Jane Riddle2 (1), eldest daughter of Hugh1 (1), was born in the County of Durham, Eng. Susan Riddle (1), second daughter of Hugh1 (1), was born in the County of Durham, Eng. THIRD GENERATION. Robert Riddles (2), a son of Robert (1), was born in the County of Durham, Eng., in 1819; married Mary Johnson, and had issue seven chil dren, of whom hereafter. He was a farmer; emigrated to New Brunswick, British North America, in 1848, and works in the coal mines. Hugh Riddle (2), a son of Robert2 (1), was born in the County of Durham, Eng.; married Jane Ayer, and had issue; farmer. Franklin Riddle (1), a son of Robert (1), was born in the County of Durham, Eng., and married Elizabeth Reed; farmer. Margaret Riddles (1), a daughter of Robert2 (1), was born in the County of Durham, Eng. Jane Riddle (1), a daughter of Robert2 (1), was born in the County of Durham, Eng. FOURTH GENERATION. Esther Riddle' (1), eldest daughter of Roberts (2), was born in England in 1838. George Riddle1 (1), eldest son of Roberts (2), was born in England in 1842. Hugh Riddle (3), second son of Roberts (2), was born in England in 1846. Susan Riddle (2), second daughter of Roberts (2), was born in New Brunswick in 1849. Mary Riddle Scotia in 1854. (1), third daughter of Robert (2), was born in Nova Isabella Riddle (1), fourth daughter of Robert3 (2), was born in Nova Scotia in 1858. Sarah Riddle (1), fifth daughter of Robert (2), was born in Nova Scotia in 1860. RIDLEY FAMILY OF ENGLAND. EARLY ANCESTRY. THIS family pedigree reaches back to the time of William the Conqueror. Ridley Hall, the earliest known residence of the family, was in Cheshire, a place previously owned by the Knight Hospitallers. It is pleasantly situated in a beautiful, sequestered valley, under the shadow of the Peckferton Hills. The old hall was evidently unimposing and dilapidated at the time of the first possession of the Ridley family; but, as will appear hereafter, it was rebuilt, and became one of the most stately and elegant houses in the County. The ancient property continued in the main line of the Ridley family till it ended in an heir female, who became the wife of Robert Danyel; then the estate passed to the son and heir, Sir Robert Danyel, who quartered his arms with those of Ridley. This Sir Robert Danyel was an assistant of Sir William Standley, who became the hero of the battle at Bosworth Field, in Scotland,-probably his Esquire, or one of his body-guard, and a veil of mystery enshrouds his history. Leland, the antiquary, in his Itinerary, says, "Ridley 'longed [belonged] to Danyel that was servant to Sir W. Standlie, and few men know what became of this Danyel." The most probable explanation is, that the owner of Ridley Hall and estate was either killed at the battle of Bosworth Field, or was put out of the way by William Standley in order to gain possession of his property. Standley went into the battle with three thousand "tall men," and turned the tide in favor of King Henry; and when King Richard died fighting, covered with wounds, Standley found his crown trampled in the mire, and placed it upon the head of King Henry. After this battle we find Sir William Standley rewarded with a great property, including Ridley Hall and Manor; this was in the year 1494. There was an abstract of a fine on the manor of Ridley in the thirty-second year of the reign of Henry VI, which intervenes between the possession of Sir Robert Danyel and that of Sir William Standley, but the parties named were probably only nominal possessors, and there is obscurity about the transfer. At any rate, Standley did not live long to enjoy his new acquisitions, for after "making it one of the fairest gentleman's houses in all Chestershire," he was, in 1494, committed to prison, and in 1495 lost his head on Tower Hill.* We find no more mention of Ridley * LONDON TOWER was built by Gundulph, Bishop of Rochester, in 1078. It adjoins the River Thames at the east end of the city. The walls, sixteen feet thick, are of solid masonry. Gloomy memories associate with this ancient stronghold, in consequence of the many hapless prisoners who have been executed there, and their names on their dungeon-walls may still be seen, where they cut them centuries ago. Hall after the death of Standley, till the year 1509, when, at the accession of Henry VIII, he presented Ralph Egerton, who was then gentleman usher of the king's chamber, with all the former possessions of Sir William Standley in Cheshire and Flint, which included the manor of Ridley, a mill and certain lands in Farndon, and the Lordship of Tattanhall; and on the 11th of February, 1514, the manor of Ridley was entailed by patent to the heirs male of Ralph Egerton by the same king. This representative of the Egerton family had been created a knight by King Henry VIII, for services in the army in France in 1513, and was made standardbearer for life, with a salary of one hundred pounds a year, after the battle of Flodden Field. He was afterwards made Marshal of Chestershire, thus having jurisdiction in office commensurate with his predecessor at Ridley, Sir William Standley, who had also been Marshal of the County. Egerton died in 1527, and was buried at Ridley. How came the family of Egerton to have possession of the manor of Ridley? In the absence of specific documentary evidence, I conjecture the connections to be as follows: As the main line of the family of Ridley had ended in Alice, the wife of Robert Danyel, and the representation consequently devolved upon their son and heir, who became the knight-follower of William Standley, when this son was put out of sight in some mysterious way, his County Marshal got possession of his property, being then in great favor with the king. Meanwhile a junior branch of the Ridley family of Chestershire, undoubtedly the legal claimants at the death of Sir Robert Danyel, being nearest of kin, had ended in an heir female, Margaret Ridley, who became the wife of Richard Egerton, and had a son Thomas Egerton, her heir. As Standley was now out of the way, the Egertons, represented in that generation by Sir Ralph, put in their rightful claim to the manor of Ridley, and were successful in its possession, with all the costly improvements on the estates made by William Standley. The singular circumstances show that this ancient property, once evidently wrested from the real heirs unjustly, came back to the legal representative after many years, so much increased in value as to almost make good the loss of possession during the occupancy of its unlawful holder. It will be seen by reference to the pedigrees of the Ridley family following this article, that the alliances between the families of Ridley and Egerton had been cemented by several marriage bonds. Sir William Grosvenor, of Eton, had married Susan Ridley, and their daughter or granddaughter became the wife of one Sir Ralph Egerton. There had also been intermarriages between the families previous to the death of the last heiress of the junior branch of the Ridley family. The manor of Ridley continued in the Egerton family from 1509 to 1603, when it passed by sale to Orlando Bridgeman, Bart., Lord Keeper of the Great Seal to King James I, thence into the possession of the family of Pepheys, in the early part of the seventeenth century, and is now owned by William Pepheys, Earl of Cottenham. This family have never made Ridley Hall their residence. During the civil wars the ancient house was garrisoned by the Parliament; an unsuccessful attack was made upon it on the 4th of June, 1645, by a party from the garrison at Beeston CasThe Hall was burned in the year 1700. tle. "Ridley Chancel" was kept in repairs by the Pepheys to 1873, when they threw it upon the wide world, their liability to keep it longer in good condition being at that time repudiated. The town of Ridley is in the first division of the Hundred of Edisbury, |