Captain William de Ridder / Redder

The younger William Painting detail
BIRTH
1813. Parents were Captain Fradrik de Ridder and Mary nee Baines, later Drew
CHRISTENING
January 1815, St Nicholas Church, Blakeney, Norfolk
ADDRESS
OCCUPATION
Captain in the Merchant Navy Source ML
MARRIAGE
Elizabeth Herron
CHILDREN
Sixteen of them!
DEATH
8 December 1881 South Sheilds, Durham, England
BURIAL
NOTES
This oil painting is in our family but there seemed nowhere that I could fit the face into our family tree until in 2004 I was contacted by someone researching the de Ridder family who asked if we had a link through Mary Drew. Several emails later we had established that Mary's mother's first marriage was to Captain Fradrik de Ridder. One son from this marriage was Captain William de Ridder, making Captain William half brother of our Mary Kettle nee Drew.

The older William Probably Captain William gave the painting to his mother and it has then passed down through the female side of our family. A similar oil painting is owned by the de Ridder family and in that painting William is rather older (or could it be portrait of his father Fradrik?) but the artist is the same person. That painting was once one of a pair presumably of Elizabeth but possibly of Mary Baines/de Ridder/Drew.
My father inherited from his grandmother Mary Ann Starkings a signed copy of a book called "Rough notes of Natural History" by Colonel Leathes of Herringfleet, Suffolk. The book includes (tall) travellers tales by his friend Captain K. Perhaps Captain K is a pen name for Captain William de Ridder? The book is signed Colonel Leathes, as would be done to an underling. Had it been to a friend then Hugh Leathes is the more likely. How did Colonels treat Captains? I don't know.

In a family photograph album are two postcards of a ship called the Vimeira. Could that be Captain William's ship?

Last update
28 March 2005 		Surname list Kettle family tree Kettle Genealogy
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