Down the Ritchie Rabbit Hole

What’s in a name?

According to my great grandfather’s nephew, Alva Lawrence Ritchie, in his 1929 letter about the origin of our family name, the Richelieus arrived in Rosehearty, a small port village just north of Aberdeen, Scotland, around 1630, immediately anglicizing their name to “Ritchie” to disguise their identity. This was right around the time of the “Day of the Dupes” in November 1630, when the enemies of Cardinal Richelieu mistakenly believed they had succeeded in persuading Louis XIII, King of France, to dismiss Richelieu from power. Presumably, members of the Cardinal’s family escaped in the nick of time, thus avoiding being murdered by his enemies.

OK, that’s a lot to digest. Let’s start at the beginning:

Back in the summer of 1929, near the end of a two-year mission in England and Scotland (young Mormon males are expected to serve as missionaries), Alva Lawrence Ritchie, stationed at Aberdeen, made a trip to Rosehearty, on the coast about 45 miles to the north. Arriving late afternoon that day, he found the streets deserted. Later he learned that the entire village was observing the old British custom of tea time. Finally, nearly colliding with a kindly looking gentleman, he asked if the man could provide any information as to where any Ritchies might live in the village. The man replied, “I am Mayor Ritchie of…