I've recently updated all the family trees which hold details of Gidleys in the US. I was able to make some changes as details became clearer with the release of the 1940 census and other databases. This mainly affected the Gidleys of West Virginia and of the American side of the Buckfastleigh tree, so do contact me if you would like an update of these trees.
I found the 1940 census interesting, as the modern world is starting to emerge: Gidley wives are following careers of their own, there are more divorced Gidleys, some Gidleys are employed in the tourism industry, and even more in industries connected with cars and haulage.
I have occasionally been contacted by Americans asking about the origin of their family, so I thought it might be useful if I listed which families were in which state in 1940. I shall do this alphabetically by state. Ancestry has made the usual mistranscriptions, which I hope I've added to their database as "alternative information" when I found them. Indexed as Gidley I have found people whose names were actually Ridley, Gidlof, Gridley, Giddey, Gulley, Godbey, and Gilley. There are also some Gidleys I just couldn't link to any family, and I will list them in a later post, in the hope that someone can help. It's possible that a few of them are further mistranscriptions, or were wrongly enumerated.
I am no expert in American geography, so I list the counties/places just as Ancestry does (in some cases - very rural areas?- just the county is given).
Please note that "Massachusetts", "Buckfastleigh", etc. are the names I personally have given the trees, based mainly on the place they can be traced back to.
In some cities e.g. Los Angeles, Chicago, Fort Wayne, and in Essex county, Massachusetts, there were representatives from more than one, unrelated, family.
Alabama in 1940
All are descendants of the shipwrecked James Gidley from Buckfastleigh.
Arizona in 1940
A family descended from the Massachusetts Gidleys.
Arkansas in 1940
Faulkner county: a family from the Massachusetts Gidleys.
Pulaski county: a couple from the West Virginia family.
California in 1940
Los Angeles, San Bernardino, Orange, Monterey counties:Massachusetts.
Kern, Los Angeles, Contra Costa, San Diego, San Francisco counties: Buckfastleigh.
Connecticut in 1940
New London county: Buckfastleigh.
Florida in 1940
One entry for a Gidley of West Virginia (but see the list of unknown Gidleys later).
Georgia in 1940
Clarke county: Massachusetts.
Fulton county: one member of the Buckfastleigh family.
Hawaii in 1940
A soldier, stationed there, from the Buckfastleigh family.
Idaho in 1940
Ada county: Gidleys of Cornwall (see the post about William S Gidley).
Canyon county: a Massachusetts family.
Gooding county: a West Virginia family.
Illinois in 1940
Monroe county: Gidleys of Missouri, formerly Guethle.
Cook county: Dean Prior.
Cook county: Buckfastleigh.
Indiana in 1940
Porter, Lake counties: Dean Prior.
Decatur and Allen counties: Winkleigh.
Wabash, Howard, LaPorte counties: West Virginia.
Allen: Buckfastleigh.
Iowa in 1940
Union, Jasper, Washington,Montgomery counties: West Virginia.
Mills county: Cornwall.
Guthrie, Pottawattamie counties: Buckfastleigh.
Scott county: formerly Guethle from Missouri.
Kansas in 1940
Wilson county: the widow of a man from the Winkleigh branch.
Sedgwick county: a couple from the Massachusetts branch.
Massachusetts in 1940
Bristol, Essex, Plymouth, Nassau, Middlesex counties: Massachusetts.
Bristol county: Buckfastleigh.
Hampden, Hampshire counties: Winkleigh.
Essex county: Dean Prior.
To be continued.
Friday 31 May 2013
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