I have been researching my great-great-grandmother Emma Girdlestone and her family for over a decade.
Emma was the daughter of Thomas and Mary Betts Girdlestone. The trio emmigrated stateside in 1856. Sadly, Thomas and Mary died on enroute to the West but Emma not only survived but thrived. She married twice and had 10 children. Her youngest, Alison, was my great-grandmother.

There were thousands of Girdlestone familys living in England during the 19th Century. I believe they are all connected by two Norfolk, England, families. One branch lived at Kelling while my branch lived at Wramplingham.

The name Girdlestone may derive from an agricultural process where wheat was turned into girdlecakes thus the name Girdlestone. It may also have been the name used to designate property boundaries.

I have quite a bit of information I would love to share

• Emma Girdlestone with daughter Mary Jane Ridges (109 KB)
  This photo was taken of Emma and her daughter Mary Jane Ridges in the early 1860s. Mary Jane was the daughter of Joseph Ridges. Emma and Joseph were later divorced. She later married my great-great-grandfather Ralph Smith

• GirdlestonesRustoo

Lisa D. Dayley
lizybeth@pmt.org

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