The Riddle/Ridell/Riedell/Ryedale lineage appears to descend from Celtic origin, the family having immigrated to New England prior to the mid-l700s. Riddle genealogy strongly suggests James Riddle’s father, John, served in the War of Independence. Documentation reveals the family settled in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and subsequently migrated to Hamilton and Jefferson counties of Ohio as John and Margaret Riddle’s children came of age.
Son James was born 15 June 1792 at Pittsburgh. He enlisted with Captain George Steger’s Company of the Ohio Militia, being called into service on 4 Sep 1812. He served from 30 Nov 1812 to 9 Jan 1813 as a substitute for another soldier, name unrecorded. James’ military service reports show he assisted in building a blockhouse — defensive structure to project soldiers from enemy fire — at Wooster, Ohio. He was discharged at Lower Sandusky, now the village of Fremont.
On 5 May 1816 James married Elizabeth Gill in Tiltonsville. A land grant certificate was issued under the authority of President John Quincy Adams to James on 20 Jul 1826 for 80 acres in Richland County, Ohio, under the Act of Congress of April 24, 1820. The Act reduced both the down payment and the price per acre on the purchase of public land and is credited for encouraging expansion of western settlement. The couple came west to Fillmore County in 1853. Settling in Forestville Township, James owned land with his young adult son, Thomas, in section 14. A military warrant land patent was issued on 10 Jun 1859 to James under the ScripWarrant Act of 1855 for 80 acres in this section. Subsequently, the earliest extant township map (1878) reveals the Riddle family owned 160 acres in the northeast quarter section and an adjoining fifty acres to the southwest.
James and Elizabeth are buried at the pioneer cemetery of Zumbro Hill. The graveyard at Forestville State Park is located up a steep, winding trail that runs along the ridge of an old territorial road and is today surrounded by brush and thick timber.
James died at the age of 87 years on 8 Oct 1876. His gravestone is carved with a traditional icon in mortuary art of a weeping willow. The once-erect marble marker lies flush above his gravesite with moss-capped crown.