Johann Ludwig Riedesel was born March 9, 1775 in Berleburg to Johann Georg Riedesel and Elisabeth Belz. He was a great-grandson of the famous builder, Mannus Riedesel and I believe that this particular line of Riedesels had a somewhat more-favored position. His father had “married in” to the town of Berleburg which in itself was a step up.
Nevertheless, the only known children of this marriage–Johann Ludwig and his brother Johann Henrich--were early emigrants to America. His brother appears to have had some association with the religious enthusiasts at the time and this may have been a factor. The Counts of Wittgenstein were unusually tolerant, even supportive of the Pietist movement but the liberties of the new land across the ocean may have called strongly. We do not know their father’s position within Berleburg, and he died in 1808. When their mother died in 1817, the brothers may have had nothing to lose by emigrating.
The only other bit of knowledge we have of Johann Ludwig was that he arrived in Philadelphia on September 20, 1819 on the brig Osgood. It had sailed from Amsterdam. His brother had a wife and child with him, but Ludwig (as he was probably known) had no family with him. From this time forward, Ludwig is lost to history. It is certainly possible that he had a family in Philadelphia but the records to which I have access are silent.