Just where did George and Mary come from and what was their ethnic background? What cluesand evidence do we have to solve this mystery?
The Name
The name itself gives no indication because there are variations that are very common names in both the British Isles and Germany. Today's spellings have evolved through many changes over the years. Among the spelling variations to be found in documents referring to George and his sons are: Waddal, Waddel, Waddell, Waddle, Wadle, Weddall, Weddel, Wedel, Wedeld, Weddle, Wheddle and Widdle. Spelling was not a critical skill in the 18th century.
Waddell, Waddle, Weddell, and Weddle are common and famous names in England, Scotland and Ulster. It is originally Norman/North of England/Lowland Scots and does not appear to be a "non-plantation Irish" name. In Scotland, Weddell and Weddle are associated with the Edinburgh District Tartan
In Germany the spelling tends to Wedel. There is a book, "Wedel Family of Germany" by Max von Wedel. Several villages have a variation of "Wedel" as their name. Weddel is a village that is an eastern suburb of the city of Braunschweig. Wedel, Kries Pinneburg is a town on the Elbe River that is a western suburb of the city of Hamburg. Wedel, Kreis Stade is a village south of Stade, a town west and across the Elbe from Hamburg. Wedell is village that was in Brandenburg and is now part of Poland, south of the city of Stettin and just east of the town of Konigsberg. German names such as "Wessel" and "Wetel" got transformed into "Weddle" in colonial America
Pre-1720 Records
If we assume that George was born circa 1720, it is worth investigating records prior to that time for possible parents or grandparents. The problem is that the records are numerous and contain limited information. The following are variations of the Weddell name found in the records of colonial America before 1720.
From The Early Settlers of Maryland by Gust Skordas, Genealogical Publishing Co., 1986:
Page Name Remarks 478 Waddall, James Transported 1671 478 Waddall, Roger Transported 1669 478 Waddle, George Transported 1654 478 Waddle, Thomas Service 1670 478 Waddle, William Transported 1662 492 Weddill, Roger & Christian,his wife. Service 1673
From Settlers of Maryland 1679-1700 by Peter Wilson Coldham, 1995:
Page Name Remarks 177 Waddle, John St Marys County, 100 acres, 6 Mar 1682 177 Wadle, Thomas Assignor of lands in Dorchester Co. in 1680
From The Parish Register of Saint Peter's, New Kent County, Va. 1680 to 1787, GenealogicalPublishing Company, 1966:
Anne Daughter of Wm Waddell born ye 9 June, 1691. Elizabeth Daughter of Wm Waddell born ye 24 Febry., 1692. John son of Wm Waddell born ye 24 Augt, 1697. Hannah Daughter of Wm Waddell born ye 16 Augt, 1699. George son of James Waddell bapt 20th July, 1707.
The Vestry Book & Register of St. Peter's Parish, New Kent & James City Counties, Virginia 1684-1786 lists 15 Waddells and 33 Waddills in the index.
New Kent County, VA, rent rolls for 1704, recorded in Lost Virginia Records, list: Waddell, Jno, 40 acres; Waddill, Wm, 375 acres.
Hamilton Cousin
In the testimony recorded for the trial on Peter Weddell's land is the key to the family's origins. A James Hamilton included a statement : "Peter is a cousin of mine". The questions that still remain unanswered are; 1) who was this James Hamilton and 2) how was he cousin of Peter? When those are answered, we will know the family's origin. Assuming James meant they were first cousins; the only possible combinations are for 1)James' mother to be George's sister, 2) Mary's brother to be James' father, or 3) Mary's sister to be James' mother. If they were first cousins once removed or second cousins thing get more complicated. So far, no record of any kind has been found.
Cumberland Valley, Pennsylvania
The cradle of Scotch-Irish settlement in America was the Cumberland Valley of Pennsylvania. Due to a great wave of immigration from Ulster in 1727-1728 and the policies off the Provincial government, conditions were ripe for their rapid settlement in large numbers. Earlier Scotch-Irish in Lancaster and adjacent counties had settled among the Germans and friction arose between the groups that sometimes resulted in riots at elections. The Penns decided to not sell anymore land in this area to the Scotch-Irish, but rather to offer them very generous terms to locate in the Cumberland Valley. Since many were only squatters of the land the occupied, relocation was not a hardship. The terms included excuse from taxes and postponement in the collection of payments for their land. The Penns' policy not only defused ethnic strife but it also create a line of defense on the frontier from Indian attacks and also a barrier to encroachment from Maryland along the southern border. A task neither the Germans nor the Quakers were disposed to perform. It was from this region that Colonel John Armstrong recruited his forces for the raid on Kittaning.
Major settlements along the Conococheague and its tributaries down to the Maryland line were made by the Scotch-Irish at Falling Spring (Chambersburg) and and in the lower part of the Cumberland Valley (Franklin County) in the seventeen-thirties. A Scotch-Irish settlement known as the "Conococheague Settlement," was made prior to 1738 in the vicinity of the present day town of Greencastle near the Maryland line. It appears that this settlement was begun in 1731 or 1732 and was composed almost entirely of Scotch-Irishmen coming from Lancaster and Dauphin Counties, and from Ulster.
Variations of the Weddell name can be found in the history of the Cumberland Valley. A Thomas Waddle appears on the 1752 tax list of Peters Township in what is now Franklin County, PA. The Spring Grove Cemetery, one half mile west of Lemaster, Franklin County, PA, is the oldest graveyard of the community; it was originally known as Waddell's Graveyard.
Near Hagerstown
Passed down in the family tradition is the story that the George and his family came from near Hagerstown. The Deed for "Huckleberry Levels" and its location is consistent with that story. Since the Scotch-Irish of Pennsylvania's Cumberland Valley settled next door just over the line (present day Greencastle is 6 miles north), the question is raised if George might have been part of the large influx of Scotch-Irish from Ulster during the period 1720-1750. James Hamilton's testimony in Peter Weddell's land trial stating he was a cousin, adds to this theory. Also, it was from this group of settlers that Benjamin Franklin recruited the wagons to transport General Braddock's supplies.
However, there were also German settlers in "old" Frederick County, Maryland at Monacacy and Catoctin, about 15 miles east of Hagerstown. Hagerstown was originally called "Elizabeth Hager's Town" after the wife of Johan Hager; this couple had started a trading post there. Johan was a stowaway on a ship to the colonies that deserted form army duty in Germany, He escaped being returned by marrying the older Elizabeth while on board. While most Germans were peaceful and industrious farmers, a few, like the Eckerlin brothers, were adventurous and skilled frontiersmen Therefore, "near Hagerstown" does not rule out a German ancestry.