Talk:Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900/Riddell, Thomas

Ridlon is not a reputable or reliable source

Both I and Patricia Law Hatcher (The Riddell Riddle; The New Hampshire Genealogical Record January 1996 Volume 13, No1; page 6 The conclusion: fraud). She also says that there are "significant discrepancies with American records" As a result of my own research I agree that the Irish branch addressed in this book is fraudulent, since this is the case, why should we trust the rest of the book? Here are the reasons why fraud or bad scholarship is present 1. No source citations. 2. False assumptions: that the Riddell family came during 1600s, that the Riddell family was involved in the Siege of Derry; that the Riddell family left Ireland in 1718 with the rest of the settlers to Londonderry, Northern Ireland (So, this means Riddell or RIddle would have had to appear in the Governor Shute petition for Londonderry, New Hampshire and the first settlers lists before 1739, but there are no Riddle or Riddell families listed there at that time, Robert Riddell appears as a witness to a will in 1739 and a child of his is born in Londonderry, NH in 1750) 3. Contradictions with the William Pitt Riddell Riddell genealogy which was written earlier, which claims that Ridlon's mention of three brothers: Hugh RIddell, James Riddell and Robert Riddell were part of King William's army post seige of Derry and received land grants from William of Orange from service in the Battle of the Boyne. 4. Ridlon ignores Northern Irish History: If the Riddells came in the 1600s they would have been present at the siege of Derry. According to the original online 1641 Depositions, Lady Staples whose husband was murdered fled to Dublin. The Staples family were landholders in the area where the Riddle or Riddell families were tenant farmers in Londonderry county Northern Ireland. Ridlon does not mention the 1641 Irish rebellion. Ridlon does not discuss the only possibility open to him to explain when the Riddle family came to Northern Ireland which would have been the Scottish troups at Carrikfergus castle under Munro (who was deposed by Cromwell's General Monk) 5. Persons listed in Ridlon's genealogy for the non existant "Ballymeath" section were not in the same place at the same time and there is no townland, parish or barony named "Ballymeath" that existed now or in the past. Some have suggested that the Riddles were of Aghadowey, Brittan, Colrain, Londonderry but the Riddle/Riddell family was not there until the 1800s per the Griffiths Valuation and Valuation Revision Books. 72.197.211.86 20:08, 19 June 2024 (UTC)