My Research so far:
I have found nothing which completely matches Ridlon's list for two generations. if Ridlon's list for the "Riddells of Ballymeath" were true we would expect to see every person listed with a different surname to be found in the same place.
https://www.google.com/.../History_of_the.../hLFOAAAAMAAJ...
(Irish Pedigrees 11th-16th centuries https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/7070/ By John O'Hart · 1892; p. 17) Lists Land owners and none that match Ridlon's 2 generation list. in Irish Peerages (which we would expect to find if the Riddle family stayed in Ireland when three brothers came as Ridlon claims with the English Norman Lord D'Coursy or DeCoursy during the reign of Henry II) or DeLacy also an English Norman Lord who took over after D'Coursy. (other sources claim that these Norman Riddell or Riddle brothers most likely did not stay in Ireland, so these could be eliminated from the list) No Riddle/Riddell appears in later land records Griffiths in the areas of the D'Coursy/De'Lacy lands.
However, there is a partial match for Thomas Hamilton in County Tyrone (see Scotch Irish Pioneers in Ulster and America, by Bolton, Charles Knowles https://archive.org/details/scotchirish00boltrich Riddle, Robert (Riddel, Riddle) found in Urney (Townland and Parish), Strabane (Barony), Tyrone, Northern Ireland page 369 in Appendix VI Home Towns of Ulster Families.)
If we work backward from Londonderry, NH we may have more success locating people related to Wilson/Riddle and Riddell than with Ridlon's unsourced two generations. I have found, also in Tyrone, Northern Ireland McTaggart or Taggart who married into the Riddell family in Londonderry, NH. (Other people who married into the Riddle family in Londonderry, NH Christie, Rankin, Taggart, Kerr (aka Carre), Aiken, Morrison) Also I would add those who are related to the Scottish Riddell branches such as Douglas, Orr (Down, Northern Ire).
(John Clark or Clerk signed petition to Governor Shute 1739)
Here are more reasons why Ridlon is not reliable in addition to lack of source citation other than letters received by him:
1. Ridlon, for the most part ignores some of Irish history such as the effect of the Irish Rebellion in 1641 on the Riddle family. During the Irish Rebellion in 1641 rebellion many Ulster Scots people fled to the nearest large Protestant controlled city but returned home afterwards, this includes areas of County Colrain (now Londonderry and County Down. Riddle was not found in the 1641 depositions in county Down. However, I did find Sir Walter Riddell under Captain Lothian's Regiment sent from Scotland. Scots were in the regular English army sent to quell the Irish Rebellion in Scotland. This regiment was at Carrikfergus. It is possible that some Scottish Soldiers stayed in Ireland after the Irish rebellion but this needs more research.
https://1641.tcd.ie/
2. No Riddle or Riddell families were found in the lists of who was present at the Siege of Londonderry (1689) lists but were there later. Ridlon assumes (with no proof) that Riddle/Riddle was in the city of Londonderry, Northern Ireland during the siege. (I have references for the Siege of Londonderry lists if you want them)
3. Ridlon ignores the Scots who came to Ireland during the Hamilton/Montgomery Private Plantations (not included in later King James Plantation below because it was already settled) Hamilton and Montgomery Manuscripts 1606 https://discoverulsterscots.com/histo.../hamilton-montgomery
4. Ridlon excludes mention of the King James Plantation contained Scots from * "inland" Scottish which has been interpreted by historians to mean Scots from the lowlands (Border area) of Scotland. (Sources provided upon request) At two different chats with Scottish Genealogists one who was from Scotland and had Northern Irish Roots, I asked if the King James Plantation included "Roxburgshire, Peebleshire and Kirkubrightshire" and they said it would have included these three counties ( Family Tree Webinars: Paul Milner FUGA who presented "Understanding and Using Kirk Session Records" and in The Irish American Records Association conference (live chat Sessions.) * Source: Ford's Scots Irish, Appendix C: "Making of the Ulster Scot from whence they came p. 555 see URL: https://www.google.com/.../The_Scotch.../5iJCAAAAIAAJ... Galloway (Included the old Kingdom of Strathclyde which included Roxburgshire), Dumbartonshire, Ayrshire, Renfrewshire, Lanarkshire and Dumfriesshire (Hamilton/Montgomery MSS Hills account of Plantation of King James) Counties around Edinburgh: Edinburgshire, Haddingtonshire and Berwickshire. and the District laying between Aberdeen and Inverness corresponding to the province (county of) Morayshire.
5. Ridlon neglected to mention that Scots in the English military were not eligible to Servitors (Military land grants given to English military for their crown service: these Servitors owned land, protected the Ulster border against the Irish and could settle native Irish tenants but only in Southern Ireland if they has a Servitor grant for land there. No Riddle/Riddell was found in any of the Lists of Undertakers. In Ford's Scots Irish Volume IX Register page 548-552 he has a list of Scots Undertakers from the Register of Privy Counsel Scotland. and a second list on p. 552 of Scots Undertakers in the King James Plantation. https://www.google.com/.../The_Scotch.../5iJCAAAAIAAJ...
So, what I have done is to create a database in .xls to sort out the Riddle/Riddell in Northern Ireland. This database also includes Christie (as Robert Riddle was related to this family through the Aiken family of Bedford who married a Riddle) The purpose of this is to aid in analysis. Timelines are ever so helpful and I like the capability of "custom sort" for .xls
I am reading though dissertations from various colleges which have a goldmine of source citations for "Ulster Scots" of "Scots Irish". Many of the source citations I have already checked as I made a source list but I will follow up on the ones I don't have yet. These dissertations have a good discussion and criticism on some of the sources.
