THE BEGINNING-- THE RIDDIOUGHS

     It has been a while since I wrote on this blog, so if I have repeated myself ... bear with me.  I am going to start at the very beginning of the Riddiough family tree.  Riddiough was my mother's maiden name, and of course would be a descendant of the Riddiough line.

    The Riddioughs originated in France with the name being spelled Riddioux.  They were Roman Catholics, but migrated to England because of religious pressures.  (I have no further information on that.)
The first Riddiough of note was William 1 who kept a crossroad inn or country roadhouse in Yorkshire County, England.  He also had a couple of cottages, and for some reason, he willed all of his property to his grandchildren (which would have been William 3).  His only child, William 2 married Grace DeMain, born in Liverpool, England.  They migrated to America in 1853.  Three of their sons were born in England, and the fourth son was born in the United States.  The third son, William 3 born in Iron Bridge, England in 1849, was just four years old when his parents migrated.  He married the red headed Electa Richmond.  It was her third and last marriage.  William and Electa Riddiough had six children of whom, my grandfather, Thomas William was the oldest son.  They were my mother's grandparents.

     It appears that at this point in our family history that our family had both French and English blood running through their veins.  It also appears that William 3 and Electa were well off materially.  They farmed for many years, then moved to Fennimore, Wisconsin, where he operated a hardware store and then later retired.  (I remember that when William 3 returned to England to collect his inheritance, that he was denied it.  He was not allowed to take the money out of England.)

     In the picture, my mother, Gladys, is the little girl with the big bow in her hair, second from the left end of the first row.  Her mother, Marie, is seated next to William Riddiough 3, first row, right.  Her father, William Thomas, is standing behind Marie.  Electa is the older lady in the first row.