Middleditch (Mid-1700�s)

[Hueby101]

Hello again

I was wondering if anyone knows about a “William Middleditch”in the mid 1700's (1760's to about 1778) who served on a ship. I don't know if he was the captain of the ship, a crew member and I don’t know if it was a military ship, trading ship or merchant marines.

The story of my male biological 7x great grandfather has a couple different versions yet similar. This ancestor came from Spain or Portugal to Boston Massachusetts and took the name “William Middleditch.”

Different versions passed down from various branches were:

* The boy was an orphan, stowaway (I don’t think he came here against his will)
* There was war, the parents put him on a British ship to help him escape
* Whoever W Middleditch was took a liking to the boy and/or had trouble pronouncing his name. This is why the boy took the Middleditch name.

Some personal thoughts:

About 1370 Great Britain and Spain signed a treaty to protect each other. This was after Europe drove the Moors of Africa back out of Spain after they invaded and held most of Spain for 500 years.
So if Portugal and England were allies, they were allies during the 7 years war while fighting Spain and France.

So could the ancestor have been Portuguese? Or a minority within Spain such as Basque or Catalan?

My Y DNA from a LivingDNA shows most of my Haplogroup in Spain and France. Maybe I should take a better test.

Would there be anything out there to learn about William Middleditch who served on a ship that went from Spain to the Colonies which is now Massachusetts?

Thanks for any responses