Free Y-DNA Testing for males with the surname of Riddell or Riddle

[Gail Riddell]

I am new to this forum - I am from New Zealand.  My domicile is irrelevant to my request but I am travelling to the UK in February and will be in Northumberland (Ashington, Woodhorn) in late February for research. 
   I am the administrator for the Riddell/Riddle Surname Project for a DNA firm titled Family Tree DNA (FTDNA).  I have some 150 members from all over the globe and they have been working for months to raise the funds for me to offer free Y-DNA tests to Riddell/Riddle men who possess a pedigree back to around 1800.
   Currently those members hail from South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, North America, Scotland and England.  But because I know that not all the RIDDELL (or Riddle or Ridley) families are represented in the project, I am pushing to recruit more members.
   If you live in the UK and can provide me with a pedigree back to around 1800 (or earlier), you automatically will qualify if your surname is a derivation of Riddell or Riddle or Ridley or Ridel etc.
   If this is you or if you (on this forum) know someone who might be interested, please contact me.  The test consists of a cheek scraping - no blood - no hassle - no cost.  In return you will have full participation in all the results of the project plus access to learning or advice or genealogy via me as the administrator.
   I shall also be in Edinburgh and Melrose and will be issuing the same invitation. (It will be a race to see whether the funds are extinguished by the English or the Scots)  :-)
   Kind regards
Gail Riddell

[Crisrbow]

Hi - I am married to a Riddell, I have traced the family back to Thomas Riddell born 1793 in Ponteland Northumberland, am fairly certain if I could find Thomas's birth I'd eventually get the family back to Scotland. I'm not sure my husband would be willing to have a DNA test but I have two sons who would be..both in their 30's by the way, not small children! Just really wanted to wish you luck in your quest and if there was any info that could be shared that would be useful

Chris

[Ruskie]

Welcome to rootschat Gail.

What an exciting project. Good luck with it. Um, I have some Ridleys somewhere in Northumberland ...

[Gail Riddell]

Hi Chris,
I am uncertain if this is the correct procedure to follow when wishing to reply...
   One of the advantages of Y-DNA testing is that although the results cannot give you the name of your ancestor, when compared to others and matches are found, the other person may have the name of the ancestor being sought.  That is one of the purposes of 'Surname Projects' under the administration of someone like me. 
   Even if your husband is not interested, his biological sons will have the same Haplogroup and haplotype that he has, so either of them will qualify if you wish to take this further.  While you are considering it, have a look at http://www.familytreedna.com/public/Riddle/
   And as for the name, be aware we have people who arrived in New Zealand 150 years ago using RIDDELL as the surname and within 10 years it was being spelling RIDDLE.  Equally similar are those who arrived with RIDDLE as the name but within 10 years was being spelled RIDDELL.  I have one family in the project - some use RIDDLE and others use RIDDELL and they are all cousins.  Pronunciation has played a part in this...
   Kind regards
Gail
   

Hi - I am married to a Riddell, I have traced the family back to Thomas Riddell born 1793 in Ponteland Northumberland, am fairly certain if I could find Thomas's birth I'd eventually get the family back to Scotland. I'm not sure my husband would be willing to have a DNA test but I have two sons who would be..both in their 30's by the way, not small children! Just really wanted to wish you luck in your quest and if there was any info that could be shared that would be useful

Chris

[Gail Riddell]

Hi
Thank you for your welcome note.
I have two unrelated RIDLEY men in the project, so if you can locate the males with that surname and they have a pedigree, then please contact me again.
Kind regards
Gail

Welcome to rootschat Gail.

What an exciting project. Good luck with it. Um, I have some Ridleys somewhere in Northumberland ...

[MalcolmH]

Hello Gail
What follows is peripheral to your project but may be of some interest.  Apologies in advance if this is a waste of your time!
My paternal grandmother's sister, Gertrude Hill, Emigrated to NZ to marry a Riddell who was a sheep farmer in Dannevirke.  According to the family ( always suspect), and my investigations, this was in 1908 sailing to Wellington.  Mr Riddell appears to have been a man of some repute as his picture appeared in a national newspaper in England (the Daily Mirror).
I have found references to Riddells in Dannevirke both in the past and more recently.  The website "Papers Past" has a copy of the Evening Post of 3 Sept 1917 (p.11) listing C.B. Riddell (Sheep Farmer, Dannevirke) among other recruits, I believe for WW1, in the Wairarapa District.
Gertrude's grandfather , William Hill, was born c. 1803 in Nottinghamshire and died 1877.  His forebears on his mother's side  (the Creech family) I have traced back to about 1700 in Dorchester.
Hope this is of some interest and the best of luck for the success of your project!
Regards MalcolmH

[Gail Riddell]

Hi Malcolm
Delighted to have heard from you.
I have tracked down the grandson of C.B Riddell if this is of any interest to you.
If he tests for me, would you also be interested in doing same?
Kind regards
Gail

[Gail Riddell]

Malcolm
I apologise but I have just re-read your email and find I need to withdraw my offer made to you because you are not a paternal Riddell and of course it was through your female relative that you have the connection.  So disappointed!  For both of us.  In terms of proving via Y-DNA I mean.

But that does not mean I cannot put you and your Dannevirke cousin in contact if you both desire this...  Let me know.
Gail

[MalcolmH]

Gail
  Thanks for the reply and the offer to put me in touch with my distant cousins.  However I have no evidence that I am related to C B Riddell. The only information I have is that my grandmother's sister married a Riddell from Dannevirke.  It may or may not be the same family.  If you do come across her descendants/ family I would be happy to be put in touch with them if, of course, they wish it.
Thanks once again
MalcolmH