In professional genealogy terms, the identity of William Rider of Bath County, Virginia, is not yet "proved". I've been working on this post for nearly a year. Moving back beyond 1746 is quite a job. Acknowledging that it may take more onsite research than is possible now, this is a summary of what has been learned.
I am confident that this is the line of our direct ancestors from our grandfather to the Riders of Bath County, Virginia:
Frank T. Ryder 1889-1956 Gandfather
Fred Ryder 1861-1923 Great-Grandfather
Azariah Rider 1836-1895 2x Great-Grandfather
Thomas J. Rider 1812-1888 3x Great-Grandfather
James Rider 1777-1828 4x Great-Grandfather
These are the Riders explored here:
William Rider/Ryder 1746-1819 5x Great-Grandfather (Uncertainty is birth date)
William Rider 1714- 6x Great-Grandfather
William Rider, Sr. unknown
I am confident that this is the line of our direct ancestors from our grandfather to the Riders of Bath County, Virginia:
Frank T. Ryder 1889-1956 Gandfather
Fred Ryder 1861-1923 Great-Grandfather
Azariah Rider 1836-1895 2x Great-Grandfather
Thomas J. Rider 1812-1888 3x Great-Grandfather
James Rider 1777-1828 4x Great-Grandfather
These are the Riders explored here:
William Rider/Ryder 1746-1819 5x Great-Grandfather (Uncertainty is birth date)
William Rider 1714- 6x Great-Grandfather
William Rider, Sr. unknown
For many reasons including fires and
war, vital records of Virginia are hard to find. Early on, I received valuable information from the Bath County, Virginia Historical Society. I looked at many online vital records
available for immigration, birth, marriage and death for Virginia. Good information is available in monographs and
late 19th and early 20th century published county histories, some
available through Google Play Books.
In place of proved records, I depend on Gordon J. Ryder, who self-published The Rider-Ryder Family from Virginia in 1993. This hardcover book is out of print and available in a limited number of libraries. You may be able to get a library near you to obtain an inter-library loan. For 12 years full time in retirement, Gordon traced his Ryder "best guess" for our family line to a William Rider of Abingdon, Gloucester County, Virginia. He worked for several government agencies and was a published engineer and a careful detailer. For a relatively small volume, Gordon packed an incredible amount of information into his book. It is unfortunate that he did not include specific sources but he had a story to tell, and he told that well. Gordon's family did not respond to inquiries about his work papers.
At the publication of this book, after his extensive search for records, Gordon was unable to determine more about the Bath County William except that there were Rider records for three generations of William Riders in the parish church in Abingdon, Gloucester, Virginia. This area, the Tidewater, is east of Richmond, between the York River and Mobjack Bay on Chesapeake Bay. Gordon obtained the following information from Abingdon parish registers held by the Gloucester Public Library:
"Baptismal dates for the children of William Rider:
Ursula, daughter of William Rider, January 15, 1701
Thomas, daughter of William Rider, January 31, 1702
Jane, daughter of William Rider, April 27, 1707
Mary, daughter of William Rider, May 1, 1709
William, son of William Rider, Sr., January 3, 1714
"Later records listed sons and daughters of William and Ann Rider, as follows:
James, baptized March 13, 1736
John, baptized July 9, 1738
Ann, baptized June 14, 1741
Hannah, born April 30, 1744
Ursula, born Xber 24, 1745
William, born March 15, 1746
Frances, born June 18, 1750, baptized same day
Nancy, born February 21, 1751
Solomon, born August 3, 1754, baptized September 15
"Also in this register are the following entries:
Thomas, departed this life in January, 1761
Ursula Rider married James Crittenden January19, 1737"
Gordon Ryder does not discuss that first William Rider listed, the father of the nine children. Based on the birth date of his first daughter in the register, he would have been living in the area by 1700. Gordon Ryder believed that William Rider, born March 15, 1746, son of William and Ann Rider in Abingdon, Gloucester, Virginia was the William Rider who finalized his land purchase in Bath County, Virginia, in 1789. Gordon Ryder listed the birth dates of these children of William's but did not describe the records to document them other than the registers he viewed. There are several 17th century Riders listed in passenger list sources but it is not possible to connect them.
By about 1780, William was probably living in the August/Bath/Highland Counties area of Virginia. In
addition to Tidewater Virginians and Marylanders, the western Virginia was heavily
settled by Scotch-Irish (and German) immigrants considerably before the Revolution. Shortly after the American Revolution, our 5x great-grandfather William
and his family were among them.
Although many Virginia Rider/Ryders dispersed long ago, some are still living in Bath County and surrounding counties. When I reached out to the Bath County Historical Society, a volunteer told me there are still lots of Ryders in the area! After locating Azariah, Thomas J., James and William there, for orientation I looked for historic and more contemporary topographical maps of Bath County, Virginia.
Although many Virginia Rider/Ryders dispersed long ago, some are still living in Bath County and surrounding counties. When I reached out to the Bath County Historical Society, a volunteer told me there are still lots of Ryders in the area! After locating Azariah, Thomas J., James and William there, for orientation I looked for historic and more contemporary topographical maps of Bath County, Virginia.
This cutout of a beautiful 1755 Virginia map in the Library of Congress shows an area that was then Augusta County but later became Bath County, Virginia. There were rather frequent divisions of this area into different counties, and no history of that will be used here but Gordon Ryder described it in some detail, as did several of the histories listed as sources.
The red line is The Great Wagon Road that stretched from Philadelphia well into Georgia which you can read about in The Great Wagon Road by Parke Rouse, Jr.
The map (and others) in the Library of Congress digital collection and is labeled as follows:
The red line is The Great Wagon Road that stretched from Philadelphia well into Georgia which you can read about in The Great Wagon Road by Parke Rouse, Jr.
The map (and others) in the Library of Congress digital collection and is labeled as follows:
A
Map of the most Inhabited part of VIRGINIA containing the whole
PROVINCE of Maryland with Part of PENSILVANIA, NEW JERSEY and NORTH
CAROLINA Drawn by Joshua Fry &Peter Jefferson in 1751.
To
the Right Honorable George Dunk Earl of Halifax First Lord Commissioner
and to the Rest of the right Honourable and Honourable Commisioners for
TRADE and PLANTATIONS
This
Map is most humbly Inscribed to their Lordships by their Lordship’s
Most Obedient & devoted humble servant Tho.s Jefferys.
Circled white area approximate at familysearch.org area of Rider/Ryder lands
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| Permanent Link to full map: Fry-Jefferson 1755 map - Library of Congress |
Other Sources of Family History on Riders of Virginia
There is another authored family history. The record of the Rider family: chiefly descendants of John Rider, born about 1755, died 1855, written in 1911 by Sarah Rider Bond. This short monograph is available in Salt Lake City and some Virginia libraries [Note: I had difficulty getting the Family History Library online version to open on an ipad (IOS 11 or Windows 10 computer) and obtained it in .pdf with assistance from a librarian at the NYPL Milstein Division, NYPL] . The summary states:
"John Rider (ca. 1775-1855), direct descendant of three Rider brothers who were among the first emigrants from England to New England, settled along the eastern shore of Maryland in the early part of the eighteenth century. Descendants lived in Maryland, Virginia, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Ohio, Illinois, Iowa, Oregon and elsewhere".
This is from Sarah Rider Bond's introduction:
"According to authentic statements, three brothers of the Rider family sailed from England and landed on American soil with the first settlers of New England. From best information, one of the direct descendants of this family, John Rider, settled on the eastern shore of Maryland during the first part of the eighteenth century. This man had the distinction of living in three centuries, having been born in the late years of the seventeenth century, about 1698, lived through the eighteenth, and died in the early years of the nineteenth century, at somewhat over a hundred years of age. From best information, George Rider, a member of John Rider's family, settled in the south-eastern part of Pennsylvania. Two members, evidently of this family, name William J. Rider and Thomas (J.) Rider, went west and settled in Illinois, about sixty miles, north of Chicago. William J. was a Methodist preacher.
I worked to compare Sarah Rider Bond's version to Gordon Ryder's.
The children of William Rider of Bath County, Virginia, according to Gordon Ryder were:
Alexander Rider, born about 1768
Richard Rider, born 1770
John William Rider, born June 4, 1771, in Barbour County, Va. [His first son was George]
James Rider, born March 1777
Elizabeth Rider, born about 1777
Sarah Rider, born after 1778
Thomas, born about 1782
Because first names are used so often in the family and records are so few, it is difficult to determine the exact succession of fathers and children in Sarah Rider Bond's story. It is clear that the John Rider identified by Sarah Rider Bond is not the same John Rider born June 4, 1771, listed below by Gordon Ryder. John, son of William of Bath County did have a son George but he dates do not match. It is possible that Sarah had skipped a generation or so.
Gordon Ryder added another brief note about oral history and notes provided by those he interviewed:
"Oliver Ryder, who lives in Mountain Grove, Virginia, had a set of notes given to him by his mother in which she listed names and other information concerning his ancestors. These notes stated that his great-grandfather Richard Ryder, son of William, came to Augusta County from Spotsylvania County."
As you can see from the map slice below, Spotsylvania County is generally on the way west to Bath County. Perhaps the family members migrated over the span of a few years and one final move from Gloucester County west to Bath was through Spotsylvania County, Virginia. More on their migration later but this map slice shows the relationship:
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| Map: https://www.digital-topo-maps.com/county-map/virginia-county-map.gif" |
This is one record that may connect Sarah Rider Bond's and Gordon Ryder's stories. According to Records of Colonial Gloucester County Virginia, Volumes I and II compiled by Polly Cary Mason in 1946 and 1948. In 1770, one William Rider and one Abraham Rider were taxed in Abingdon, Gloucester, Virginia, but they were not taxed in 1780. James Rider was taxed in both years. The "*" (asterisk) before the surname indicates the individual was taxed both years and the "/" indicates taxed only in 1770.
It is possible that the Riders were in other businesses such as fishing or shipping and perhaps they had property or business across the Chesapeake region. It does not appear from this record that these Riders were land owners in Gloucester as there is nothing listed in the "Acres" column. The three names appear in the following Tax List of Gloucester County, Virginia, 1770-1782:
It is possible that the Riders were in other businesses such as fishing or shipping and perhaps they had property or business across the Chesapeake region. It does not appear from this record that these Riders were land owners in Gloucester as there is nothing listed in the "Acres" column. The three names appear in the following Tax List of Gloucester County, Virginia, 1770-1782:
Searchable version at www.binnsgenealogy.com
Visited 28 Nov 2017
This does not "prove" the relationship to our 5x great-grandfather William Rider had to others who lived in the area prior to 1780, and none of these three are named John. There were other Riders in several communities in near-by Maryland and Virginia and also in the Highlands area, some before William arrived about 1780. It may be that there is no connection but, after long explanation and research, Gordon Ryder stated that in his opinion this is William, later of Bath County, Virginia.
The Virginia Rider Lands
Oren F. Morton's Annals of Bath County entries note:
"Rider, William - 1780 - BC (Back Creek), n. Valley Center - same locality, [p. 252 the Google Play eBook]
Joseph Addison Waddell's Annals of Augusta County notes:
A History of Highland County, Virginia by Oren F. Morton speaks of Willliam's
lands in Bath County. The acres near the community of Valley Center were
probably more suitable for logging than farm land. "Before
the crown government passed away in 1775, all the more desirable lands
in Highland had passed into individual or corporate ownership.
Thenceforward, the second class and the cull lands were gradually
absorbed, it being a long while before the entire area had come under
private ownership".
Oren F. Morton's Annals of Bath County entries note:
"Rider, William - 1780 - BC (Back Creek), n. Valley Center - same locality, [p. 252 the Google Play eBook]
Joseph Addison Waddell's Annals of Augusta County notes:
"Rider, William: 176-1780-BC (Back Creek)-P (patented)-1789" [p. 173 Google Play eBook]
William acquired 176 acres of land in 1780. According to Joseph Addison Waddell, William finalized the "patent" or ownership of that land title and/or another parcel by 1789 (probably meant completed payment as required to the Virginia governor).
William's First Wife and Mother of James Rider
The first wife and/or mother of William's children has not been discussed anywhere. His first wife or wives apparently did not survive to move to Bath County or died shortly after, but some of his children were born and/or lived in that area during the 1780's.
Mary Brisco(e) was his second wife, married in Bath, Virginia in 1786 according to Oren F. Morton and a copy of the marriage bond. As you can see, the marriage bond indicates she was a "widdow" , implying this was not her maiden name. If not for that notation "widdow", it would otherwise be possible to think that area resident Isaac Brisco, who did have a sister named Mary, was signing for his sister. Perhaps someday other documentation will be found.
William's First Wife and Mother of James Rider
The first wife and/or mother of William's children has not been discussed anywhere. His first wife or wives apparently did not survive to move to Bath County or died shortly after, but some of his children were born and/or lived in that area during the 1780's.
Mary Brisco(e) was his second wife, married in Bath, Virginia in 1786 according to Oren F. Morton and a copy of the marriage bond. As you can see, the marriage bond indicates she was a "widdow" , implying this was not her maiden name. If not for that notation "widdow", it would otherwise be possible to think that area resident Isaac Brisco, who did have a sister named Mary, was signing for his sister. Perhaps someday other documentation will be found.
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| This copy used with permission of an Ancestry.com member; source: Augusta County Genealogical Society |
The Appalachians
Watch Appalachian Settlers and Their Dwellings YouTube video by Edmond Marchietti in August, 2012, to envision the environment of this mountainous region:
Gordon Ryder and Oren F. Morton stated that James (1777-1828) our 4x-great-grandfather acquired other land beyond what his father owned. Another son, John, acquired almost 1,780 acres. In his introduction, Gordon Ryder stated: “William died intestate in 1819. It is presumed Mary lived until about 1825, since the property was not divided among his children until 1826.”
The quality of land may have motivated them to move beyond Virginia to Illinois and Iowa. A separate Long Since Dispersed post The Journeys of the Rider/Ryders from Virginia to Illinois about the exploration for the Illinois lands. By the mid-1840's, after William's death (approximately 1819), many of William's surviving grandsons and nephews had indeed moved away. His son, our 4x great-grandfather, James Rider did not survive Virginia but several sons were among those who moved to McHenry County, Illinois. By 1845, our 3x great-grandfather Thomas J. (1782-1880) and his son, our 2x great-grandfather Azariah (1836-1895) and much of his family had moved on. The other son William J. Rider, mentioned by Sarah Rider Bond, also moved to that area.
Pioneer Families in McHenry County, Illinois
A number of Rider cousins left Bath County and explored lands far west. First, brief notes about the wives of William of Bath County and the the explorers. Our 3x great-grandfather James Rider married Sarah Chestnut, daughter of Sophia Chestnut Bourk, widow of William Chestnut who died in 1762. Sophia's marriage to Mr. Bourk, probably already her second, was apparently also deceased at that time, and has not been researched. I have not yet researched William Chestnut. However, the sale of Rider lands before the moves to Illinois were made to several Chestnuts.
Our 2 x great-grandfather Thomas J. Rider first married Sarah McCourt and I have not yet obtained her date of death. Thomas married a second time to Sarah Townsend. There were at least three Townsends living in the Augusta/Highland/Bath Counties. Townsends listed on p. 120 in the Google Play Books version of Oren F. Morton' Annals of Bath County:
Townsend, Ezekial, named Sarah Townsend's father by Gordon Ryder.
Townsend, Robert
Townsend, Solomon
After many families from this community moved to McHenry County, Illinois, it is observed that some Townsends were listed on closely adjacent lands to Thomas J. Rider in the 1850 census.
Under the definition of the McHenry County Genealogical Society, Thomas J. and William J. were considered Early Settlers.
Pioneer Families in McHenry County, Illinois
A number of Rider cousins left Bath County and explored lands far west. First, brief notes about the wives of William of Bath County and the the explorers. Our 3x great-grandfather James Rider married Sarah Chestnut, daughter of Sophia Chestnut Bourk, widow of William Chestnut who died in 1762. Sophia's marriage to Mr. Bourk, probably already her second, was apparently also deceased at that time, and has not been researched. I have not yet researched William Chestnut. However, the sale of Rider lands before the moves to Illinois were made to several Chestnuts.
Our 2 x great-grandfather Thomas J. Rider first married Sarah McCourt and I have not yet obtained her date of death. Thomas married a second time to Sarah Townsend. There were at least three Townsends living in the Augusta/Highland/Bath Counties. Townsends listed on p. 120 in the Google Play Books version of Oren F. Morton' Annals of Bath County:
Townsend, Ezekial, named Sarah Townsend's father by Gordon Ryder.
Townsend, Robert
Townsend, Solomon
After many families from this community moved to McHenry County, Illinois, it is observed that some Townsends were listed on closely adjacent lands to Thomas J. Rider in the 1850 census.
Under the definition of the McHenry County Genealogical Society, Thomas J. and William J. were considered Early Settlers.
Getting To Virginia and Ryder Run
The area's remoteness raises the question of how settlers traveled there. It is likely that travelers from the Chesapeake Bay rode west to meet the Great Wagon Road (generally now Interstate 81) and at a mountain gap, they moved north and west.
In 1911, Oren F Morton in A History of Highland County, Virginia wrote:
"Pioneer travel never climbed a steep, rocky ridge when it was possible to find a grade line along even a crooked watercourse. So in moving westward into Bath and Highland the settlers did not go over the rugged Shenandoah Mountain, but flanked it by way of Panther Gap, some 30 miles southwest of Staunton.
"Highland was settled in precisely the way we might expect. Scotch-Irish landseekers came through Panther Gap and along the upper James (River), and moved up the valleys of the Cowpasture (River) and Jackson's River, until they reached the laurel thickets along the cross-ridges separating the waters of the James from those of the Potomac."
Gordon Ryder described the route he envisioned: "The land routes were near the break in the watersheds of the major streams and rivers, thus eliminating the need to use ferries to cross the many tributary streams. One major route to the Shenandoah Valley was from the Tidewater area of eastern Virginia to Spotsylvania, then west to Staunton in Augusta, County, Virginia. There was a branch which ran from the present day Orange, Virginia to the mountain pass near Harrodsburg, Virginia."
The area's remoteness raises the question of how settlers traveled there. It is likely that travelers from the Chesapeake Bay rode west to meet the Great Wagon Road (generally now Interstate 81) and at a mountain gap, they moved north and west.
In 1911, Oren F Morton in A History of Highland County, Virginia wrote:
"Pioneer travel never climbed a steep, rocky ridge when it was possible to find a grade line along even a crooked watercourse. So in moving westward into Bath and Highland the settlers did not go over the rugged Shenandoah Mountain, but flanked it by way of Panther Gap, some 30 miles southwest of Staunton.
"Highland was settled in precisely the way we might expect. Scotch-Irish landseekers came through Panther Gap and along the upper James (River), and moved up the valleys of the Cowpasture (River) and Jackson's River, until they reached the laurel thickets along the cross-ridges separating the waters of the James from those of the Potomac."
Gordon Ryder described the route he envisioned: "The land routes were near the break in the watersheds of the major streams and rivers, thus eliminating the need to use ferries to cross the many tributary streams. One major route to the Shenandoah Valley was from the Tidewater area of eastern Virginia to Spotsylvania, then west to Staunton in Augusta, County, Virginia. There was a branch which ran from the present day Orange, Virginia to the mountain pass near Harrodsburg, Virginia."
Today, the closest interstate highway to their lands is I-64 in western Virginia. I'm sure there are also many combinations of routes from I-81 exits to Mountain Grove or Staunton, Virginia but in either direction, Big Back Creek Road/highway 600 actually leads to an unimproved road labeled Ryder Run. The following cutout is a magnification of the map which clearly shows Ryder Run. The second picture is the map key for the smaller Google topographical maps below.
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| Historic sites Map, Bath County, Virginia -Mountain Grove Area |
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| Key Legend for Topographic Maps |
Driving tours of the area are marked by historical markers. There are little interesting stories for at least two marker spots - Mountain Grove (near the turning off spot for the road to Ryer Run) and Early Courthouses (Willam Rider was on the first Grand Jury called in the newly created Bath County in 1791). If you ever get there, be sure to post a travelogue on Long Since Dispersed!
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| MarkerHistory.com for Bath County, Virginia |
Sources:
Augusta County Genealogical Society 20 S New St, Staunton, VA 24401 Phone: (540) 885-1991 Copy
of marriage bond provided with permission from private Ancestry.com
member who obtained the copy from this society. Obtained by me December 11,
2017.
Bath County Historical Society, 99 Courthouse Hill Rd, Warm Springs, VA 24484, Phone: (540) 839-2543
Chalkey, Lyman F., The Scotch-Irish Settlement of Virginia,
Extracted from the Original Court Records of Augusta County
1745-1800. [Or rootsweb.ancestry.com, USGenWeb Project, copyrighted
1996, 1997, 1998] Google Play Books free ebook
Library of Congress digital map collection 1755 map of Virginia. Permalink: https://lccn.loc.gov/74693089. Accessed November 28, 2017
Mason, Polly Cary. Compiler Records of Colonial Gloucester County Virginia, Volumes I and II, Colonial Gloucester County, Virginia, Tax List of 1770-1792, 1946-48 and reprinted 2007, ISBN 9780806347202, 146 & 150 pages [www.genealogical.com]
McAllister, Jean Graham A Brief History of Bath County, Virginia, The McClure Co., Inc. Staunton, Va. Dec 31, 1920, 23 Pages.
McHenry County Historical Society, 6422 Main Street, P.O. Box 434, Union, IL 60180,Phone: (815) 923-2267
McHenry County Genealogical Society,
Morton, Oren F., B.L. A History of Highland Virginia Ruebush-Elkins Co., Dayton, Va., The Stone Printing and Manufacturing Co, Roanoke, Va. 1911 A Google Play Books free ebook.
Morton, Oren F., B.Lit., Annals of Augusta County, Virginia, Staunton, Virginia, The McClure Co., Inc. 1917. Google Play Books, a free Ebook.
Rouse, Parke, Jr., The Great Wagon Road from Philadelphia to the South, How Scotch-Irish and Germans Settled the Uplands, 1915, republished 1995 by The Dietz Press, 1004 N. Thompson Street, Suite 103, Richmond, Virginia 23230, ISBN 0-87517-065, 271 pages [Note: I accessed this hardcover book in the Main Branch of the Asheville, North Carolina, Library, but if it is not available in your library system, it is available inexpensively on Amazon Books as of 8 Dec 2017]
Ryder, Gordon J. The Rider-Ryder Family From Virginia, 1993,
Gateway Press succeeded by Bay-Books Family History Publishers. ISBN
xvi, 349p, ill 24 cm. [This hard copy and copyrighted monograph or
compilation authored by Gordon J. Ryder is available at the Milstein
Division of the New York Public Library and 10 other World Cat libraries
listed at: The Rider-Ryder Family From Virginia].
The Virginia Historical Markers Guide http://www.markerhistory.com/tag/bath-county/, Bath County, Virginia
Waddell, Joseph Addison. Annals of Augusta County, Virginia. [Full title: Annals
of Augusta County, Virginia, With Reminiscences Illustrative of the
Vicissitudes of Its Pioneer Settlers ; Biographical Sketches of Citizens
Locally Prominent, and of Those who Have Founded Families in the
Southern and Western States ; a Diary of the War, 1861-'5, and a Chapter
on Reconstruction] W.M. Ellis Jones Book And Job Printer, Richmond, 1886. 362 pages. Google Play Books free Ebook.
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