Susanna Aydelott (ca. 1762-ca. 1810)

While there are no records of Susanna Aydelott’s birth, she was most likely born in Worcester County, Maryland, around 1762 to William and Mary Aydelott. On June 1, 1776, William Aydelott wrote his will and bequeathed furniture, farm animals, and other household items to his only daughter Susanna.[1]

Susanna’s Ancestors

The surname Aydelott, which means “little noble,” is French and comes from the personal name Edelot, a pet form of various Old French names of Germanic origin containing the element “edel,” meaning noble. American families bearing this name are traceable to the regions of Gascony and Guyenne in France.[2]

The surname Aydelot is listed in the U.S. National Huguenot Society's register of qualified Huguenot ancestors.[3] The Huguenots were French Protestants who fled religious persecution, and many settled in England and the American colonies.  

Researchers believe that Susanna's 2nd great-grandfather was David Aydelott of the Province of Guyenne, France, who moved to The City of Westminster, London, prior to 28 June 1655 when he became a naturalized citizen. He was a shoemaker by trade.[4]

David’s son Benjamin migrated to Virginia in the 17th century. The exact date he arrived in the British colonies is unknown, but he appeared in court records in 1670.[5] In 1687, Benjamin and his three sons, Benjamin, John, and William, acquired land along the Pocomoke River around Snow Hill.[6]

The “e” was added at the end of the name in the 1800s. 

Susanna’s Death

There are no records of Susanna’s death. She probably died between 1808, when their youngest son Samuel Aydelotte Payne was born[7], and 1810, when the U.S. Census for that year lists no female of the appropriate age in Wrixham's household.[8]

Footnotes

[1] Maryland, Worcester. Wills, Liber J.W., No. 4, 1769-1783, pp. 364-366 https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33S7-9TBJ-SR4K.

[2] Patrick Hanks, Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd ed, volume 1. (New York: Oxford University Press, 2022) 74.

[3] National Huguenot Society, "Ancestor Lookup," entry for David Aydelot(te) Aidelot, database, National Huguenot Society (https://nationalhuguenotsociety.org/ancestor-lookup/ : accessed 6 April 2026).

[4] Barnes, Robert W. British Roots of Maryland Families. (Baltimore MD: Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 1999) 30.

[5] Virginia, Northampton County. Order Book, No. 9, 1664-1674, p. 83 https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-99PX-XW4H.

[6] Aydelott, George C. The history of the Aydelott family in the United States. (The Aydelott Family Association, 1959) preface.

[7] David Painter, contributor, "Payne, Samuel & Mary Scarborough Bonneville Payne Graves," Various Family Cemeteries, Worcester County, Maryland; USGenWeb Archives (http://files.usgwarchives.net/md/worcester/cemeteries/various.txt : accessed 9 March 2026); citing gravestone inscriptions, Jones Road field, Worcester County, Maryland.

[8] 1810 U.S. Census, Worcester County, Maryland, p. 627, household of Ruxom Payne (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XH2F-Z6Y.