Greetings to my distant Riedell / Riddle / Riddell/ Ridel relatives,
Our family has been recorded back through great periods of history such as the Revolutionary War,
The Hundred Years War, and the Crusades. Approximately 60 variations of our last name have been
found and documented in "History of the ancient Ryedales" By Gideon Tibbetts Ridlon from 860 to
1884. Throughout history the name has changed in spelling as it has been pronounced and in its
basic form seems to have been derived from a "dale" or "dell" where rye was cultivated, and
properly written would be Ryedale or Ryedell.
Our history appears to have begun in the northern Scandinavian countries with Norsemen coming
across the sea and landing in the Channel Islands. They would come to be known later as Normans
and the area they settled became known as Normandy. These Northmen had a thirst for adventure
and relocated to nearly every country on the planet. With their locates, they became members of
the English Parliament, the American Congress and highly regarded members of their society.
Three Bishops and over 100 Clergy have been identified and many more in highly ranked military
positions around the world.
I am attempting to pickup the research of our family from where Gideon Tibbets Ridlon left off
and take it forward to present day. This is quite a massive undertaking and with your help or
that of another knowledgeable member of your family, I think we can update our history and help
one another find missing relatives from years gone by. I have created this website to aid in
the gathering of information and you are more than welcome to use this to provide your
information.
My personal case is one of adoption. I was born to a woman who I thought was a Riedell but upon further
research, found that she was adopted by a Riedell family. My paper trails have come to an end and have even
hired an attorney to open a sealed birth record, which failed. I have since turned to DNA research to unravel
this family mystery and have found that I share DNA with another branch of this Riedell family. The connection
is there and now I must find the link as to how my mother ended up in another branch of the
family.
After watching 2 generations of Borchers research their family ancestry, which spans
back to 700 A.D. and the Emperor, Charlemagne of Europe, I have a desire to give something to
my Riedell heritage of similar value. While I may never know my biological birth family
personally, I can at least learn their story of how they arrived at this place in time.
I urge any person who is searching for answers and missing family to conduct a DNA test to help them uncover
missing family members and answers to known and unknown adoptions. Every test taken helps at least one
adoptee (Like myself) that is searching for their family.
Best regards,
Aleta Ann (Riedell) Gerard
DNA TESTING SPECIAL
Check for price specials around the holidays, normally a test runs about $100. USD