
of this noted sept would adhere to that faith so carefully taught by their
devotedly pious mother. We shall now call the reader's attention to the
records of New Jersey, of dates contemporary with the settlement and
residence of Rev. Archibald Riddell in that colony.
In an account of disbursements by the Proprietors of East New Jersey
in 1683, it is stated that "Walter Riddell p'd Barclay £1,000. Interest for
twelve years, £1. 14. 0." This Walter Riddell was one of the proprietors
to George Willocks, in an indenture made in 1697. He was a prominent
man in the colony, and his name frequently occurs on the records with
other early proprietors. He was an educated and accomplished man, and
had a seal or coat-of-arms with which he stamped colonial documents; im-
pressions from which, if extant, would undoubtedly prove his connection.
with the Scottish border family. He and Rev. Archibald Riddell lived
within three miles of each other at one time; the former at Perth Am-
boy, and the latter at Woodbridge. Walter Riddell was a member of a
committee "empowered by the Society, or reputed Company of New
Jersey, to transact all the affairs of said Society," in 1697. He was de-
ceased in 1743, as his heirs and assignees had a survey of one hundred
acres of land, "beginning at the Second Mountain," Nov. 30th of that
year.]
William Riddell (1) was a member of the "Councel of Proprietors of ye
Western Division of ye Province of New Jersey," and was summoned
by Lord Cornbury, Nov. 5, 1703, to show his authority (with his colleagues)
for purchasing of lands from the Indians. This man's name appears in
many of the colonial documents, almost always in connection with some
public duty; he being, as his official responsibility shows, a person of ability
and trustworthiness.
Hugh Riddell was a resident of New Jersey, May 12, 1685, as his
goods were seized by the Custom-house officer in New York, while com-
ing from there; Riddell beat the official most severely, and was fined
heavily. He presented a petition against the extortionate charges of the
physicians who attended the wounded man, but the court ordered that
his goods should not be restored until he paid the medical charges.
The Riddells of Perth Amboy removed to Somerset County, N. J., in
1720, and settled at Roysfield, Boundbrook, and Somerville, where they
owned extensive lands. In the Proprietors' Records the term "at Rid-
dle's, 500 acres," appears.
It would be interesting to know the exact connections of the early gen-
erations of the Riddells of New Jersey, but no records are known that
can furnish the proof. From the fact that the names in this family and
the baronial family of Scotland correspond, with the residence of the
several Riddells in the same neighborhood, some of whom are known to
be of the border house of Riddell, of Roxburghshire, at contemporary
dates, supplemented by the possession of a seal, and the traditions of the
families, leaves but little doubt that the Riddells of Virginia and Ohio,
descended from the Boundbrook branch, are derived from an ancestry
identified with Scottish history at a very remote period.
William Riddell (2), presumed to be a son of Walter Riddell, above
mentioned, was born about 1696; went to sea when a young man, and was
never heard from.
