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One of the stories, originally passed around the family, is that many years ago there was serious trouble in Ireland and many young ladies were sent
to France for protection. One such young lady,[ a Fitzgerald ], living near the German border, met a young German named Leydyhn [sic] . They married and he returned to Ireland with his bride . So, the name became Leddin in the Irish - ( information supplied by Father Frank Crowe {dec})
Le Din, Ledin, Leddin; The name first appears in Normandy about the time
of Duke William and is thought to have crossed to Britain in the succeeding
years of the Conquest but the name does not appear in the Domesday Book.
This could mean a more recent arrival, possibly a Huguenot family - information
supplied by Strath Hunter Heraldry, Newcastle, Australia.
The Irish connections of this family believe that it is fairly well established
that the Leddins arrived in Ireland, supposedly in 1690/91. They came (from
Holland or Germany) as Prussian mercenaries at the sieges of Limerick,
which occurred in those years. They settled in Limerick and became, as
the saying goes, "more Irish than the Irish themselves". It is significant
that they settled in Limerick. I have never met a Leddin who didn't come
from Limerick - Information supplied by Tim Leddin, Ireland according to
Alice Boyd [USA].
It is true that the name is uncommon - all the Leddins originally came
from a village called Hospital, Co Limerick. Emly, is another area in which
they were known to be - it is approximately 18 miles from Limerick and
1.5 miles from Hospital. Information supplied by Mrs Evelyn Leddin, Limerick
HOWEVER, according to research done by Dr. Chris O'Mahoney, Regional Archivist,
of Limerick, the surname of Leddin, Liddane, Leddy and Liddy, are
variations on an Irish name, O'Loideain, associated with Galway, [though
in the west of Ireland it has assumed the forms of Leydon and Lydon].
Other Leddin name variations are O'Leddan which is a Munster variant of
Liddane, Laden, Leyden, Lydon, (O) Lydon. Other forms are Leyden in Connacht
and Clare, and Liddane mainly in Clare. He does not believe in the "Prussian
mercenary" theory, which was one of the many stories listed above.
As to the why's and wherefores, we may never know. Hopefully in time, with
research and helpful bits of information passed and shared between family
members, we may come to know the whole story.
My main aim for the Leddin page, so far, is to try and link all the differing
groups of Leddins from these areas. With the information I and others have
gleaned from sources available, we will attempt to build these links and
connect what surely must be a line back to the original family, oh so long
ago.
As time passed and the upheavals of an unstable situation in Ireland got
worse, many of the Leddins and associated families, uprooted themselves
and spread out to the corners of the world. Most of the Leddins tended
to follow other family members, to areas considered to be good farming
prospects.
The Leddins who came to Australia from Liverpool, in September 1857, on
"the Chance", followed Gleeson family members, who had come here
earlier and had set up better lives for themselves. They came to a land
that needed lots of hard work and slog, but would eventually give them
the lifestyle they sought and the ability to control their own destiny
(as far as Mother Nature would allow) - without the thought of the English,
or the potato famine, taking away what they had worked oh so hard for. |