Georg Ludwig Riedesel was born May 13, 1817, in Wunderthausen in the house known as Wetzels. He was the eighth of nine recorded children of Johann Ludwig and Anna Elisabeth (Knoche) Riedesel.
An older sister, Catherine, came to live in Warren County, New Jersey in 1837. His petition for naturalization states that he came in 1841 which agrees with the German record for when he applied to leave; the name of his ship and travel dates are unknown, however. He married Caroline Schaeffer (probably Schäfer or possibly Scheffer) around 1845. She was born August 16, 1824 in Germany. One source gives Wunderthausen as her place of birth but this is incorrect. Nor were they married there. No Schäfer daughter is recorded in the birth records at this time–and no Schäfer family even lived in the village.
Several of the Riedesels who settled in Warren County came to be known as Riddle or Radle. It’s not that there weren’t other Germans around who could pronounce (and spell) Riedesel correctly, but this seemed to be the rule. Ludwig (or Louis) farmed near what was called Oxford Furnace
They had at least seven children before Caroline died in 1867. Their youngest known child, Louis/Lewis, died the same year. Within three years Ludwig had married again to a Catherine _______. I was not alone in the past in falsely identifying her as Catherine Riddle, daughter of another Riddle-ized Riedesel who was born in 1839. That is also wrong as a careful study of documents shows. This Catherine was born around 1832 and in Bavaria according to the 1880 Census. I believe she died by 1885. The grave marker in Hazen for “Catherine Riddle” does not belong to her.
Ludwig died February 27, 1903 and is buried with his first wife, Caroline.
Feel free to contact me for more about the correct facts on Caroline and Catherine.
Detailed Ancestry Report
Descendant Report
Naturalization Papers. Even this document spells his last name variously, but his signature is clearly “Riedesel.”
