Paul Ridenour Family Tree - Quick Reference

My German family (Nicholas Ridenour II) came from Alsace, Lorraine (France) and arrived in America on 9/3/1739 on the ship "Robert and Alice"
[Pennsylvania German Pioneers, List of Arrivals in Port of Philadelphia from 1727 - 1808 Vol. II, Ralph B. Strassburger, page, 274]

Nicholas Ridenour II and family settled in Berks County, Pennsylvania, then Maryland, Ohio, and Indiana.

VIEW my complete genealogy
(I have information on Ridenours between 800 AD and 1500 AD)

"Ancestors Are Forever" Download Melvin O. Ridenour's "Ridenour" Database
Updated 01/2003 (Updated 11/06/2023 by Paul Ridenour)

9. Antony Reitenauer
8. Hans Reitenauer
7. Nicholas "Claus" Reitenauer I
6. Johann "Nicholas" Reitenauer II
5. Mathias Ridenour
4. David Ridenour, Sr.
3. David Ridenour, Jr.
2. George T. Ridenour
1. Errol Ridenour
ii. Stanley Ridenour
i. Robert Ridenour
Paul Ridenour

9. Antony Reitenauer "Anton" circa 1586 (9th great grandfather) and Margret Christen
Children:
Hans Reitenauer circa 1612, Barbel Reitenauer circa 1614, Daniel Reitenauer circa 1614, Antony Reitenauer circa 1616, Ulrich Reitenauer circa 1618

"REITENAUER IMMIGRANTS, THE EARLY YEARS", by Mona McCown and Nona Harwell. THEIR PRIMARY SOURCE FOR THIS IS
Zivilstandsamt - Tauf und Eherodein III, IV, und V, der Kirchgemeinde Melchnau [Civil Record - Baptismal and Marriage records III., IV., and V. (Gondiswil) found with the Church Parish records in Melchnau, Canton of Bern, Switzerland

8. Hans Reitenauer circa 1612 (8th great grandfather) and Catharina Schar
[Note: 7th great grandparents of Christian writer Fritz Ridenour and 11th great grandparents of basketball player Luke Ridnour]
Children:
Hans Reitenauer bpt. 6/8/1634, Elisabeth Reitenauer bpt. 2/3/1639, Anthony Reitenauer bpt. 1/17/1641, Hans Ulrich Reitenauer bpt. 3/12/1643, Daniel Reitenauer bpt. 3/2/1645, Eva Reitenauer bpt. 8/1/1647, Mariann Reitenauer bpt. 4/29/1649, Nicholas "Claus" Reitenauer I bpt. 6/8/1651

7. Nicholas Claus Reitenauer I bpt. 6/8/1651 (7th great grandfather) and Susanna Windstein
Children:
Johann Michael Reitenauer circa 1680, Anna Eva Reitenauer bpt. 1681, Susanna Reitenauer, Johann "Nicholas" Reitenauer II ca. 1683, Hans Ludwig Reitenauer 1685, Catharina Margaretha Reitenauer (twin) 1687, Catharina Elisabetha Reitenauer (twin) 1687, Johannes Reitenauer 1690, Anna Christina Reitenauer bpt. 1692, Hans Balthasar Reitenauer bpt. 1696

Nicholas "Claus" Reitenauer I is buried in Tieffenbach (Photos by John Pace)
German Genealogist Document (Tieffenbach Archives) - includes Ridenour Families (190 pages long)

All of Nicholas I's children's were born and baptized in Rexingen, Alsace (Bas Rhin)
"REITENAUER IMMIGRANTS, THE EARLY YEARS",by Mona McCown and Nona Harwell., THEIR PRIMARY SOURCE FOR THIS IS
LDS Microfilm Archives, Salt Lake City, Utah #729847, #772792, Rexingen Parish Records (1704 to 1712 with records of Berg and Lorentzen and Familienbuchen Krummes Elsass, Records of the Lutheran Churchbook from Berg and Thal, 1704 - 1711 - 1794, Volume 24, page 203, Dr Gerhard Hein's transcription]

6. Johann Nicholas Reitenauer II 1683 (6th great grandfather) #1 Maria Magdalena Arnet #2 Rosina Kershner (no children with Nicholas - most likely sister of George Kershner)
Many Ridenours in America can be traced back to Nicholas II and his brother Balthasar
John Hager, Nicholas Reitenauer II, and others founded Hagerstown, Washington County, Maryland
Children #1:
Maria Barbara Reitenauer 1706, Johann Philip Reitenauer 1708, Johann Nicholas Reitenauer III 1711, Johann Henrich Reitenauer 1713, Anna Margaretha Reitenauer 1716, Anna Catharina Reitenauer 1718, Johann Daniel Reitenauer 1721, Johann Peter Reitenauer 1723, Johann "Mathias" Reitenauer 1725, Anna Elisebetha 1728

[Nicholas II's occupation was "Bauer and Church Censor" (Farmer and Church Official). He lived in Tieffenbach and Rexingen, Alsace (Bas Rhin), France; then Prince George Co., Maryland, which became Frederick Co., which became Washington Co, MD
"REITENAUER IMMIGRANTS, THE EARLY YEARS", by Mona McCown and Nona Harwell, THEIR PRIMARY SOURCE FOR THIS IS
Records of the Lutheran Churchbook from Berg and Thal, 1704 - 1711 - 1794, Volume 24, page 205]

["Hans Nickel Reitenauer" II with son Mathias came to America on the ship "Robert and Alice" arriving Sept. 3, 1739 - Pennsylvania German Pioneers: List of Arrivals in Port of Philadelphia from 1727 - 1808 Vol. II, by Ralph B. Strassburger, page 274]

[18th Century Emigrants From Northern Alsace to America by Annette K. Burgert, pages 403-409]

[Mathias' brothers Hans. Henry Reitenauer and Peter Reitenauer came with their uncle Hans Balthasar Reydenauer on the ship "Robert and Alice" arriving Sept. 11, 1738, along with Balthasar's and Nicholas II's sister Anna Christina Reitenauer Klingenschmidt and her husband Daniel Klingenschmidt, Pennsylvania German Pioneers: List of Arrivals in Port of Philadelphia from 1727 - 1808 Vol. II, by Ralph B. Strassburger, pages 220-225, A Collection of upwards of Thirty Thousand Names of German, Swiss, Dutch, French, and other Immigrants in Pennsylvania From 1727 to 1776, by Prof. I. Daniel Rupp, page 119, and "Eighteenth Century Emigrants From Northern Alsace to America" by Annette Kunselman Burgert]

["Nicholas Rietenhower" II took an oath of allegiance to the state of Pennsylvania - Names of Foreigners who took the Oath of Allegiance to the Province and State of Pennsylvania 1726-1775, With Foreign Arrivals, 1786-1808, edited by William Henry Egle, M.D., page 189]

[Hagerstown was once called Elizabethtown [1762] after Jonathan Hager's wife Elizabeth Kershner. Citizen's just called it Hager's Town. It officially became Hager's Town in 1813 and the common usage of Hagerstown by 1835, Laws of Maryland, 1835, Chapter 101, Courtesy of the Maryland Law Library, Annapolis, Maryland]

[Hagerstown founded by Jonathan Hager, Nicholas Ridenour II and his 100 acres called "Nicholas Ridenour's Pond," and others. After Nicholas II's died, his son and heir Nicholas Ridenour III sold "Ridenour's Pond" to Mathias, Henry, and David Ridenour by agreement of Sept 21, 1761, and another of July 4, 1761, which was never recorded. Mathias and Henry sold Nicholas' land in Salisburg called "Dawson's Strife" for 30 pounds, witness: Jonathan Hager. "Nicholas Ridenour's Pond" adjoins a small road leading from John Thomases' land toward George Castner's, about five miles south of Conococheague, with all rights and benefits (royal mines excepted) in the Manor of Conocoheague. Nicholas was deeded the 100 acres by Lord Baltimore on Aug 22, 1743, Western Maryland Genealogy, Vol. 3, Number 4, October 1987, Washington County Deeds, Liber C, page 182]

[On Oct 20, 1747, "Nicholas Wrightnomer" (Nicholas Ridenaur), of Prince George's Co., was Naturalized. Jonathan Hager and Martin Kershner (son of George and Anna Kershner) were naturalized on the same day. Nicholas Reydenaure of Frederick County, German, Lutheran Wildbahne, naturalized on Oct 6, 1768, witness: Heinrich Reitnawer, - Colonial Maryland Naturalizations, by Jeffrey A. Wyand and Florence L. Wyand, page 17, 18, and 66]

[Mathias Ridenaur and brothers, Henry (Henrich) and Peter, all of Frederick Co., were "Naturalized" in Maryland on April 11, 1753 - Colonial Maryland Naturalizations, by Jeffrey A. Wyand and Florence L. Wyand, page 17-18]

5. Mathias Ridenour 10/25/1725 Alsace, France - 3/3/1792 Hagerstown, MD (5th great grandfather) and Eve "Eva" Unknown ca. 1730 - ca. 1813
(Mathias' Last Will and Testament)
Children:
Nicholas Ridenour 1755, Henry Ridenour 1757, Jacob Ridenour 1759, John Ridenour 1762, Eva Ridenour 1764, Rosina Ridenour 1766, Mathias Ridenour 1770, Daniel Ridenour 1773, David Ridenour Sr. 11/20/1775

[All descendants of Mathias Ridenour [Matthias Reitenower] can join the DAR and SAR as he gave grain to the army and signed an Oath of Fidelity and Support (Allegiance) in 1778 - sworn by Henry Schnebely [Henry Schnebley]. Mathias' brothers Peter [Peter Rietenawer], Henry [Henry Reitenower], and Nicholas [Nicholas Rietenower/Reitenower] also signed oaths of allegiance - sworn by Henry Schnebely - Revolutionary Records of Maryland, by Gaius Marcus Brumbaugh and Margaret Roberts Hodges, pages 19-20 and Revolutionary Patriots of Washington County, Maryland 1776 - 1783, by Henry C. Peden, Jr., page 308]

Mathias owned 3,000 acres of land, The Ridenour Family History and Genealogy by John Ridenour, Stone Creek, Ohio, 1973

Mathias owned "White Oak Lick" (238 acres) and "Henry's Last Shift" (233 acres), Western Maryland Genealogy, edited by Donna Valley Russell, Vol. 1 (1985) and Vol. 4 (1988)

[David Reitenower, Henry Reitenower, Henry Reitenower, Jr., Matthias Reitenower, Nicholas Reitenower, Jacob Reitenswer, Jacob Ridenour, Ludwick Ridenour, Martin Ridenour, George Rietenower, Martin Rietenower, and Nicholas Rietenower, Oaths of Allegiance and Fidelity, February 5, 1777, Washington County, Maryland Oaths of Fidelity, by Bettie Stirling Carothers, Volume I, page 62]

[Mathias Ridenower, Oaths of Allegiance, The Worshipfull Joseph Sprigg's Returns, given under my hand this 1st day of April 1778, signed James Sprigg, Washington County. Maryland, Oaths of Allegiance, 1778, by Raymond B. Clark, Jr., page 16 (#26)]

[The first time Mathias Ridenour is mentioned is in Maryland in 1749 when he sponsors his brother Henry's son Mathias' baptism - Maryland German Church Records, Volume 3, Baptismal Records of The Monocacy Lutheran Congregation, and its successor, the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Frederick, Frederick Co., MD., Baptisms 1742 - 1779, translated and edited by Frederick S. Weiser, page 11]

[Mathias Ridenar, his brothers Peter Ridenor and Nicholas Ridenor, were on Captain Jonathan Hager's Muster Roll during the French and Indian War (from 10/9/1757 to 4/26/1759) as part of the Maryland Militia, in service for six days, undated - Colonial Soldiers of the South 1732-1774 by Murtie June Clark, pages 106-107]

[All of Mathias and Eve Ridenour's children's birth dates are listed in the Evangelical Lutheran Church at Elizabethtown, now Hagerstown, MD - Washington County Maryland Church Records of the 18th Century by F. Edward Wright, page 1. My 4th great grandfather David Sr. is unnamed but entered as "--- of Matth. Reitenauer and his wife b. Nov 20 1775"]

[Church Articles, Evangelical Lutheran Congregation at Elizabethtown [now Hagerstown], Frederick County [now Washington County], signed Dec. 16, 1770, by sixty church members/founders including Matthew Reitnauer (Mathias Ridenour), brother Henry Reitnauer, brother David Reidenauer, and their father Michael Reutenauer (Nicholas Ridenour), Records of St. John's Evangelical Lutheran Church, Hagerstown, Maryland, Volume 1, copied and presented by Mrs. Warren D. Miller, Historian, Conococheague Chapter, DAR, of Hagerstown, Maryland, presented through the Genealogical Records Committee of the Maryland State Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution, page 7, Western Maryland Room, Washington County Free Library, Hagerstown, MD]

[Mathias Ridenour's wife Eve's death is uncertain but believed to be 1813 - Newspaper Abstracts, Allegany and Washington Counties 1811-1815 by F. Edward Wright, page 33, The Maryland Herald and Hagerstown Weekly Advertiser, #83, Dec. 8 1813. Sale at the late dwelling of Eve Ridenour, decd, in Funkstown (near Hagerstown, MD), personal property of decd, beds, bedding, bedsteads, tables, chairs, stove and pipe and other. Gerard Stonebreaker, exr.]

4. David Ridenour, Sr. 11/20/1775 Hagerstown, MD - 8/14/1854 Jefferson County, OH (4th great grandfather) and Margaret Wiles 1774 - 2/4/1847
[Note: 3rd great grandparents of Los Angeles guitarist Lee Ritenour]
Children:
Susannah Ridenour 1797, Daniel Ridenour 1799, Margaret Ridenour 1800, David Ridenour Jr. 1802, Samuel Ridenour 1804, Mary Ridenour 1805, John Ridenour 1807, Jacob Ridenour 1808, Eva Ridenour 1810, George Ridenour 1811, Mathias Ridenour 1813, Sarah Ridenour 1816, Elizabeth Ridenour 1821

[Susannah, Margaret, David Jr., and Samuel Ridenour were baptized at St. Paul's Lutheran Church in Aurora, Preston County, West Virginia. David Ridenour Sr.'s brother Jacob Ridenour (born 1759) who married Susanna Barbara Stemple was ordained and on the church council and many of their children were baptized at St. Paul - Aurora Documents, An Accurate and Complete Translation and Transcription of Books I and II of the Original Records of Saint Paul's Lutheran Church (Founded March 24, 1787) by Karl K. Gower, Book I, pages 24 - 27]

[David Ridenour Sr., Margaret Ridenour born 1800, David Ridenour Jr. born 1802, and David Sr.'s brother Jacob Ridenour and wife Susanna Barbara Stemple are mentioned in A History of Preston County, West Virginia by Oren F. Morton, published 1914, page 461]

[David Sr. and Margaret Ridenour were one of eleven families who founded the Good Hope Lutheran Church in Jefferson County, Ohio, in 1806, and it is still in use today. They gave three acres and $30 for a church that cost $371.25 to build. David Jr. gave $2. The rest of their children [Mary, John, Jacob, Eva, Mathias, and Elizabeth] were baptized in this church except Daniel, George, and Sarah - Good Hope Lutheran Church, Osage, Knox Township, Jefferson County, Ohio, Parish Records 1806-1885 by Paul Miller Ruff, pages 9-12]

[All of the books above except for the books in Switzerland and France and/or documents written in German, can be found at the Dallas Public Library, Dallas, Texas, 8th floor]

Magaret Wiles Ridenour's father George Wiles (1754-1811) was a Private, 1st Light Dragoons, Continental Troops, Virginia, Revolutionary War

3. David Ridenour, Jr. 2/7/1802 PA - 8/13/1874 Wabash, IN (3rd great grandfather) and Sarah Shauver 1806 - 1874
Children:
Barbara Ridenour 1825 [m. Samuel Unger], Catherine Ridenour [m. Jonas Wiles] 1827, Samuel Ridenour 1829 [m. # 1 Phoebe Murphy #2 Augusta Bent], Lydia Ridenour 1831 [m. Isaac Roser], Susannah Ridenour 1833 [m. Jeremiah Roser], Isaiah Ridenour [m. Lydia Unger] 1836, Sarah Ridenour 1838 [m. Amos Roser],
John Benjamin Ridenour 1840 [m. Emma A. Bent], David Christopher Ridenour [m. Catherine Smith] 1843,
George T. Ridenour 1845 [m. Mary Ellen Bent], Mary Ridenour 1847, Daniel Ridenour 1850

[David Jr. was baptized at St. Paul's Lutheran Church in Aurora, Preston County, West Virginia - Aurora Documents, An Accurate and Complete Translation and Transcription of Books I and II of the Original Records of Saint Paul's Lutheran Church (Founded March 24, 1787) by Karl K. Gower, Book I, pages 26]

[David and Sarah Shauver Ridenour Jr.'s Marriage Certificate, Marriage Record, Harrison County, Ohio, Book A, page ??]

David Christopher Ridenour (born 1843) with wife Catherine Smith David's brother Daniel Ridenour (born 1850)

2. George T. Ridenour 1845 (2nd great grandfather) and #1 Mary Ellen Bent* #2 Nancy Pimela (Ashford) Chapman (Buffalo Gap Cemetery)
George was in the Indiana Volunteer Infantry, 10th Regiment, Company E
Children #1:
Albert Ridenour 1870 IN, Nora Ridenour 1874 IN, Errol Thurlow Ridenour 1876 NE, Charles Ridenour 1882 NE,
Martha Ridenour 1884 NE [married Robert Oscar Proctor], and
George Ridenour 1888 TX [WWI, 90^th Division, Company B, 359^th Infantry, killed in action November 3rd, 1918]

A few years after the Civil War, George T. Ridenour and wife Mary Ellen (Bent) Ridenour moved to Lincoln, NE, and then ended up in Buffalo Gap, Texas, because Mary was sick and needed dryer weather. When Mary died, George T. married Buffalo Gap pioneer Nancy (Ashford) Chapman. The 1885 1600-square foot Ridenour home in Buffalo Gap is the Main House [Bed and Breakfast] at Perini's Ranch Steakhouse. Tom Perini has cooked for the White House and for world leaders. Here is the 2007 restored Ridenour house at Perini's: https://www.periniranch.com/lodging_gallery.php

[1880 Nebraska Census (York County) and George T. Ridenour's Civil War military service record]

[George T. Ridenour, his wife Mary Ellen Bent, and their six children are listed in The Ridenour Family History and Genealogy by John Ridenour, Stone Creek, Ohio, 1973, page 80]

*Mary Ellen Bent Ridenour's great grandfather was Silas Bent. Silas served in the Revolutionary War, Private, Rutland, Mass. In 1760, from April until December, as a lad of sixteen, he saw service in Capt. Ephraim Jackson's company in Canada in the old French and Indian War. Silas joined the minutemen immediately after Lexington in 1775 and served throughout the war. After the War, he became a Lieutenant Colonel of the 7^th Regiment of Massachusetts Militia. Silas participated in the Boston Tea Party. Through this same Family we have my 3rd cousin 3x removed Charles M. Russell, the western sculpturist and painter.

1. Errol Thurlow Ridenour 1876 (great grandfather) and Clara Lela Horn
[Clara's mother was Rachel Lenora Shelby. My 5th great grandfather Evan Shelby and 6th great grandfather Moses Shelby were Patriots. I'm related to Carroll H. Shelby of the Shelby Mustang, Shelby Cobra, and the Dodge Viper]
Children:
Geneva Ridenour 1909, Hugh Stanley Ridenour 1912, Jefferson Davis Ridenour (JD) 1914, Lee Earl Ridenour 1917

[1920 Texas Census (Dallas, Dallas County)]
[1940 California Census (Yucaipa, San Bernardino County)]

ii. Hugh Stanley Ridenour 1912-1976 (grandfather) #1 Laura Belle Singleton (1914 - 2010) #2 Florence Arroqui (1913 - 2005)
Children:
#1 Robert Ridenour 1936, #2 Linda Ridenour 1948

i. Robert Ridenour 1936 (father) and Mary Alice Joines 1936 (mother)
Children:
Robert Dale Ridenour 1956, Brian Paul Ridenour 1960 (me), David Ridenour 1961

[Texas Birth certificates]
[Texas Marriage License]
[1940 Texas Census (Forney, Kaufman County)]

Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War, Plano, Texas [via George T. Ridenour]

George Wiles served in the Revolutionary War, Private, 1st Light Dragoons, Virginia

Mary Ann (Kirts) Bent, the mother of my 2nd great
grandmother Mary Ellen (Bent) Ridenour, the first wife of George T. Ridenour

Albert Ridenour,
brother of Errol Ridenour
"We're so sorry Uncle Albert" - P. McCartney

George Francis Ridenour, Arlington National Cemetery [Section 18 Grave 3638], VA