I am a Ridgway whose family origins are in Mottram in Langendale, Cheshire. There are family connections with Staffordshire and Austria. My g-g-g-grandfather was James Ridgway who moved from Cheshire to London in the later 1700s and became a famous (and sometimes notorious) radical bookseller and publisher in Piccadilly. He created a major publishing firm which was continued by his son, James Leach Ridgway, and grandson, William Hearn Ridgway, until 1894. They were related to the Carringtons, Stockdales, Risleys and Hearns. I'd love to make contact with anyone related to these families and have lots of info on James Ridgway and co.. from JAMES RIDGWAY HEARN (London).