It appears the carver started to carve Ridely and the changed the spelling to Ridley which has led to the name appearing with both spellings.

Thomas Ridley was born in Truro December 3, 1715. He was a seaman and fisherman. He married Elizabeth _ and they had 10 children. He died of smallpox which is the reason for the remote burial site. Elizabeth died in 1792 at age 74. She is buried in Provincetown Cemetery Number 1.

Directions to the gravestone written in 1993 are as follows: "From Montano's Restaurant..park at back right of parking lot: old road goes of to left; at fork go left...follow trail to where piles of brush are...just before old sand pit take trail to the left up a hill. At the top of the hill the trail splits... goes thru the woods east (right). Follow the trail a little over 1/4 mile in and go left off trail into woods where yellow tape is on both sides. The gravestone is on a lower ridge to the left between two small fairly deep valleys. Good luck!"

Shebnah Rich in his book published in 1883, page 209, Truro, Cape Cod or Landmarks and Sea Marks, states that Thomas Ridely died of smallpox in 1776 and when Shebnah visited the grave the headstone lay scattered in fragments. In 1993 the stone was reported to be intact. Perhaps the stone seen in 1993 and pictured above is a footstone which would explain the very brief inscription. The photos were taken in 1993.