FAMILY ORIGINS.

            Many families must often wonder about their origins , -------  Smiths ,  Bakers and Butchers , can believe that their names came from their forefathers trades , that's of interest , but it doesn't really answer the question of where specifically they came from i.e. which town , which Country. 

            We however are in that lucky group that can grasp the facts of local  History , and trace the origins of the name, we know the place , and the name of our first ancestor -- WILLIAM DE REDEPATHE  a Berwickshire Lord ,---- who gave his name to the small town of Redpath in approx. 1296 .This small town lies in the Border Counties of Southern  SCOTLAND on the banks of the River Tweed , one of the most famous Scottish Salmon rivers .

            In the local accent the pronunciation of Redpath sounded like Reppath or Rippeth , and later , when it became a written name ,bearing in mind that very few people could write in those early days ,  Rippeth was one of the chosen ways of spelling the name . ( Redpath , Reidpath, Ridpeth , were other derivatives of our name .)

              THE RIPPETH HERITAGE MAP.

            This map pinpoints REDPATH, and if one follows the route South , down the A68 for approx. 60 miles you will find the Parish town of RYTON. This is the total distance that the Family has moved in 700 years.

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