Possibly the same person as Lewis C. Riddle, son of William Powell Riddle of Augusta Co., Virginia and Lexington Co., South Carolina.

From 1807 through at least 1816 Lewis Riddle was in Bourbon Co., Ky. From 1808 through 1810 he was listed under the spelling Ruddle or Ruddell, probably due to influence of that spelling being more popular locally. (There was a Ruddle’s Fort and a Ruddle’s Mill in Bourbon Co., named after an Isaac Ruddle who was probably related to Lewis, but the connection is not yet established.)

The order of the data in the following tax records is:
Taxpayer, acres of land, watercourse [watershed] where land is located, number of white males 21 or above, number of black males 16 or above, total number of blacks, number of horses. [In 1808 only, the number of white males 16-21 was also listed.]

1807, Bk 1 Riddle, Lewis - - 1 0 0 1
1808, Bk 1 Rudel, Lewis - - 1 0 0 0 1
1809 Ruddle, Lewis - - 1 0 0 2
1810 Ruddell, Lewis - - 1 0 0 3
1811 Riddle, Lewis - - 1 0 0 4
1812 Riddle, Lewis 50 Hinkston 1 0 0 4
1813 Riddle, Lewis 50 Hinkston 1 0 0 5
1814 [Not found, either unlisted or entry unreadable]
1815 [Not found, entire tax list damaged and mostly unreadable]
1816 Riddle, Lewis 50 Hinkston 1 0 0 6
1817-1820, not listed in Bourbon Co.

1810 census of Bourbon Co., Ky, records on p. 105, line 18:
Ruddell, Lewis, 1 male over 45, 1 male 26-44, 1 male 16-25, 1 male under 10; 1 female 26-44, and 1 female 16-25.

Since Lewis and Elizabeth were married in 1803, it is somewhat surprising to find only one child under 10. Most likely some of their children died young.

There was also an Elijah Barbee in Bourbon Co., almost certainly the same one listed on the marriage bond for Lewis and Elizabeth. Here are the census records for Bourbon Co. Barbee’s:

1810
----

p. 118, ln 19: Barbey, Joseph - - - - 1 : - - 2 - 1 : - 3
p. 118, ln 23: Barbey, Jesse - 1 - 1 - : 3 1 - 1 - : - -

1820
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p. 68, ln 16: Barbee, Elijah M: 3 under 10, one over 45; F: 1 under 10, one 26-44; 1 slave
p. 70, ln 25: Barbee, Jesse M: 2 under 10, one 26-44; F: 3 under 10, one 26-44; 2 slaves
p. 146, ln 31: Barbee, Dr. M: 1 under 10, 1 26-44; F: 2 under 10, 2 26-44; no slaves

(Comment: Looks like Elijah and Jesse may have inherited Joseph's
3 slaves. Should look for probate or deed records between 1810 and 1820.)

1830
----

p. 340, ln 4: Barbee, Elijah M: 1<5, 1 10-14, 1 60-69
F: 1<5, 1 5-9, 1 10-14, 1 30-39
p. 353, ln 1: Barbee, Lewis M: "E1"*<5, 1 5-9, 1 30-39
F: 1 5-9, 1 10-14, 1 30-39, 1 60-69
(*I think it's an E. Looks like a backward 3. "Expecting 1"???)

Evidence that the Bourbon Co. records are for the same Lewis Riddle who came to Bath Co. includes, besides the Barbee connections, the fact that Lewis’s son Stephen Commodore Riddle’s place of birth was given as Bourbon Co. in his death record.

1820 census of Bath Co., KY records this family as:
1 male 26-44 yrs, 1 female 26-44 yrs, 1 female 10-15 yrs, 1 male 10-15 yrs, and 3 males 0-9 yrs.

If the birthdates I've assigned (mostly from 1850 census) are correct, in 1820 John William would have been about 12, Robert about 9, S.C. about 2, and Andrew 1. Harrison and Lewis Jr. were not yet born. This leaves one daughter b. 1805-1810 in the 1820 reading whom I have not identified. She was probably born in the second half of 1810, because there is no female under 15 listed in the 1810 census.

1830 census of Bath Co., KY, p. 208, line 11, records this family as:
Lewis Riddle, 1 male 50-59 yrs, 1 female 40-49 yrs, 1 male 15-19 yrs, 2 males 10-14 yrs, and 2 males 5-9 yrs. (There is a tiny x along the ruling line just to the left of Lewis' name. I did not notice any similar marks next to any other names in this census.)

If the birthdates I have are correct, in 1830 Robert would have been about 19, S.C. about 12, Andrew about 11, Harrison about 9, and Lewis Jr. about 3. (John William was 22, married and enumerated separately.) Lewis Jr. may have been misassigned to the 5-9 age range, or may have really been older than later records suggest.

1840 census of Bath Co., KY, records this family as:
1 male 60-69 yrs, 1 female 50-59 yrs, 1 male & 1 female 20-29 yrs, 2 males 15-19 yrs, and 1 male 0-4 yrs.

The two males 15-19 are probably Harrison (19) and Lewis Jr. (13) The young couple and their baby are possibly S.C. and Sarah, with Elizabeth entered incorrectly as a boy. Or they are possibly Andrew and his family, though if they had a child before 1844, it had died by 1850. It cannot be Robert, as he appeared separately in the 1840 census (as did John William.)

1850 census of Bath County, KY, District 1, dwelling number 518, lists this family as:
Riddle, Lewis 72 (farmer), Elizabeth 68, Lewis, Jr. 23, Thomas Vice 10; S.C. Riddle 32, Sarah A. 29, Elizabeth 12, John 9, Matilda J. 5, Lewis 4, Susan 1. Lewis and Elizabeth born in Virginia, all others in Kentucky. I suspect that Lewis’s daughter, name unknown, who was born about 1810 married a Vice.

Lewis Sr. is not listed in the 1860 census of Bath, Morgan, Rowan or Fleming counties, so he probably died in the 1850's. This is what the notation of "1851/1859" means for the date of death. But he might have moved out of the area. (In 1860, his son John William was in Rowan Co., his sons S.C. and Andrew and Robert's widow were in Bath Co., and I haven't found Harrison or Lewis Jr.)

Caroline Co., VA marriage records 1795-1853 records on page 2, a marriage bond issued 24 Feb 1803, husband Lewis Riddle, wife Elizabeth Barbee, security and witnesses Thomas Riddle, Elijah Barbee, and Bereman King. This is a one-line-per-entry register; the actual bonds are not available on microfilm, and probably lost. The same book records on page 87 the marriage of Lewis Riddle and Elizabeth Barby on 14 June 1803, performed by Henry Goodlow. This section of the book is a register of minister's returns. The witness Elijah Barbee is more likely to be Elizabeth's brother than her father, because the marriage of Elijah Barbee to Ann Solomon one year earlier (1 March 1802) is recorded on page 72.

Both these records are indexed on Automated Archives CD #229 (Pre-1850 Marriage Records for KY, NC, TN, VA.) These were the only marriage records for any marriage of a Lewis Riddle to an Elizabeth on the CD, as well as the only records for any Lewis Riddle marrying before 1830 in Virginia. Given that I had already deduced a marriage date for Lewis of "ca 1802-1805" based on the ages of his children, it seems like a very strong probability that these are the Lewis and Elizabeth Riddle who later appeared in Bath Co., KY. Another piece of evidence is that the 1820 census of Bourbon Co., Ky, where Lewis was in 1807-1817 (see census notes), contains an Elijah Barbee, and 1830 census of Bath Co. records 8 lines below the Lewis Riddle household the family of Robbert Barbee (see his census notes.) Robert is close to the same age as Elizabeth, and probably her brother. His is the only Barbee household in 1830 Bath Co. Another connection is that in 1850 Robert Barbee age 64 is listed with the family of John Vice, and in 1850 a Thomas Vice age 10 is living with the Lewis Riddle family.

Other Riddle marriages in the same Caroline Co. Virginia register are Fanny Riddle to William Wright, minister's return 17 July 179x (last digit illegible); Tabba Riddle to Edward Lowry, bond issued 10 Jan 1804, witnesses John Sales, Jesse Terrell, and Berraman King; and John Riddle to Rosamund Shadduck on 21 July 1839, by Wm Richards.

The only record of any Riddle land transaction in Caroline Co. in the period 1758-1845 is the sale by William Riddle and Frances his wife to John Hoome on 9 April 1787, recorded on p. 25 of the deed book for that period (the volume is not numbered), of 213 acres on the Mattassany River in the parish of St. Margaret, described as starting from Coleman's line south 39 degrees west 244 poles to the Doagtown swamp, in consideration of 100 pounds of current Virginia money, a wagon and gear, and 500 acres of land "in the western waters."