Descendants of Elijah Rideout

Updated January 12, 2001

INTRODUCTION
This site is for sharing information about Elijah Rideout and his many descendants. Elijah was reportedly born in Dinwiddie County, Virginia, in 1768. However, little is known of Elijah's early years. The 1800 census for Dinwiddie County shows him employed by John Claiborne, an innkeeper. The 1810 census reports that he owned two horses. There is no definitive information on his parents or his wife (but see below for more discussion).

Elijah's life story is better known after he moved his family out of Virginia between 1810 and 1820. The family went to Tennessee for a time, and one child was born there. Then they moved to Henderson County, Kentucky, where Elijah lived until his death in 1862. He had five children in total, and they had many more children. A Kinship Report is provided below. It is far from complete, and input from other family researchers is needed to help fill in the gaps. For now, I will just note that Elijah's descendants are numerous, spread all over the countryside, and now possessing many different surnames. It is my hope that this web site will help unite the far-flung descendants of Elijah Rideout.

OTHER SURNAMES
The information contained here tends to focus on my own family and the Rideout surname because that is what I have the most information about. Other important surnames here include BESS, BRAY, COOPER, COTTINGHAM, CRENSHAW, CROCKETT, DOSSETT, FAUGHT, FEATHERSTON, NEUGENT, NEVETT, PHILLIPS, POLLEY, PONDER, SULLIVANT, VANDIVER, WEBSTER, and WHITSELL. Information about any of these surnames would be appreciated.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This web site is based on information gathered over many years by a number of people. Special credit goes to Sonny Vandiver and Mary W. Glenn. In 1990 Mary produced a book titled "Rideout and Polley Connections", using the family information that Sonny Vandiver had put together on his computer. All Rideouts and kin owe them a debt of thanks for establishing that foundation of information. My hope is that this site will make their research available to even more people. A special thanks is also due to Robin Rideout Whitsell who has an encyclopedic knowledge of the cemeteries in Henderson County and adjacent counties.

STATUS OF THIS SITE
This site was launched on November 10, 1999, and last updated on December 16, 2000. It is intended to be a growing and evolving resource. Since the initial launch I have received valuable information and corrections from Butch Phillips, Holly Sullivant, David Rideout, Larry Rideout, Bev Cameron, Pat Anderson, and others. Their contributions are greatly appreciated.

If you have information to contribute to this site, or if you have a question, please send me an email at rideouts@home.com. One reason for having a web site is to provide a clearinghouse for information exchange between people with common ancestors. So, let's share our information and celebrate our family pride.

Don Rideout

Encinitas, California
United States

rideouts@home.com

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GEDCOM Trees (viewing trees requires 4.0 or later)
Rideout Gedcom (134 KB) Rideout family tree in Gedcom format

Family Photos
Clyde Henderson Rideout (35 KB) My father on the family farm in July 1946. He had already moved to California, so this was during a visit back home. Clyde, Ida May, and Donald Rideout (163 KB) Circa 1952 Rock Stile Church and Cemetary, Dixon, KY (145 KB) This cemetary includes the graves of many Rideouts. Just across the road is the Polley cemetary. Although the church is vacant and unmaintained at this time, it was an active Methodist church from its construction in 1889 through the 1940s. According to Ethel Spencer Chappell, the church was named after a large "sandstone block lying near the edge of the lawn. This rock, from which the church took its name, was the stile on which the ladies dismounted, and from which they mounted their horses when they rode to church, side-saddle of course, on the long ago Sundays." Headstones - Thomas Rideout and Elizabeth Crenshaw (62 KB) Thomas Adkins Rideout was born April 30, 1800 and died July 15, 1877. Elizabeth Parsons Crenshaw was born October 11, 1807 and died January 12, 1854. These headstones are from the Rideout Cemetary near Sebree. The land for this cemetary was given to Thomas Adkins Rideout by his father-in-law, Abner Crenshaw. Cottingham Headstone (44 KB) This unique headstone marks the graves of Isham Cottingham and Ana Liza Rideout. It is located in the Rawley Cemetary near Dixon, KY. Ana was born February 20, 1806, and died September 30, 1874. Polley Headstone (97 KB) This headstone marks the final resting place of Henderson Polley and his wife, Elizabeth Brown. Their graves are located in the small Polley Cemetary, a short distance from the Rock Stile Church Detailed Map of Robards Station (58 KB) This map is a close-up of what is now Sebree, KY. The home of Thomas Rideout is shown on the eastern edge of the map, across the street from Jasper Robards (blacksmith), John Royster (tobacconist), and J.L. Burdon (physician) whose advertisements appear on the bottom right corner of the map. Larger Map of Robards Station (77 KB) This map is at a larger scale showing the area around Robards Station and the Green River. The property of Thomas Adkins Rideout is shown on the shore of the Green River. This area was known as Rideouts Landing and there are many stories about events that took place here. James Albert Rideout (597 KB) This picture shows James with his mother-in-law (Sarah Garrison Veach), his son (Henry Guy Rideout). However, there is some confusion about which wife this is. Some say it is his first wife (Stella Veach), but she supposedly died in childbirth with Henry Guy. So possibly this is Alice Leona Josehpine Crockett, Jim's second wife. Alice Leona Josehpine Crockett (558 KB) A photograph of my grandmother at her home near Glenpool, OK

Family Tree Maker Reports and Trees
Report: Kinship of Elijah Rideout Outline Descendant Tree: Descendants of Elijah Rideout Genealogy Report: Descendants of Elijah Rideout Genealogy Report: Descendants of Margaret Jane Wilson Genealogy Report: Descendants of Christopher Columbus Featherston

Related Files
Other Rideouts in America and Canada (3 KB) Are Elijah Rideout and his descendants related to other families with the surname Rideout or Ridout in the U.S. and Canada? By Don Rideout Foreward to "Rideout and Polley Connections" (5 KB) This is the Foreword to Mary W. Glenn's 1990 genealogy book on the Rideout and Polley families Indentures, Deeds, and Surveys (8 KB) This file contains transcriptions of several legal documents relating to the Rideout family in Henderson County, KY. Transcriptions by Don Rideout Last Will of Abner Crenshaw (4 KB) Crenshaw's daughter, Elizabeth, married Thomas Adkins Rideout. Transcription by Mary Glenn Last Will of Phildelphia Crenshaw (5 KB) This file provides a more detailed list of the Crenshaw's possessions, including slaves. Transcription by Mary Glenn

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Descendants of Elijah Rideout

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Family Photos

Family Tree Maker Reports and Trees

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