The Redden Family of E-Shore of Maryland
The Redden surname can be found in 18th century documents in Worcester Co, Md. Bob Redden of Newark, Del., believes the origins of his branch of the Redden family originated in the weaving hamlet of Redden in southern Scotland. [1] Elizabeth Redden of Salisbury, Md., wrote: "Traveling back through the pages of history, we first find the family name of Redden in Scotland in the parish of Sprouston, Roxburghshire, a grange of the Abbey of Kelso. The Abbey of Kelso was the subject of an agreement between 1160 and 1180 which was witnessed by Hugh de Reueden [sic.]." [2] The surname is derived from the Scottish Redding; its meaning is simply one who comes from Redding in Scotland. In Scots, Redding means a red meadow or clearing.
Various Redden genealogists have pointed
to the Scotch-Irish origins of the Reddens of Maryland, but no definitive
proof has been found. Arthur S. Hancock wrote: "Rumor has it the Reddens were Irish
Protestants who went to France during the heyday of the Huguenots; but when the Edict of
Nantes lapsed, the Reddens came over to Maryland with the Aydolettes, Bostons, &
Devereaus. [3] In summary, the family name of Redden originated in Scotland
c1160; and several members of the Redden Clan helped to form Irish colonies c1609. Around
1630, the New World beckoned to many Reddens. They came in flight from economic
disaster caused by English tariffs, for religious
freedom, and for the adventure of starting over in a new land.
The story of two Redden brothers, John & Nehemiah Redden, is intriguing & woven into the fabric of America's own history with their participation in the Revolutionary War. John Redden as a soldier; Nehemiah as a private in the Worcester County Militia and "patriot service" as a taker of the Oath of Fidelity. NSDAR "Patriot Index" lists Nehemiah Redden's service from a supplemental application of Eunice V. Redden of Texas, Nat'l. No. 512931-468. "Redden Bible" pages in DAR Genealogical Record Committee books, Texas Vol. S1-V224.
Redden immigrants to the colonies of Virginia & Maryland filtered across the Chesapeake Bay region, some settling in Somerset County, Md., and in the adjacent Sussex Co., Del. The Eastern Shore had its share of border disputes with Virginia as early as 1651. Lord Baltimore encouraged permanent settlements on the Eastern Shore to protect his original charter; he created Somerset County in 1666 to protect his claim. Prior to a settlement between Va. and Md., the colony of VA issued over 27,800 acres for patents in the territory which lies within present-day Worcester County. Lord Baltimore, however, reissued the patents after 1668 and the patentees became Marylanders. [4]
John Redding was in Somerset Co prior to 1675 when the Assembly voted
to build a fort between his
holdings
& the Pocomoke River. Peter Redding, a foot soldier of Somerset
County, first appeared in Maryland records in 1738 when he purchased Bradshaw's
Purchase. The tract passed to John Redden on March 17, 1788.
By 1759, Peter added Aberdeen & Dunlap's Choice to his holdings. Elizabeth Redden believes Peter Redden to be the father of John & Nehemiah Redden. [5] John & Nehemiah are known to have been brothers named in land records. Peter was of age to have fathered children between 1730 & 1755, which census records indicate was John Redden's approximate birthdate. Nehemiah, John's brother, was only a few years older or younger.
Photo right: Pocomoke City's Costen House Museum & Community Center on National Register of Historical Places
Of the Reddens residing in Worcester Co, Peter Redden transferred his land only to Nehemiah & John. Preponderance of evidence lends credence to the familial relationship. Peter Redden, therefore, was probably born c1715; and died apparently after the transfer of his lands to Nehemiah & John Redden in 1788. No will for Peter Redden or his wife has ever been located.
The loyalty of John Redden & his brother, Nehemiah Redden, was attested by the inclusion of their names in the Oath of Fidelity Returns of James Selby, Feb. 2, 1778. John Redden was a member of Capt. Walton's Co, Wicomico Battalion, in Worcester Co, July 15, 1780. [6] Professor Richard S. Uhrbrock, Athens, Ohio, wrote that research on the Redden family of Worcester Co prior to 1800 is complicated by the fact both men had sons named Nehemiah, Stephen & John. Both Nehemiah, son of John, and Nehemiah Redden Jr. inherited lands from their fathers, therefore, a study of land records is a means of separating the lines. John Redden Sr. and Nehemiah Redden Sr. bought tracts March 22, 1770, from Elisha Jones. On March 7, 1788, they acquired additional acreage from Peter Redden. [7]
In the will of Nehemiah Redden Sr.
of Worcester Co dated Nov. 5, 1793, probated Sept. 25, 1795, he named his children:
John, Nehemiah Jr., Shadrack,
Esther Blades,
Mary, James and Stephen.. He referred to "my land
near the tract adjoining my brother John Redden's land. "
[8] One-half of his estate was bequeathed to wife Leah Redden.
Nehemiah Redden Jr. received "remaining part of my land including Aberdeen."
Aberdeen comprised three hundred acres of land in Worcester Co;
it was patented April 3, 1689 by James Sangster. [9]
Photo: Pocomoke River bridge at Pocomoke City near "Aberdeen"
Leah *Melvin Redden, b. c1745, was a daughter of Robert & Edith Taylor Melvin Jr. She was named in the will of her father who left her one large looking glass, one side saddle, and one chest. The will of Robert Melvin Jr. signed Nov. 14, 1770, probated April 26, 1771. [10] At the death of Leah Melvin Redden in 1800, she bequeathed one shilling to her son Nehemiah Redden Jr. [11] Shadrack Redden, b. c1770, third son of Nehemiah & Leah Melvin Redden, died before October, 1828, in Bracken Co, Ky. He married first, around 1793, Leah Dubberly, daughter of Ezekiel & Jemima Payne Dubberly who died before Jan 18, 1796. He married second, just before Feb. 12, 1796, Susannah Robins, daughter of Michael & Agnes Fitzgerald Robins. [12]
Agnes Fitzgerald was the daughter of David & Bridget Chandler Fitzgerald. [13a-b] Bridget Chandler Fitzgerald was the daughter of Solomon & Anne Chandler. Solomon's father was John Chandler of Accomack Co, Va. [Appendix B] *Melvin Family of Md.
Shadrack & Leah Dubberly Redden had one son: John Redden, b. c1794 in Worcester Co Md. Shadrack & Susannah Robins Redden had twins: Purnell Burch Redden and Mary Redden b. Aug 20, 1802, in Worcester Co, Md. The Redden family came into Kentucky before 1815 by flatboat down the Ohio River from Pittsburgh, Pa., according to a family tradition recounted by Ellen Redden Dawson to her grandchildren. They debarked at Limestone Landing, today called Maysville, Mason Co, Ky.
Purnell Burch Redden married Eleanor Norris on Jan 25, 1820, in Bracken Co, Ky. "Purnal" Redden, as he was called by the family, died Dec.19, 1881 in Bracken Co, Ky., and is buried in Mt. Zion ME Church Cemetery near Gertrude, Ky. His twin sister, Mary Redden, married Levin Redden on Jan. 13, 1820 in Bracken Co, Ky. and died in 1883 according to her will proven March 19, 1883. [14a & b]
Purnell Burch Redden's daughter, Ellen Redden (b. Dec. 2, 1837 in Bracken Co, Ky.) married Noah Dawson (b. Oct 7, 1832) on Aug. 27, 1857 at Batavia Courthouse, Clermont Co, Ohio. Noah & Ellen Redden Dawson are buried at Persimmon Grove Baptist Church Cemetery, Campbell Co, Ky. Minnie Jane Dawson (b. Feb. 5, 1874), daughter of Noah & Ellen Redden Dawson, married Samuel Benjamin Spaulding on Oct. 20, 1889, in Campbell Co Ky. and they are the parents of Grace Spaulding Dells (b. Nov. 13, 1905), of Cincinnati, Hamilton Co, Ohio.
Ellen Redden Dawson Tombstone (left) ~ Persimmon Grove Baptist Church, Campbell Co, Ky. (middle) ~ Noah Dawson, husband of Ellen Redden, Grave Marker (right)
Footnotes & Bibliography:
1. "Origin of the Redden Family," unpublished manuscript by Bob Redden, Newark, Del., 1997.
2. "The Redden Family Chronicles," privately published by Elizabeth Redden, Salisbury, Md., 1995.
3. Redden Family File, Letter to Snow Hill Library, Wor. Co Md., from Arthur S. Hancock in Chronicles, p. 1.
4. "Worcester County Maryland Arcadia," by Dr. Millard G. Les Callette & Dr. Reginald V. Truitt, Baltimore & Easton: Waverly Press, 1977, p. 46.
5. Redden Family Chronicles, op cit., p. 3.; John & Nehemiah Redden of Worcester Co Md. and Nehemiah Redden, the Kentucky Branch, by Richard S. Uhrbrock, Athens, Ohio, unpub. manuscript, p. 1.
Map of Worcester Co's former Pocomoke Hundred. Nos. 1 & 2 on map refer to West Chester; cited below.
According to Natalie Stevens dstevens@dmv.com location of Aberdeen is along Sheephouse Road off Route 13. Natalie Stevens emailed: "Aberdeen no longer stands having been torn down about eighteen years ago." Natalie is the 8th generation of direct descendants of Nehemiah Redden to live on the farm known as Aberdeen. Dale E. Stevens, Natalie's father, emailed: "The farm was originally patented by James Sangster, and Nehemiah purchased it in 1770. The home which was torn down was not the original home, but merely an ordinary farmhouse constructed in the late 19th or early 20th century by Stephen D. Redden & his wife Emma Caulk Redden. [Emma Caulk Redden, great-grandmother of Natalie's father, was the second wife of Stephen Decatur Redden, son of Stephen J. Redden, whose father was Nehemiah Redden Jr. ] Emma Redden lived in the farmhouse, as did my parents and I, in the 1950's and 1960's. "
6. DAR Folder No. 127, p. 74 in Genealogical Records of Maryland, Vol 1, p. 42.
7. Worcester Co Md. Deeds: Liber H, folio 254-55; and Liber M, folio 319 & 332.
8. "John & Nehemiah Redden of Wor. Co Md.," op cit, p. 6.
9. Land Office Records, Annapolis MD, Liber B No. 23 folios 16-17.
10. Hall of Records, Annapolis, Md., Worcester County Wills, Liber 26, folios 28-30.
11. Wor. Co MD Will Book, IBR No. 1, p. 133.
12. Redden Family Records by Melissa Kirkpatrick Wells 1968 & Helen Wells 1992; PAF FGSs with documentation by John L. Dawson of Park Ridge NJ.
13a. Redden Family Records by Helen Wells op cit; John L. Dawson research, Mar. 26, 1995.
13b. "Wills & Adm. of Accomack Co VA," Stratton Nottingham, Bowie, Md.: Heritage Books, 1990, pp. 187, 87.
14a. Wells, op. cit. 1992, Redden Family Groups Sheets.
14b. "Shadrack Redden Chronology," by John L. Dawson, Benton, Ky. 1998.
15. Dawson Family PAF Charts by John L. Dawson, Benton, Ky., 1992.
(a) Noah Dawson birth & death dates from Survey Report on Persimmon Grove Baptist Church Cemetery, Campbell Co, Ky.
(b) Noah Dawson residence: 1870 Berlin, Bracken Co Ky. Census; 1880 Campbell Cos. Ky. Census.
(c) 1880 Campbell Co Ky. Census: pob of father Daniel Dawson, Del.; pob of mother Ellen Redden, Ky.
Note: Redden-Dawson PAF Family Group Sheets with documentation available from Pat Doster.
Appendix A:
Nehemiah Redden of Wor. Co Md. Will dated Nov. 5, 1793, probated Sept. 25, 1795, in Wor. Co Md. Liber JWB f. 213-214: To wife Leah Redden one-half part of land on road from Stevens Ferry to Seaside, bound Aberdeen & Ayres Smith's land adj. to brother John Redden's land. To sons James, John, Stephen, Shadrack Redden, excr. To son Nehemiah Redden balance of land. To daus: Mary Redden & Esther Blades. Wts: Rich. Ellis, Joseph Bousee, James Tull, Jehu Blades.
Note: Nehemiah Redden, father of Shadrack Redden, mar. Leah Melvin, d/o Robert & Edith Taylor Melvin Jr., around 1765.
Melvin 1783 Tax Lists for Somerset & Worcester Cos. Md. by Ruth T. Dryden, San Diego, CA
Pitts Creek Hundred: Robert Melvin 50 a. Cowley 2M:4F ; George Melvin Jr. 50 a. Cowley 4M:5F ; Jonathan Melvin 79 a. Security 6M: 1F; John Melvin 110 a. True Bridge & Winter Quarter 3M: 3 F; William Melvin 100 a. Cowley & Golden Quarter.
Aberdeen in Somerset Co. Md. patented Apr. 22, 1689, for 300 a. in Pocomoke Hundred by James Langster. Rent Rolls 1666-1723 claimed by James Langster, son of James who lived in Va. Note: Tract subsequently in Worcester Co MD, formed 1742.
8 Aug 1744: John Tamplin os Sus. Co DE sold to Elisha Jones of Worc. Co. 50 a. near Ferry Rd, s. of Pocomoke City.
8 Oct 1744: John Tamplin sold to Nathaniel Mills 50 a.
Jan 2, 1758: Nathaniel & Rachel Mills sold to Peter Redden 50 a.
Mar. 16, 1767: Elisha Jones resurveyed 474 a.
Mar. 22, 1770: Elisha & Comfort Jones sold 74 a. to Nehemiah Redden & 16 a. to John Redden.
Mar 22 1770: Elisha Jones with wife Comfort Jones sold to Wm. Mills 53 a.
1783 Tax: Nehemiah Redden paid taxes on 102 a. of Aberdeen.
1786: Elisha Jones willed to son Daniel Jones west side of Aberdeen divided from son James Jones' portion.
1793 Nehemiah Redden Sr. Will: to wife Leah Redden and to son Nehemiah Redden Jr. tract Aberdeen.
Feb 9, 1805: Peter Redden with wife Nancy Redden sold to Wm. Mills 20 a.
18-8: Daniel Jones willed to wife Tabitha Jones & son Daniel Jones 150 a. & son Thomas Jones, balance of land unnamed.
Source: "Land Records of Worcester Co MD 1666-1810" by Ruth T. Dryden; Westminster, Md. Family Line Pub., 1987, pp. 1-2.
West Chester patented 19 Nov. 1681 by John Rust for 200 a. John Rust in 1695 willed to Wm. & Robt. Boucher of Sussex Co Del.
4 June 1712: Wm. & Robt. Boucher sold to Edward Kellum .
29 Aug 1723: Edward Kellum sold to John Dubberly 200 a.
5 Sept 1792: Wm. Kellum with wife Nacy Kellum and Leah Dubberly agree to divide West Chester.
5 Sept 1792: James Jones sold to Wm. Kellum & wife Nancy Kellum 65 a. to settle lines.
13 Nov 1792: Wm. Kellum & Leah Dubberly sold part to John Watson.
13 Nov 1792: Leah Dubberly & James Jones sold 15 a. to Moses Payne.
23 Sept 1793: Wm & Nancy Kellum, James & Betsy Jones to Shadrack Redden and wife Leah Redden agree to divide 80 a.
27 Feb 1802: Wm. Kellum sold 61 a. to Ezekiel Kellum.
26 May 1803: Moses Payne sold to Wrixam Payne 185+ a. of West Chester, Smithfield, Farloworth, & Friends Assistance.
Source: "Land Records of Worcester Co MD 1666-1810 by Ruth T. Dryden; Westminster, Md. Family Line Pub., 1987. pp. 663-64.
Shadrack Redden Chronology by John L. Dawson
1796 - Shadrack Redden made a declaration of a "List of Negroes" brought into Worcester County Feb. 3, 1796. Michael Robins of Accomack Co Va had bequeathed the negroes to his daughter, Susannah Robins, the wife of said Shadrack Redden.
1807 - Shadrack Redden made a declaration of a "List of Negroes" brought into Worcester County March 29, 1807. Michael Robins of Accomack Co Va. had bequeathed the Negroes to his daughter, Susannah Robins, wife of said Shadrack Redden.
1810 - Shadrack Redden listed as head of household on 1810 Census of Wor. Co, Md.
1815, 1816, 1817 - Shadrack Redden listed on Tax Rolls of Bracken Co, Ky.
1820 - Shadrack Redden listed on Tax Rolls of Bracken Co, Ky.; 1827 - Shadrack Redden listed on Tax Roll of Bracken Co, Ky.
1827 - Shadrack Redden wrote a will dated Dec. 9, 1827, Bracken Co, Ky., probated 1828 in October term of county court.
Appendix B
Chandler Wills in Accomack Co, Virginia
Solomon Chandler of Accomack Co Va. Will dated Sept. 30, 1756; probated Dec. 29, 1756, Accomack Co Wills, p. 187: to my present wife Anne Chandler; to daughter Bridget Fitzgerald, wife of David Fitzgerald. To daus. Anne, Comfort, Susannah, Betty & Mary Chandler. To son George Chandler; Jacob & William Chandler, sons, mentioned.
Anne Chandler of Accomack Co Va. Will dated Aug. 15, 1757; probated Dec. 2, 1762. Accomack Co Wills, p. 213: to Bridget Fitzgerald. To Susannah Fitzgerald. To Mary Kellam. To Wm. Chandler. To Elizabeth Haly. To dau. Anne Chandler Jr. To dau Comfort Chandler. George, Anne, & Comfort Chandler, resid. legatees. Son Wm. Chandler, excr.
John Chandler of Accomack Co VA. Will dated Jan. 23, 1728/9; probated Mar. 4, 1728/9, Accomack Co Wills, p. 87: to son Hathen Fettapace Chandler. To son Solomon Chandler. To Dau. Bridget Powell; to dau Abigail Phillips. To dau Charity Arlington. To sons-in-law Wm. Phillips & John Arlington. Wts: Isaiah & Sarah Smith.