Our oldest known Liddle ancestor is Thomas Liddle, the 3rd great grandfather of the author. Thomas was born in Roxburghshire, Scotland in 1780, some twenty to forty years after John and Robert. This makes it unlikely they would have been brothers, but could very possibly be a nephew/uncle or cousins. Until records of the parentage of these two Liddle lines are discovered it is only a guess that a relationship exists.

My research, to this date, has indicated that most, if not all, Liddle’s have come from either Southern Scotland or Northern England. These two families are the only ones I have found so far to have emigrated to New York State. There are numerous Liddle’s, from England, that emigrated to the mid-West states of America.

As stated before, we know our Thomas Liddle was born in 1780 in Roxburghshire, Scotland. This information was found in the 1850 census for Delaware County, New York. We also know he was in Delaware County prior to 1795 according to the Historical and Statistical Gazetteer of New York State by J. H. French, LL.D. written in 1860. In the description for the town of Bovina, Delaware County, New York it states:

“The first settlement was begun in 1792, by Elisha B. Maynard and during the succeeding 3 years many families from Connecticut and Scotland located in the valleys.”

The description of the town goes on to list nine of the early settlers and Thomas Liddle is one of them.

Thomas Liddle married Margaret Archibald about 1804. She was born on March 7, 1777 in Midholm, Scotland, the daughter of Andrew Archibald and Grace Hart. Margaret had married while still in Scotland, but her husband died on the voyage to America. Thomas and Margaret, according to the 1850 Census for Delaware County, New York, had eight children: Andrew A. born in 1805; Alexander Henry, born on April 16, 1817; James A., born in 1818; John O., born in 1819; Christa, born in 1820; Barbara, born June 6, 1822; and Isabella, born in 1823.

On May 10, 1815, the first church building in Bovina was raised to be known as the United Presbyterian Church of Bovina. The History of Delaware County, written by W.W. Munsell sometime prior to his death in 1880, includes the following comment about this church and its members.

“About the 1st of February, 1814, the congregation elected elders John Elliott, Walter Doig, David Henderson and James Russel, and also united in a call for Reverend Laing to become the pastor. The amount of salary promised in this call was $250.00, and he entered upon his labors as pastor of the congregation about the 1st of June 1814. Immediate steps were taken to erect a meeting-house, but it was not until the 10th day of May, 1815 that the first church building was raised. This was a substantial frame building, 36 by 30 feet, with a gallery, and stood on the south side of the ‘old grave-yard lot,’ about one-half mile from the present house of worship. It was not until 1824 that this building was finished with pews and pulpit; but on the second Sabbath of July, 1815, the Lord’s Supper was dispensed in it for the first time; and then for years after, the carpenter’s work-bench was used for a pulpit, and rough boards and blocks were used for communion table and seats. At this first communion the following persons united with the church viz.: Francis Coulter, Thomas Liddle, Matthew Russel, Thomas Hamilton, James Archibald, James Thomson, Robert Menzie, James Hastings, James Rutherford, Walter Renwick, Samuel H. Dean and their wives; also Mrs. Ann Dean, Miss Elizabeth Russel and Isabella Stoddard. As none of the eleven persons who had united with the church at its organization had died or removed, the congregation at this time must have numbered thirty-six persons.”

On the first Tuesday of March 1820, the first town meeting for Bovina was held. Twenty-nine road districts were created and Thomas was named Overseer of Highways in his road district. (Source: History of Delaware Co. NY). Also included in W.W. Munsell’s History of Delaware County is the following paragraph about schools in the town of Bovina.

“In 1855 there were twelve school-houses situated in this town and $680.00 was apportioned, from public funds, for their support. ....The last district, number 11, Coulter Brook, was organized in May, 1833, and a log school-house was erected that season. A novel plan was devised for building a round chimney. Thomas Liddle stood up and the chimney was built around him, he climbing up on the stones until they took him out at the top.”

We get another small glimpse of the history of Thomas from the pages of the “Biographical Review - The Leading Citizens of Delaware County, New York.” One of the paragraphs in that book is about Robert Liddle who is one of the sons of Thomas Liddle. It states:

“Robert Liddle was born on November 23, 1821, in the town of Bovina, and was the son of Thomas and Margaret (Archibald) Liddle. Thomas Liddle was a native of Scotland, who emigrated to this country in his youth, and settled in Bovina, where he bought a tract of about four hundred acres of land. Here he married Miss Archibald; and a family of eight children were born to the couple - Andrew, Alexander, James, John, Christa, Robert, Barbara, and Isabella. The father was a prosperous farmer and a dairyman, and did not neglect civic duties while devoting himself to seer of the poor. He was a Republican in politics, and like his wife, a United Presbyterian in religion. Both lived to be quite old.”

Andrew A. Liddle, eldest son of Thomas and Margaret Liddle, married Elizabeth Elliot some time before 1830. Nine children were born to them: Thomas in 1830; Christa in 1833; Mary in 1836; Margaret in 1838; Isabel in 1840; Ellen in 1842; John E. in February of 1845; Harriet in 1847; and Andrew George born on November 1, 1849 and married Margaret Jackson, daughter of John Jackson and Isabel Rob, in 1878. They had four children: Genevieve born in 1886; Mary B. born in 1879; Elliott, born in 1882; and Oliver Jackson Liddle, born December 16, 1886.

From Munsell’s History of Delaware County, NY we know Andrew operated the livery stable which his brother, Alexander, had founded many years earlier. The only additional information known about this family came from the headstone of Alvira E. Burdick where it stated she was the wife of John E. Liddle.

Alexander Henry Liddle, second son and the 2nd great grandfather of the author, married Bina McDonald, daughter of Henry McDonald and Margaret Donald. Bina was born in 1819 in Perthshire, Scotland. Their marriage took place some time before 1840 and eight children were born to them: William; Thomas J., on August 7, 1841; Margaret on November 18, 1842, Henry McDonald in 1844; Andrew E. in 1846; Jane in 1848; David R. on September 15, 1854; and James Archibald on October 10, 1858.

Additional information is detailed elsewhere on their sons Thomas J., the great grandfather of the author, and Henry M. Liddle. Nothing other than his name is known about William. Only the name and birth date has been discovered about Andrew E. and Jane. Mary was born at Coulter Brook, Bovina, Delaware County New York and died on October 1, 1917 in Andes Village, Delaware County, New York. David R. married Hattie Jackson on January 12, 1886 in Bovina, Delaware County, New York and James Archibald Liddle died in 1939.

James A. Liddle, the third son of Thomas and Margaret, was married but we do not know anything about his wife. They had at least one child, Robert D. Liddle who was born on April 22, 1850. He married Mary E. Close. We have discovered a James A. Liddle and his family listed in the1870 census for the town of Andes, Delaware County, NY. The wife is Sarah A., age 53 (1817); James B., age 30 (1840); John, age 22 (1848); Jennet, age 17 (1853); Mary E., age 13 (1857); and Alexander S., age 9 (1861). The age differs by about a year, the name of the wife is different, and there is no Robert D. listed. He could have remarried and this is his second wife but it is also possible this is another James A. Liddle as the name James, with middle initial A., seems to be very common in this family.

John O. Liddle, the fourth son of Thomas and Margaret, married a woman whose given name was Sally and they had at least one child they named John who was born December 22, 1847.

There is quite a bit of information about Robert A. Liddle, the fifth son and sixth child of Thomas and Margaret. He married Catherine McGregor, the daughter of John and Jane McGregor, in 1844. They had seven children: Jane, born in 1844 and married George K. Gladstone on December 6, 1866. She died in 1924 and George in 1908. George was also born in 1844; Margaret born in 1847; Mary born in 1849 who married James Mills on January 5, 1867; Thomas C. born in 1851; Agnes born in 1853; Isabella born in 1855; and Elizabeth born in 1857.

Listed among the ‘Apprenticeship Indentures of Delaware County, NY’ is one dated April 2, 1838 stating that “Martha Buck, ‘aged 7 years on February 3rd, last’ was indentured to Thomas Liddle, of Bovina, until age 18 as apprentice to farming business.”

The inscription on the grave marker for Margaret (Archibald) Liddle, wife of Thomas indicates she died December 13, 1857 at age 81. This grave is in the Bovina Center Cemetery located just outside the village of Bovina, Delaware County, NY.

We know from cemetery grave-stone inscriptions that Thomas Liddle married the second time. One record indicates a November 2, 1859 marriage was to a Magdaline McArthur of Scotland. This name is very similar to the name on a grave-stone in the New United Presbyterian Cemetery of Bovina, NY which states: “Liddle, Magdalene, wife of Thomas Liddle, died May 15, 1860 at age of 34 years, daughter of unknown McCartney.” It is possible that because of the fancy penmanship in use at the time these records were written the name was miss-read. It is also possible, the person giving the information for the grave-stone inscription miss-understood the spelling.