Show ContentsRidgell History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The Ridgell surname is thought to be a habitational name, derived perhaps from the place name Rugeley, in Staffordshire.

Early Origins of the Ridgell family

The surname Ridgell was first found in Staffordshire where they held a family seat from early times and their first records appeared on the early census rolls taken by the early Kings of Britain to determine the rate of taxation of their subjects.

Early History of the Ridgell family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Ridgell research. Another 63 words (4 lines of text) covering the years 1614, 1667 and 1734 are included under the topic Early Ridgell History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Ridgell Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Ridgeley, Ridgley, Ridgly and others.

Early Notables of the Ridgell family

Another 37 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Ridgell Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Ireland Migration of the Ridgell family to Ireland

Some of the Ridgell family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt. More information about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.


United States Ridgell migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Ridgell Settlers in United States in the 17th Century
  • Mr. William Ridgell, aged 24, who arrived in Virginia in 1634 aboard the ship "Bonaventure" coming via St. Domingo [1]
  • Richard Ridgell, who landed in Maryland in 1660-1665 [2]

Australia Ridgell migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

Ridgell Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century
  • Mr. John Ridgell, British Convict who was convicted in Essex, England for 14 years, transported aboard the "Coromandel" on 27th October 1819, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) [3]
  • Sarah Ridgell, aged 24, a servant, who arrived in South Australia in 1849 aboard the ship "Eliza" [4]

West Indies Ridgell migration to West Indies +

The British first settled the British West Indies around 1604. They made many attempts but failed in some to establish settlements on the Islands including Saint Lucia and Grenada. By 1627 they had managed to establish settlements on St. Kitts (St. Christopher) and Barbados, but by 1641 the Spanish had moved in and destroyed some of these including those at Providence Island. The British continued to expand the settlements including setting the First Federation in the British West Indies by 1674; some of the islands include Barbados, Bermuda, Cayman Island, Turks and Caicos, Jamaica and Belize then known as British Honduras. By the 1960's many of the islands became independent after the West Indies Federation which existed from 1958 to 1962 failed due to internal political conflicts. After this a number of Eastern Caribbean islands formed a free association. [5]
Ridgell Settlers in West Indies in the 17th Century
  • William Ridgell, who settled in Jamaica in 1684

Contemporary Notables of the name Ridgell (post 1700) +

  • T. B. Ridgell, American Democratic Party politician, Alternate Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Texas, 1916 [6]


  1. Pilgrim Ship's of 1600's Retrieved January 6th 2023, retrieved from https://www.packrat-pro.com/ships/shiplist.htm
  2. Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
  3. Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 12th March 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/coromandel
  4. State Records of South Australia. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) ELIZA 1849. Retrieved from http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/BSA/1849Eliza.htm
  5. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies
  6. The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, November 24) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html


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