THE RIDDALLS FAMILIES OF TAVISTOCK
INFORMATION PAGE

There are no Riddalls names recorded in the early tax records for Tavistock nor in the Protestation Returns 1641 but in the tax returns 1660 Thomas Reddall paid Tax 0s 6d, and his widow, Katherine, paid hearth tax on 4 hearths in 1674. Katherine Reddall donated 9 pence towards the relief of soldiers captured by the Turks in 1670 and Thomas Reddall donated 3 pence also.

The Riddalls families in Tavistock appear to originate from one family, Thomas Raddall and Thomasin whose children are seen in the Parish Registers in 1622/3. It is very likley there was an earlier son Thomas born about 1620 who married Katherine Peeke in 1649.

The Parish Registers give good records for Tavistock, however there are gaps and several important records have not been found even though surrounding parishes have been thoroughly searched. Unfortunately there are no wills or other records to help chart this family.

The occupations of these families are principally as Agricultural Workers, Blacksmiths, Shoemakers and later Miners. One family appears to have been to New Orleans and returned and others emigrated to Canada and USA.

In the census many farming families are found in local, often very isolated, farms many of which exist today. There are still farms up in Wilsworthy Hamlet where my great great grandfather, John, was born. He later can be found in Hilltown, Taviton and Long Ash on Dartmoor. Other close relatives were at Grendon and Manna Butts. Surprisingly his son, John, aged 16, signed for the Royal Navy as a “boy” in 1871. He was just 5ft 2inches and weighed 7st 4lbs. He had an excellent record at Dartmouth and, despite the very hard life endured by naval personnel in those years, he rose to be a Chief Gunnery Instructor by 1891. When he retired in 1897 he had been a Customs Officer and had sailed to the Far East and Africa during his career. After his retirement John Riddalls and his wife Selina moved to Folkestone where he became a publican. See Riddalls Folkestone Information

I would like to thank Valerie Turvey for all her help with these families