What is known about John Loker/Riddlesdale is reviewed in Threlfall.572 John “was very likely the eldest son, by a first marriage, of Robert Ridsdale of Halstead which is about six miles southwest of Bures. The fact that they used these two alternate surnames indicates that they were of the same immediate clan.

“John Ridsdale’s wife was named Joan. They apparently lived in that part of Bures which lies south of the River Stour and is in the county of Essex. John Ridsdale was buried in the churchyard of Bures 2 July 1552. His will, obviously an oral one, was written up and dated ten days after his burial.” A transcript of the will follows. How this family came to use both the names Loker (Locar) and Riddlesdale (Redysdale, Ridsdale, etc.) is not known, but they did so for several generation, and both names are often commonly used in contemporary documents in a form such as “Rydsdalle aka Locar.” After arriving in New England the Riddlsedale part of the name was dropped, and all subsequent members of the family went by the single surname Loker.