History of the Ancient Ryedales

Anyone interested in names that resemble those listed in the title or Radley, Reidel, Rodleigh, Rudell, Rydale, and so on, will find a wealth of information in this extremely detailed, superbly written and researched work. Undertaken in 1872 and requiring twelve years to complete, this book includes much more biographical information than most genealogies, and is not simply a list of names and dates, but a descriptive anthology of family history. Some of the means by which the author gathered this vast amount of data included writing letters, interviewing relatives, calling upon clergymen, postmasters, town clerks, and lawyers, and advertising in local newspapers and historical magazines in America and Europe. It traces the family lines from the ancient Scandinavian Northmen who were the ancestors of the early Normans in France to those who eventually settled in Scotland, Ireland, England, Pennsylvania, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, New York, Maryland, Ohio, Michigan, Illinois, Virginia, Tennessee, North Carolina, Kentucky, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Georgia, Vermont, Shetland Islands, and Maine. Families are grouped according to the regions they inhabited, and all available genealogical data is provided. In addition, the author gives long discourses regarding the origins and changes of the surname (including sixty spelling variations), coats-of-arms, the traditions of Christian names in the family, and the ancient Northmen and Normans. The index contains surnames of those who intermarried with the main family. The appendix contains anecdotes, "gleanings and notes," occupations, addresses of residences in England, graduates of Oxford College, and authors. A must for researchers of this large family group. 2 Vols.