Ridgely

compiled and copyright by MJP Grundy, 2002
Nicotiana tabacum, from Chambers's Encyclopædia: A Dictionary of Universal Knowledge for the People
(Phila.: J. B. Lippincott Company, 1885), 9:462.

This page tells the story only of our branch of the Ridgely family of Maryland and their immediate families. I am hopeful that readers may be able to provide more information about them. If you have corrections or additions, especially if you have documentation, I would be very grateful if you would e mail me at kwg at cwru.edu, substituting the familiar @ for "at".

As was so often the case in the seventeenth century, there were spelling variations of this family's name. But one genealogist points out that our branch tended to spelled it Ridgely, while Col. Henry and his sons William and Charles more often used Ridgley.[1] However, in this page I will use the former spelling for all of them, which is what I believe all their twentieth-century descendants use.

First Generation in the New World

Our Robert Ridgely¹, died in 1681, and was married to Martha. Some accounts hold that he emigrated from England on the Assurance in 1634/5, and settled in St. Mary's County, Maryland. Since he named one his plantations "Belleau", which is the name of a parish in Lincolnshire, Robert, or one or both of his parents, may have come from that area of England.[2] But both his date of arrival and place of origin are conjectures.

Robert's wife Martha's surname is not known, athough some genealogists claim it may have been Patterson. She may have been the sister of Sarah (Patterson) Clagett who was called the "aunt" of Martha's daughter. More on that later, including arguments against the hypothesis. About 1671 Robert brought Martha to Maryland, probably marrying her after she arrived. The records are vague. Robert survived a remarkable 46 years in the New World. But one wonders about the record, since his public career did not begin until 1667, and he did not marry until he brought in a wife in 1671. Does this perhaps conflate two generations? or at least two separate individuals? It is interesting to note that Robert does not appear in Coldham's Complete Book of Emigrants, nor does Newman mention his early arrival.[3]

Robert began his public career in 1664. If he emigrated in 1634/5, as some accounts suggest, he would be at least forty and probably closer to fifty years old. One wonders what he was doing for those thirty years. Anyway, Robert succeeded Cecilius LANGFORD as Clerk of the Council, a position he held until 1669, when Sir William TALBOT, Secretary of the Province, selected him to be Deputy Secretary in Talbot's absence. He maintained this position until Lord Baltimore revoked Talbot's commission and appointed his own nephew, William CALVERT, on 16 March 1673. Robert was Clerk of the Lower House of the Maryland Assembly from 1671 to November 1681. He served as examiner of the High Court of Chancery, and as a probate judge. He was keeper of the lesser seals for the province.[4]

Maryland's headright system of land distribution encouraged and created many opportunities for speculation. There was a grant of 50 acres for each immigrant brought into the colony, but the grantee did not have to actually settle on the land himself. So ship captains, for example, were awarded numerous grants which they sold to colonial officials, who made profits reselling them. As an example, in 1672 Captain Samuel GIBBONS received 4,500 acres for bringing in 90 servants. He made his claim over to Robert Ridgely, in his capacity as a governmental official. Robert almost immediately sold the land at a handsome profit to four other people. Freed servants, at the end of their indenture, were also awarded 50 acres. This land, also, often entered the speculative market.[4a]

Robert was a successful attorney, practicing in the local and provincial courts. His depth of legal knowledge suggests he may have spent some time in one of the Inns of Court in London. He shared law offices with Christopher ROUSE and Robert CARVILE. I do not know if they worked as partners in the modern sense, or simply shared space. Their chambers were in St. Mary's City on land named "Gallow's Greene" granted to him by Lord Baltimore, as mentioned above. Robert Carvile (b. ca. 1636, d. by 1705) was a Catholic. In 1684 he was disbarred for "scandalous speeches" against the proprietary. But he was readmitted later the same year and served in the Assembly. He was Attorney General of Maryland from April through October 1688.[5]

Robert got considerable fame as the attorney for Christopher ROUSBY, Esq., Provincial Collector of Revenue for Maryland, when Christopher sued Lord Baltimore. Christopher has been described as "arrogant" and "extremely unfair and overbearing in his collection of customs". Later, a young relative of the Calverts was insensed by Christopher's insulting remarks about the Proprietor. He also gathered documentation of irregularities in His Majesty's collections. He had a show-down with Christopher one day while the latter was on board the British navy ketch, the Quaker. Words were exchanged, then challenges. Weapons came out, and the Christopher was stabbed to death. The young man was arrested, escaped, and fled the Colony. Later he gave himself up and was tried, found guilty, and sentenced, but then pardoned by the King.[6] I assume that Robert Ridgely was at least sympathetic with Christopher's politics, and perhaps not objecting to his collections.

The Nanticoke Indians, angered by broken promises and poor treatment by the settlers, rose in revolt on the lower Eastern Shore. The Governor sent a contingent of Provincial Militia from the Western Shore to put them down. Robert was among them, and was voted 7,000 pounds of tobacco by the General Assembly for his services.[7]

Land acquisitions by Robert Ridgely included 1,200 acre "Little Belleau", on Lord Baltimore's Rent Roll for Somerset County. Robert also acquired a patent for 500 acres called "Timberly", rights in 1680 to land in St. Mary's County, and a grant of "Gallow's Greene" from Lord Baltimore, on Middle Street, next to Swearingen's Tavern. Although his law offices were there in St. Mary's City, his "dwelling plantation" was on St. Inigoe's Creek, and it was here that Martha held sway.[8]

A random glance at court records indicates Robert played his part in testifiying to wills. He testified 23 May 1673 to the will of Thomas PAINE of St. Jerome's in St. Mary's County. He performed the same duty 16 September 1676 for the will of John CONNINGHAM of Glasgow, Scotland, who apparently died while in Maryland. He inherited personalty from Margaret PENROY of Charles County in November 1676.[9]

Robert wrote his will 20 December 1680, describing himself "of Hampton", Baltimore County, witnessed by Anthony UNDERWOOD and Daniel CLOCKER, who, along with William TAYLOR, testified to it. It was probated 24 December 1681. He named his wife Martha executrix, and bequeathed her 1,200 acre "Little Beleau" along with land in Somerset County. His land bequests to his children are given below. Non real estate bequests were made to his only daughter Martha and to William STEVENS and his wife Elizabeth of Somerset County. Robert specified that his children were to be educated "according to the canons of the Church of England". William Stevens and Christopher ROUSBY were named overseers. The personalty of his plantation on the Wicomico was appraised 13 February 1681/2 as worth 24,828 pounds of tobacco. It included three white indentured servants. But perhaps the most interesting thing about Robert's estate inventory was the list of debts. There were 106 named, including what appeared to be two firms, "the Publick", four women, and perhaps one Native American, Corney Crow. One was our ancestor, John Addison. There were also his legal friend, Robert CARVILE. In a society that paid close attention to titles, there were five colonels, a major, one Esquire, and a Doctor.[10]

Martha was apparently not without comfort in this time of bereavement. Anthony UNDERWOOD (1659-ca. 1689), Robert's assistant, who witnessed his will, petitioned 1 March 1681/2 to be admited to the Maryland Bar. Underwood said he had clerked for Edward DOBSON of Gray's Inn, a Counselor at Law in England for several years before serving Robert Ridgely. He was transported in 1678 as an indentured servant, becoming free by 1681/2. Martha had to sign a paper attesting to his status as a freeman. In the class conscious circles to which he aspired, Anthony was styled a Gentleman by 1682. His character is illuminated by a petition for redress brought to the Provincial Court on 28 March 1683 by Mary HARDING, a servant of Martha's, complaining of a beating by Anthony Underwood, "late Servant of Mrs. Ridgely".[11] There were "normal" cultural assumptions that strong discipline and corporal punishment were necessary against the natural laziness of servants and slaves. But Maryland masters often used an increased degree of coercion above this "norm". Sources often stress the low and sometimes criminal origin of servants. What is often overlooked is that so many of the masters had similar backgrounds. [11a]

Martha married Anthony Underwood probably in 1684. Like so much about Charles and Martha, the date is elusive, one (erroneous) source suggesting she and Anthony were married "by 1680" which was before Robert's death.[12]

Anthony was an alderman in St. Mary's City in 1684. He was elected to the Lower House from the city for the 1686-88 term.[13]

Anthony died in the late spring of 1691, leaving Martha a very wealthy widow for a second time. The estate was inventoried with a value of £722.0.11 plus 56,346 pounds of tobacco and included four servants and two slaves. The final balance when the estate was settled came to £544.9.11 plus 9,725 pounds of tobacco. An inventory of Anthony's estate lists the rooms in his house, presumably the mansion built by Charles Ridgely. It included the Master's room, and a closet off the same, Hall, Parlour, Parlour closet, Parlour chamber, Middle Room, End room, Nursery, Wash house, and Quarters.[14] The names of these rooms meant somewhat different things at the end of the seventeenth century. The Hall was used principally for dining and other activities, and before 1700 was also used for sleeping. It obviously referred back to the large, all-purpose medieval hall. The Parlour was primarily for sleeping and secondarily for dining. A closet was both for storage and for reading; sometimes it was used as a study. A Chamber was usually an upstairs bedroom, but sometimes was on the ground floor. Quarters were a separate building or work site to house servants and/or slaves.

Martha's third husband, jumping at the opportunity to comfort a wealthy widow, was Charles CARROLL (1660-1720). They were married by 10 February 1692/3, the date when he filed the final administration of Anthony's estate. Debts owed to the estate totalled 566,346 lbs. of tobacco, plus a balance of £722.1.0.[15]

Charles was Catholic, and he placed his step-daughter Martha Ridgely in a Roman Catholic church. The record is not clear if this was a boarding school, catechism class, or something else. On 2 December 1692 her godfather John LLEWELLEN petitioned the Court because Charles's action was in direct defiance of Martha's father's will. The Court agreed, and sent Martha to live with her "aunt" Mrs. Sarah CLAGETT until she became of age and could select her own guardian. On 26 April 1693 Capt. Thomas Clagett gave security as her guardian. Sarah PATTERSON was the second wife of Thomas, and Patterson was more likely the surname of her first husband than her maiden name. Since her maiden surname is probably unknown, we do not know if she was the sister of Charles Ridgely or of Martha (__) Ridgely.[16] Although it is very tempting to assume that the Clagetts were the parents of the second husband of Martha's brother's wife Deborah (DORSEY) in 1706/7, I can find no proof of the connection.

Perhaps further indication of Charles Carroll's character can be seen in the petition brought to Court 27 September 1705 by Thomas UNDERWOOD of St. Mary's County and William TAYLORD of Anne Arundel County asking that Charles give them £6.8.4, which was their share in Charles's step-son William's estate, since William Ridgely had left the province and not been heard of for seven years.[17] Perhaps Charles did not willingly turn over the money. On the other hand, it may be that going to court was an amicably agreed upon process for recording the payment.

Martha is said to have died in 1695. Charles Carroll died in 1720.[18]

Children of Robert and Martha (order uncertain, may be incomplete):

1. Robert Ridgely², Jr., , d. 1702 in St. Mary's Co.; m. Elizabeth (__); res. St. Mary's Co. Robert inherited from his father 800 ac. "Friend's Choice" in Worcester Co. (now part of Sussex Co., Del.) and 600 ac. "Belleau" in Somerset Co. The former tract was at the time in the possession of the Duke of York; Robert Sr. directed that when the boundary dispute was settled the land would be under the control of Lord Baltimore, who would confirm it to young Robert. Robert Jr. signed his will 4 Feb. 1701/2 and it was pr. in St. Mary's Co. 4 June 1702. Children: Robert³, William, Charles, Sarah, Nicholas, Mary, and Deborah. Elizabeth m(2) William GOLDSMITH.[19]


2. Charles Ridgely, b. 20 Dec. 1680; d. 1705; m. Deborah Dorsey. He inherited from his father 500 ac. "General Gift" and "Timberle" in Calvert Co. Deborah m(2) Richard CLAGETT, son of Thomas (1677-1732).


3. William Ridgely, inherited from his father 1400 ac. "Western Fields" in Somerset Co. On 27 Sept. 1705 Thomas UNDERWOOD petitioned the Court that since William had been absent from Md. for 7 years, without anyone hearing from him, that it should direct Charles CARROLL to give Thomas his share of William's estate, amounting to £6.8.4.[20]


4. Martha Ridgely, was put in the Catholic church by her stepfather in defiance of her father's will; the court removed her to be brought up by Sarah CLAGETT; m. 23 Dec. 1699 Judge Lewis DUVALL, son of Huguenot Mareen Duvall, whose widow m(2) Col. Henry RIDGELY.[21]

Child of Martha (__) Ridgely and Anthony Underwood:[22]

1. Thomas Underwood, sued his step father for his share in his half-brother William's estate.

Child of Martha (__) Ridgely Underwood and Charles Carroll:

1. Charles Carroll

Second Generation

Charles Ridgely², son of Robert and Martha, was born in St. Inigoe's Parish, St. Mary's County, on 20 December 1680, and died in 1705. He was an infant when his father died, and only ten when his first step-father, Anthony Underwood died. There is no record of his relationship with his second step-father, who was Catholic. Charles was no more than twelve when Charles Carroll became head of his family. Young Charles may have been apprenticed or sent to live with other relatives if there was tension between the two of them. Charles married Deborah Dorsey, daughter of the Hon. John Dorsey and his wife Pleasance (Ely). He inherited from his father "General Gift" and "Timberly" at the head of the Patuxent in Calvert County. In 1695 it became part of the newly formed Prince George's County.[23]

Charles was mentioned in the 1703/4 will of his son-in-law, Capt. John Howard, but not in the 1705 will of his grandfather, indicating that he probably died between the writing of those two wills. He left four white indentured servants and four Negro slaves. His estate administration was filed by Deborah on 14 October 1705, with a balance of £310.0.1, and £54.4.3 paid to Charles CARROLL for a debt owed to him. But there had been difficulties. On 12 April 1705 George HARRIS petitioned the Council to sell some of Deborah's real estate in order to settle a debt of £69.9.0 owed to him. On 8 April 1706 Deborah and her father, Captain John Dorsey, were summoned to appear before the Assembly. On 13 April the House rejected Harris's petition. Undaunted, Harris tried again the following year, with similar results.[24]

After Charles's death, Deborah lived with her parents in Baltimore County. Her two sons inherited Charles's 1,400 acre "White Wine and Claret" on the Great Fork of the Patuxent River in Howard County. It had belonged to Deborah's father and presumably under femme covert passed to Charles.[25] The tract was on the west side of Charles Carroll's plantation, "Doughoregan". However, Charles Carroll Sr. (1702-1782) built Doughoregan manor somewhat later. He was the son of Charles Carroll (1660-1720), whose step mother-in-law was Elinor (Hatton) Brooke.

Deborah married secondly 7 April 1706/7 Richard CLAGETT (1681-1752). She removed to his place at "Croome" a large estate in Prince George's County. Richard was on the tax list for Mt. Calvert Hundred, Prince George's County, in 1733. They had six children.

Deborah probably died before 27 October 1752 when Richard wrote his will and did not mention her.[26] It was proved 7 December 1752.

Children of Charles and Deborah (Dorsey), probably all born in Prince George's County:

1. Charles Ridgely³, b. ca. 1702; d. 1775; m(1) Rachel Howard; m(2) Elizabeth ___; m(3) Lydia (WARFIELD) STRINGER.


2. William Ridgely, b. ca. 1702/3; signed his will 15 June 1755, and it was pr. 11 Nov. 1755; m. Elizabeth DUVALL. He inherited from his grandfather, John DORSEY, a Negro girl named Juno, and when he reached the age of 21, 4 cows and calves and £30 sterling. In 1755 his estate was valued at £1,064.15.0 and included 15 Negro slaves; Joshua WARFIELD and William HALL of Elk Ridge approved the estate valuation as the major creditors, but no "kin" approved. William and Elizabeth had 15 children.[27]


3. Deborah Ridgely,

Children of Deborah and her second husband, Richard Clagett:[28]

1. Martha Clagett, b. before 1714; d. before 1752. Inherited from her grandfather, John Dorsey the Negro girl Sarah (aged 10) who had been badly burned.


2. Elinor Clagett, b. before 1714; m. Rev. John EVERSFIELD. Inherited the Negro girl Hagar (aged 1 year) from her grandfather, John Dorsey.


3. Edward Clagett, b. before 1714; m. Eleanor (__) BROOKE, widow of Benjamin. Inherited the Negro girl Beck (aged 2) from his grandfather, John DORSEY.


4. Richard Clagett, b. after 1714; d. before 7 Dec. 1752; m. Lucy KEENE.


5. Samuel Clagett, b. after 1714; m. (1) Elizabeth GANTT; m. (2) Ann BROWN.


6. Mary Clagett, b. after 1714; m. Jeremiah BERRY.

Third Generation

Charles Ridgely³, son of Charles and Deborah (DORSEY), was born about 1702 or as late as 1705 in Prince George's County, and died in 1772 in Baltimore County. He was quite young when his father died, and he spent part of his youth under the care of his step-father, Richard CLAGETT. In 1715 Charles inherited from his grandfather, John DORSEY, a Negro boy named Saxon, and when he reached the age of twenty one, four cows and calves and £30 sterling.[29] One wonders what the relationship was between the young European boy and the African boy whom he owned; it is also interesting that he was given a human right away, but not deemed mature enough to have ownership of the cows, calves, and cash until he was twenty one.

Charles married first at the age of nineteen (or even younger) in 1721 or ca. 1722 (at least by 1724) Rachel Howard, daughter of John and his wife Mary (Warfield) Howard. She, also, had suffered the death of her father when she was quite young. Her uncles Richard and Alexander Warfield served in the Maryland legislature. In 1725 the young couple resided on "Timber Neck", half of which Rachel had inherited from her father in 1704.[30]

Charles served as executor for the estate of Richard HEWETT on 17 October 1737. By 1738 he was styled "Gentleman"; by 1748 he was called "Esq." Charles was a militia Major by 1754 and by 1763 (the end of the French and Indian War) was Colonel of the militia.[31] He was a commissioner of Baltimore County, and a Burgess. Charles was a Justice of Baltimore County in 1743-53, and was one of the Justices of the Quorum from 1748 to 1753.[32] He was a justice on the Especial Court of Oyer, Terminer, and Gaol Delivery in 1748 and 1750 (quorum). He served in the Lower House in 1751-54.[33] As there are a plethora of Charles Ridgelys, this one is generally referred to as Col. Charles.

Col. Charles and his brother William together inherited from their grandfather John DORSEY 1,400 acre "White Wine and Claret". It was located between the Snowden and Middle Rivers in the area of Clarksville, straddling current route 108, north of Highland, in what is now Howard County. They had it resurveyed in 1735 to include some surplus adjacent land, bringing it to 2,145 acres. On 16 May 1742 they divided it, with Charles taking the "Upper Body". In 1750 he owned a 103 acre part of "Rich Neck" along with other lands. Eventually he owned 8,069 acres in Baltimore and Anne Arundel Counties, including 1,162 in the latter County inherited from his grandfather. He had the land repatented in 1735. Charles was obviously an extensive landowner and was recognized as a planter by 1732. But he acquired his wealth through mortgages on landed estates and liens on personal property. He also had other economic interests. By 1736 he was also a merchant. He purchased tobacco, crops, livestock, and slaves between 1736 and the 1740s in Anne Arundel County, though his base of operations was mostly in Baltimore County. Charles bought part of a tanyard in April 1743 from William BAKER, Sr. In 1745 Charles bought 1,500 acres of "Northampton" from Ann HILL, the daughter of Henry DARNELL, cousin of Lord Baltimore who had made the original grant in 1695 to Darnell. On his 316 acres in Northampton, which were surveyed in 1758, he opened iron mines and established furnaces. He seems to have given the rest of "Northampton" to his son, Charles. Both adult sons, Charles and John, worked with their father, Col. Charles, to establish an ironworks on a tributary of the Gunpowder River. By 1761 Charles was known as an ironmaster. The Northampton Ironworks included a furnace on Patterson (Peterson's) Run and forges at Long Cam near Gunpowder Falls. I was told that if you drive north from hampton Lane on Dulany Valley Road to the fire break, and hike in, you can find stone foundations of some of the iron foundries. Between November 1763 and April 1764 the firm shipped over £1,858 worth of pig and bar iron to London. On 15 July 1770 Charles Sr. and Charles Jr. of Baltimore County, Ironmasters, petitioned the Council for aid in recovery of two vessels of iron that had been seized and taken to Virginia.[34]

Charles was probably an Anglican. In any event, he served on St. Paul's Parish Vestry in Baltimore County in 1728-30/1 and 1736-38/9. He served as churchwarden in 1732-32/3 and 1735-35/6.[35]

Rachel died in 1750. Charles married for the second time Elizabeth ___. He married for a third time, Lydia WARFIELD, daughter of Richard Warfield (ca. 1677-1755), and widow of Samuel STRINGER (d. 1747), of Queen Caroline Parish, Anne Arundel County, after negotiating a prenuptial contract with her. Samuel left Lydia his dwelling plantation, part of "Warfield's Contrivance", "Hobbs' Park", and "Stringer's Addition" as long as she lived, but then they were to go to her son Richard STRINGER. Lydia was a first cousin of Rachel Howard, and sister-in-law of Mary (Warfield) Howard. It took a while to settle the estate of Samuel Stringer. They went to court in April 1752 to collect £274.9.0 owed by Joshua YATES, now deceased. It was finally closed 1 September 1757 with the payment of £272.16.0 to Samuel's son, Samuel; £223.18.10 to William COAL(E) who had married Stringer's daughter Anne, and £136.8.4 to Greenbury Ridgely who married Stringer's other daughter.[36] Again, we see the inability of women to inherit in their own right. Although Richard Warfield, father of Charles's new wife, had died in 1755, his service in the Maryland legislature marked him as a man of stature that inevitably opened doors for Charles.

Charles was listed for Back River Upper Hundred tax list in 1767. Others in the same Hundred that year were his son Charles Ridgely, Jr., and Samuel Owings.[36a]

Charles died in Northampton, Baltimore County, in 1772. His will was dated 1 April 1772, and proved 8 June 1772. In it he directed that his daughters Achsah and Pleasance, and Darby LUX on behalf of Rachel, should each pay Lydia £15 annually. Daniel CHAMIER (Achsah's third husband), Charles Ridgely (his son), and William GOODWIN (Pleasance's son) were named executors. Charles bequeathed three unnamed Negro human beings to his daughter Achsah. At Achsah's death, one was to become the property of Charles's grand daughter Elizabeth CARNAN, one to his grand daughter Prudence (Carnan) GOUGH, and one to his grandson Charles R. CARNAN.[37]

Charles was a wealthy man. His wearing apparel alone was valued at £26.12.4. He had a gold watch, silver shoe buckles, silver buttons, knee buckles, and spectacles. He also owned a Bible and dictionary. His cellar was well stocked with 125 gallons of whiskey, twenty-five gallons of rum, eleven bottles of canary wine, 115 bottles of red port wine, seven gallons of Lisbon wine, and eleven hogsheads of cider. At his dwelling house he owned thirty-six Negro slaves and three white indentured servants. At the Furnace there were four white servants, two Negroes, and ten other indentured servants. The inventory was approved by William Ridgely (son of John) and Deborah STERRET as kin, and by his grandson, J. R. Holliday and Charles's widow, Lydia (Warfield) Stringer Ridgely as his two largest creditors. His estate was valued at £6,285.16.9 current money, and included 121 oz. of plate, 6,300 acres in Baltimore County, one third interest in the Ironworks valued at £322.9.3, and £603.0.0 worth of goods shipped by London merchants. When the debts were all settled, the final balance was £4,367.13.6. The final accounts were not filed until after the War, in 1788.[38]

Children of Charles and Rachel (Howard) Ridgely, all born in Prince George's Co., Md.:[39]

1. John Ridgely³, b. 14 June 1723; d. by 1 May 1771; m. Mary DORSEY, daughter of Caleb Dorsey; 10 children.[40]


2. Pleasance Ridgely, b. 24 Nov. 1724; d. 1777; m. Lyde GOODWIN (d. ca. 1755). She and her husband were given ca. 300 ac. by her father in 1752-53. She inherited from her father Negroes and land made over "to me" (meaning Charles) by her deceased husband.[41]


3. Charles Ridgely, b. 21 Apr. 1727; d.y.


4. Achsah Ridgely, b. 22 July 1729; d. 12 Mar. 1785 or Aug. 1789; m. three times;[42] received 1,025 ac. from her father, inheriting enslaved Negroes and silver plate.


5. William Ridgely, b. 10 May 1731; d. without heirs.


6. Charles Ridgely, b. 17 Sept. 1733; d. 28 June 1790 in the morning in Baltimore Co.; m. 18 Nov. 1760 Rebecca DORSEY (1739-1812), daughter of Caleb Dorsey and sister of Mary who m. Charles's brother John; Captain; he was given 2,000 ac. from his father on which he built the estate of Hampton; he also inherited silver plate, additional land, and (with Charles Ridgely, son of John) the grist mill provided they grind bread gratis for the Northampton Furnace as long as his three sisters and their children owned an interest in it. "Hampton" became a showplace with a large cupola in the middle, which was a rarity at that time and place. It also had terraced gardens and clipped borders of English box. Rebecca Dorsey was a Methodist and opened "Hampton" with a prayer meeting, while Charles had a card party for his fellow officers in the attic. It is said that Charles had so many slaves he did not know them all by sight. Charles left "Hampton" to his nephew Charles Ridgely CARNAN and his son, with other bequests to his nephew William's son Charles, and Lyde GOODWIN's son Charles, and John STERRET's son Charles, on condition that they all assume the Ridgely name. Charles Carnan changed his name, and he and his wife and their 13 children moved into "Hampton". But Rebecca and the young mistress Ridgely did not get along, so land was purchased and a house built for her and many of the children. Col. Charles's obituary in the Maryland Journal and Baltimore Advertiser of 29 June 1790 reported that for the last 18 years he had represented the County in the state legislature. He died in his 58th year.[43] The portrait hangs in "Hampton" and is reproduced from the National Park Service's brochure, "Hampton: Official Map and Guide".


7. Rachel Ridgely, b. 5 Dec. 1734; d. 1813; m. 15 Nov. 1764 Capt. Darby LUX who d. intestate in 1795. Her dower was £1,090.0.0 and included 23 slaves and 64 oz. of plate. Rachel inherited land, silver plate, and slaves from her father. Darby was b. in Anne Arundel Co., res. till 1765 in Barbados, then in Baltimore Town. By 1778 he was styled Esq. He was Anglican, in St. Paul's parish, Balt. Co. Darby was a merchant in Barbados, then by the late 1760s was part of the firm Ridgely, Howard, and Lux. He was also involved in the Ridgely family ironworks. Charles Ridgely named Darby trustee for one third share of the ironworks he left to his daughters Rachel, Pleasance, and Achsah. In 1785 Darby, the Ridgelys, and others purchased 4,740 acres plus slaves in Balt. Co. that had been confiscated from Nottingham Forge, the owners of which had been accused of being Loyalist; in 1785 they bought 900 ac. confiscated for the same reason from Principio Co. Darby was also involved in lead mining and had a sizeable home plantation. During the Revolutionary War he was Col. in the Gunpowder Battalion, Balt. Co. militia, 1777-79. His estate was inventoried at £1,027.19.5 current money, including 24 slaves and 42 oz. of plate. He probably owned 2,067 ac. in Balt. Co.[44]


8. Benjamin Ridgely, b. 23 July 1739; d. without heirs.

Children of Charles's third wife, Lydia (Warfield) and her first husband, Samuel Stringer:

1. Samuel Stringer.


2. Richard Stringer, m. 1762 Elinor DORSEY.


3. Ann Stringer, m. 1752 William COALE.


4. Lucy Stringer, m. 1752 Greenbury RIDGELY (1726-1783) who served in the Md. legislature.

Fourth Generation

Achsah Ridgely⁴, daughter of Charles and Rachel (Howard) Ridgely, was born in Prince George's County, Maryland, 22 April or July 1729, and died 12 March or August 1785.[45]

On 27 December 1735 her father gave her "Wilkenson's Lott", which consisted of 89 acres, along with a part of "Ridgely's Whim" and "Taylor's Purchase". At the age of fifteen she married Robert Holliday, a surgeon. He died in 1745 shortly before the birth of their first child, leaving her a sixteen-year-old widow. Although he left everything to her during her life, entailed to descend to his son, Achsah told the court she refused to abide by the will.[46]

Achsah then married John CARNAN, born in 1728, son of Charles of Reading, Berkshire, and later London, England, and his wife Prudence.[47]

John and Achsah had a son, Charles Ridgely Carnan, and two or three daughters. John and Achsah patented 475 acre "Huntingdon" adjacent to Baltimore Town in 1761. In the early 1780s the land was divided into lots and leased by their daughters and their husbands, Prudence and Harry GOUGH and Elizabeth and Thomas ONION. Harry bought it in 1790 and sold off small parcels for the next fifteen years.[48]

John died 1 June 1767. Achsah filed the inventory of his estate 14 May 1765. (The dates don't compute; one must be wrong.) It was valued at £217.14.11, and included a watch, silver plate, silver shoe buckles, two Negroes, and an improved lot in Baltimore Town. Christopher CARNAN and Cecil Carnan approved as both kin and major creditors.[49]

Achsah's father died in 1772 and she received from him enslaved Negroes at the foundry, one ninth of Northampton Furnace, a third of "Boreing Forest" and "Bosley's Delight". She also inherited three additional enslaved Negroes who were entailed to her children, after her death.[50]

In 1775 Achsah's daughter Prudence and husband Harry GOUGH converted to Methodism and left the Anglican church. Prudence and Harry were members of the first Methodist class in Baltimore. The family is mentioned in Francis Asbury's diary for its religious fervor and hospitality. Achsah may have joined, also; she was at least sympathetic. She left Frances ASBURY £30 in her will in 1785.

Achsah married thirdly Daniel CHAMIER, who had been appointed by trustees to settle all claims in Maryland against Charles Ridgely's estate. He was said to be a Tory merchant in Baltimore. But he is not listed in the standard study of Loyalists.[51]

Achsah died 12 March 1785.[52] In her will, dated 18 June 1785, Achsah left "all those lands lying in Baltimore County, called New Hibernia, and the resurvey thereon, called Jotham, devised to me by my husband Daniel" to her son John Robert Holliday. Her daughter Prudence GOUGH was left Achsah's gold watch, chains and seals, four silver goblets, and £500. Her daughter Elizabeth ONION got £1,000, "part of which is to build and furnish a dwelling house". Her son Charles Ridgeley CARNAN received "the house and lot in Baltimore Town with all the buildings thereon, subject to the payment of £500 to my grandson, Daniel Chamier Holliday" when he turned 21. The three younger children were to divide one ninth of her "land and stock of the Northampton Company". Significant monetary bequests were made to other grandchildren: John Holliday, Sophia Gough, Achsah Chamier Holliday, Sarah Brook Holliday, Christiana Sim Holliday, Elianer Addison Holliday. Smaller amounts were left to niece Pleasance COLEMAN, and to Frances ASBURY, William GILL, John FANNING, Michael ELLIS, John KENNEDY, and Nicholas DORSEY. There was additional property she carefully apportioned among her children and a few other heirs: her husband's estate in Great Britain, a tract of 350 acres called "Contentment" in Ann Arundel County, and "all the rest of my estate in America". A codicil 8 August gave her horses and carriage and household furniture at Perry Hall to her "daughter Gough" and three men. Mourning suits were to be given to Pleasance COLEMN, Hannah FEW, Elizabeth REFFEW, and Mary REFFEW. The will was proved 19 December 1785. The executors were her sons John R. Holliday and Charles R. CARNAN, and her son-in-law Harry Dorsey GOUGH. On 12 October 1786, "the executors appointed in the will being absent from the State, the Court at New York appointed Richard Dallon to administer the estate."[52a]

After the death of Achsah's brother, Capt. Charles Ridgely, owner of "Hampton", it was discovered that Charles had owned land not included in his will. On 5 October 1791 his heirs filed a bill of complaint with the High Court of Chancery. Eventually it appears to have been granted, and the remainder of the estate was divided into four parts, for his siblings or their children: one quarter to Darby LUX, widower of Rachel; one quarter to the children of Achsah, now CHAMIER; one quarter to Pleasance's children; and one quarter to the children and grandchildren of John Ridgely. So Achsah's four children each received a fourth of a fourth, or one sixteenth of the undivided land. It amounted to something like £250 each, as near as I can calculate.[53]

Child of Robert and Achsah (Ridgely) Holliday:

1. John Robert Holliday⁵, b. 1745/6; d. 1800; m. ca. 1778 Eleanor Addison Smith. He inherited from his grandfather, Charles Ridgely, all of "Northampton" not given to John's uncle Charles, plus "Ridgely's Conclusion", £20, a mourning ring, gold watch, and Negroes.[54]

Children of John and Achsah (Ridgely) Holliday Carnan (may be incomplete):[55]

1. Prudence Carnan, b. 16 Jan. 1755; d. 23 June 1822; m. 2 May 1771 Henry "Harry" Dorsey GOUGH (ca. 1745-1727/8). Harry's mother was Sophia Gough (b. 1707), daughter of Caleb DORSEY (1685-1742) and Eleanor (Warfield), sister of our Mary (Warfield) Howard. His father was Thomas Gough, so indebted by 1746 that he had to sell everything. Sophia later inherited the plantation on which the Goughs lived from her brother Edward Dorsey (1718-1760). Harry was Anglican, converted to Methodism in 1775. Prudence and Harry were members of the first Methodist class in Baltimore. The family is mentioned in Francis Asbury's diary for its religious fervor and hospitality. Harry was a justice, elected to the Committee of Observation in 1774, served in the Lower House. His estate was inventoried at $107,289.75, with a final balance of only $39,180.62 after debts were paid. It included considerable real estate in Balt. Co. and Town.[56]


2. Charles Ridgely Carnan, aka Charles Carnan Ridgely, b. 6 Dec. 1760; d. 1829; m. 17 Oct. 1782 Priscilla DORSEY (1762-1814), youngest daughter of Caleb and Priscilla (HILL). Caleb's oldest daughter, Rebecca Dorsey (1739-1812) m. Capt. Charles Ridgely of Hampton, son of Charles and Rachel (Howard). Since they had no children, Capt. Charles Ridgely bequeathed "Hampton" to Charles Ridgely Carnan if he changed his name to Charles Carnan Ridgely, which he apparently did. Charles was a General and Governor (1815-1818) of Maryland.[57] There is a portrait of him. This detail is from the portrait hanging in the National Gallery of Art; it is reproduced here from the National Park Service's brochure, "Hampton: Official Map and Guide".[58] There are 10 children of Charles and Priscilla listed in the IGI. The docent at "Hampton" said they actually had 13 children, 4/15/2004.

   a) Charles Ridgely,
   b) Rebecca Dorsey Ridgely,
   c) Prudence Gough Ridgely (d.y.?),
   d) John Carnan Ridgely,
   e) Prudence Gough Ridgely,
   f) Priscilla Hill Ridgely,
   g) Eliza Ridgely,
   h) David Latimer Ridgely,
   i) Sophia Gough Ridgely, was bequeathed £500 by her grandmother Achsah (Ridgely) Holliday Carnan when Sophia came of age.
   j) Mary Pue Ridgely,



3. Elizabeth Carnan, m. Thomas Bond ONION. She inherited a Negro from her grandfather, given first to her mother Achsah, and entailed to descend to her after Achsah's death. She inherited £1,000 from her mother, "part of which is to build and furnish a dwelling house".


4. Rebecca Carnan; presumably d.y. [My thanks to Charlotte Curlin, April 2008, for this daughter.]

To continue the story of this family, go to the Holliday page.

If you have additions or corrections to this web page, I would be delighted to hear from you. Contact me via e mail at kwg "at" cwru.edu just substituting the familiar "@" for "at".

See some other colonial Maryland families that link one way or another with these Ridgelys:
Addison,  Bale,  Brooke,  Browne,  Dent,  Dorsey,  Ely,   Hall,  Hatton,  Holliday,  Howard,  Isaac,  Molton,  Norwood,  Owings,  Randall,  Sim,  Smith,  Stone,  Tasker.  Warfield.  and Wilkinson. 



Go to the index of other lines that are included in this website (not all of them have been posted yet).

Go to the Paxson home page.

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Notes and Sources

The full bibliographical citation is given the first time a source is mentioned, but is not repeated each time that source is cited. Scroll up til you find the first mention and there you will find the complete citation.

1. Sharon J. Doliante, Maryland and Virginia Colonials: Genealogies of Some Colonial Families: Families of Bacon, Beall, Beasley, Cheney, Duckett, Dunbar, Ellyson, Elmore, Graves, Heydon, Howard, Jacob, Morris, Nuthall, Odell, Peerce, Reeder, Ridgley, Prather, Sprigg, Wesson, Williams, and Collateral Kin (Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 1991), 840ff.



2. The Compendium of American Genealogy, 7:877; Harry Wright Newman, Anne Arundel Gentry: A Genealogical History of Some Early Families of Anne Arundel County, Maryland 3 vols. (Annapolis, Md.: published by the author, 1979), 3:92.



3. Newman, Anne Arundel Gentry, 3:92; Peter Wilson Coldham, The Complete Book of Emigrants 4 vols. (Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 1987).



4. Newman, Anne Arundel Gentry, 3:92; The Compendium of American Genealogy, 7:877.
   
   
         4a. Michal J. Rozbicki, Transformation of the English Cultural Ethos in Colonial America (Lanham, Md.: University Press of America, 1988), 44.



5. Newman, Anne Arundel Gentry, 3:92; Edward C. Papenfuse, Alan F. Day, David W. Jordan, and Gregory A. Stiverson, A Biographical Dictionary of the Maryland Legislature, 1635-1789 (Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1979) 2 vols., 1:202.



6. A Biographical Dictionary of the Maryland Legislature, 1635-1789, 1:202; Robert E. T. Pogue, Yesterday in Old St. Mary's County, 4th ed. (Bushwood, Md.: author, 1985), 140, 324-26.



7. Newman, Anne Arundel Gentry, 3:92.



8. Hester Dorsey Richardson, Side-Lights on Maryland History with Sketches of Early Maryland Families, 2 vols. (Baltimore: Williams and Wilkins Company, 1913), 1:318; Gust Skordas, The Early Settlers of Maryland: An Index to Names of Immigrants Compiled from Records of Land Patents, 1633-1680, in the Hall of Records, Annapolis, Maryland (Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1968), 389, citing Liber. 14, fol. 441; Liber WC2, fol. 255, 340; Lib. 16, fol. 594; Lib. 20, fol. 269; Newman, Anne Arundel Gentry, 3:92-93.



9. Jane Baldwin, comp. and ed., The Maryland Calendar of Wills 23 vols. (Baltimore: Kohn & Pollock, Publishers, 1904), 1:73, 176, 179.



10. The Maryland Calendar of Wills, 1:102; Newman, Anne Arundel Gentry, 3:93; V. L. Skinner, Jr., comp., Abstracts of the Inventories and Accounts of the Prerogative Court of Maryland 23 Vols. (Westminster, MD: Family Line Publications, 1992), 2:59. See also, Donnell M. Owings, His Lordship's Patronage: Offices of Profit in Colonial Maryland (Baltimore, 1953).



11. Newman, Anne Arundel Gentry, 3:93; A Biographical Dictionary of the Maryland Legislature, 1635-1789, 2:846.
    
    
          4a. Rozbicki, Transformation of the English Cultural Ethos in Colonial America, 109. See also Raphael Semmes, Crime and Punishment in Early Maryland (Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins Press, 1938).



12. Margaret K. Fresco, Marriages and Deaths St. Mary's County, Maryland, 1634-1900 (Ridge, Md.: Margaret K. Fresco, 1982), 253.



13. A Biographical Dictionary of the Maryland Legislature, 1635-1789, 2:846.



14. A Biographical Dictionary of the Maryland Legislature, 1635-1789, 2:846; Newman, Anne Arundel Gentry, 3:93, says the estate was appraised for £445.7.6. After the payment of debts it came to £276.13.5.



15. A Biographical Dictionary of the Maryland Legislature, 1635-1789, 2:681. Fresco suggests they were married by 1682, Marriages and Deaths St. Mary's County, Maryland, 1634-1900, 253, and in 3m/1689, on p. 300-1. Newman, Anne Arundel Gentry, 3:94.



16. Newman, Anne Arundel Gentry, 3:94.



17. Newman, Anne Arundel Gentry, 3:94.



18. Fresco, Marriages and Deaths St. Mary's County, Maryland, 1634-1900, 449.



19. Doliante, Maryland and Virginia Colonials, 879; Richardson, Side-Lights on Maryland History, 2:211-12; Newman, Anne Arundel Gentry, 3:94-5.



20. Newman, Anne Arundel Gentry, 3:94.



21. Doliante, Maryland and Virginia Colonials, 879; for more on the Duvalls, see Richardson, Side-Lights on Maryland History, 2:24-97.



22. Fresco, Marriages and Deaths St. Mary's County, Maryland, 449.



23. Maxwell J. and Jean Muir Dorsey and Nannie Ball Nimmo, The Dorsey Family: Descendants of Edward Darcy-Dorsey of Virginia and Maryland For Five Generations and Allied Families (Baltimore: authors, 1947), 145, citing Maryland Archives; Newman, Anne Arundel Gentry, 3:95.



24. Doliante, Maryland and Virginia Colonials, 866. Who is Capt. John Howard? Deborah Dorsey's brother's widow m(3) John Howard. Could this be the one? The Compendium of American Genealogy, 7:706. His will, as cited by Doliante, is in Prince George's Co. Inventories, Liber 3, fol. 703. See also Newman, Anne Arundel Gentry, 3:95; Dorsey, Dorsey, and Nimmo, The Dorsey Family, 145-46, citing Md. Arch., 26:574, 578, 591, 594; 27:24, 87, 100.



25. Dorsey, Dorsey, and Nimmo, The Dorsey Family, 146.



26. Dorsey, Dorsey, and Nimmo, The Dorsey Family, 147.



27. The names of the children are given in Newman, Anne Arundel Gentry, 3:103-4.



28. Dorsey, Dorsey, and Nimmo, The Dorsey Family, 147.



29. Dorsey, Dorsey, and Nimmo, The Dorsey Family, 135, citing Baltimore County Wills, Liber. 14, fol. 26.



30. A Biographical Dictionary of the Maryland Legislature, 1635-1789, 2:681; Dorsey, Dorsey, and Nimmo, The Dorsey Family, 147.



31. Robert W. Barnes, comp., Baltimore County Families, 1659-1759 (Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Company, Inc., 1989), 542; A Biographical Dictionary of the Maryland Legislature, 1635-1789, 2:682; Newman, Anne Arundel Gentry, 3:98, gives the dates for becoming a Major as 1751, and for Col. as 1757.



32. Dorsey, Dorsey, and Nimmo, The Dorsey Family, 147, says he was justice of Baltimore Co. in 1741, 1747-51, as does Barnes, Baltimore County Families, 543. Newman, Anne Arundel Gentry, 3:98, says he was justice from 1741 to 1753, and Justice of the Quorum from 1750. A Biographical Dictionary of the Maryland Legislature, 1635-1789, which I assume is the most credible, says from 1743-53.



33. Dorsey, Dorsey, and Nimmo, The Dorsey Family, 147, says he was in the House in 1757; Newman, Anne Arundel Gentry, 3:98, says he was there in 1752; A Biographical Dictionary of the Maryland Legislature, 1635-1789 says from 1751-54.



34. Newman, Anne Arundel Gentry, 3:95-96; Celia M. Holland, Old Homes and Families of Howard County, Maryland, with Consideration of Various Additional Points of Interest (Privately printed, 1987), 323; Barnes, Baltimore County Families, 542-43; A Biographical Dictionary of the Maryland Legislature, 1635-1789, 2:682, 683; Dorsey, Dorsey, and Nimmo, The Dorsey Family, 147, citing Md. Arch., 22:371. For background on the iron industry in colonial America, see John Bezís-Selfa, Forging America: Ironworkers, Adventurers, and the Industrial Revolution, Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 2004.



35. Bill and Martha Reamy, Records of St. Paul's Parish: The Anglican Church Records of Baltimore City and Lower Baltimore County, early 1700s through 1800 (Westminster, Md.: Family Line Publications, 1988), 1:153, 155. Apparently A Biographical Dictionary of the Maryland Legislature, 1635-1789, 2:682 has combined his appointments with those of Capt. Charles Ridgely (d. 1798).



36. A Biographical Dictionary of the Maryland Legislature, 1635-1789, 2:682, which omits his second wife. His death is given as 1775 in The Compendium of American Genealogy, 7:706; Barnes, Baltimore County Families, 542-43; Newman, Anne Arundel Gentry, 3:98-99.
    
    
          36a. The names, but not the amounts for which they were assessed, are listed in Reamy and Reamy, comps., St Thomas Parish Registers: 1732-1850, 67.



37. The Compendium of American Genealogy, 7:706; Dorsey, Dorsey, and Nimmo, The Dorsey Family, 148.



38. A Biographical Dictionary of the Maryland Legislature, 1635-1789, 2:682-83; Newman, Anne Arundel Gentry, 3:100. The numbers offered by various sources do not add up neatly; they probably represent valuations taken at different times, and including differing items.



39. IGI; Barnes, Baltimore County Families, 543; Dorsey, Dorsey, and Nimmo, The Dorsey Family, 148-49.



40. For more on John, see Barnes, Baltimore County Families, 543.



41. The Compendium of American Genealogy, 7:706, says he d. before 1772; A Biographical Dictionary of the Maryland Legislature, 1635-1789, 2:682-83 says he d. ca. 1755. Newman, Anne Arundel Gentry, 3:100.



42. Both dates are given in Robert Barnes, The Green Spring Valley: Its History and Heritage Vol. 2: Genealogies (Baltimore: Maryland Historical Society, 1978), 2:7.



43. Newman, Anne Arundel Gentry, 3:100; Richardson, Side-Lights on Maryland History, 2:213; Paul Wilstach, Tidewater Maryland (New York: Tudor Publishing Co., 1945, orig. pub. in 1931), 200-1; Annie Walker Burns, Abstract of Wills of Baltimore County, Maryland 9 vols. (Washington, D.C.: bound mimeograph copy, 1954), 4:70-71; Robert W. Barnes, Gleanings from Maryland Newspapers, 1776-1785 (Lutherville, Md.: Bettie Carothers, 1975), 49. There is a Peale portrait of Mary Sterret; I am not clear what her relationship is to John Sterret. Information from the docent at "Hampton, 4/15/2004.



44. Newman, Anne Arundel Gentry, 3:100; A Biographical Dictionary of the Maryland Legislature, 1635-1789, 2:555-56.



45. Barnes, The Green Spring Valley, 2:7, give her b. as 1731, and both months for her d. in 1785. Charlotte Price Curlin gives her birth as 22 July 1729 and death 12 March 1785. Group sheets, sent April 2008. I don't know her source.



46. Dorsey, Dorsey, and Nimmo, The Dorsey Family, 147; Newman, Anne Arundel Gentry, 3:100.



47. Barnes, The Green Spring Valley, 2:7.



48. A Biographical Dictionary of the Maryland Legislature, 1635-1789, 1:368.



49. Francis B. Culver, "Priscilla of the Dorseys: A Century-Old Mystery", in Maryland Genealogies from the Maryland Historical Magazine: A Consolidation of Articles from the Maryland Historical Magazine, Indexed by Thomas L. Hollowick 2 vols. (Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 1980), 1:406-409; Newman, Anne Arundel Gentry, 3:100. Charlotte P. Curlin lists the date of death as 1 June 1767, (letter and Group Sheet, April 2008).



50. Newman, Anne Arundel Gentry, 3:99.



51. Barnes, The Green Spring Valley, 2:7; Sabine, Loyalists of the American Revolution.



52. Barnes, Baltimore County Families, 333.
    
    
    52a. "Abstracts of Wills on File in the Surrogate's Office, City of New York", from Liber 39, page 296, in Collections ofThe New-York Historical Society for the Year 1905, Vol. 38 (1906), 74-76. The images is on google.books, http://books.google.com/books?id=rlIOAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA74&lpg=PA74&dq=%22John+Robert+Holliday%22&source=web&ots=LTRGuOHVVX&sig=0OCSiWgN7eKprPodkZNor-lFGTU&hl=en#PPA74,M1, seen 4m/5/2008. I am indebted to Adrean Clawson for bringing this to my attention.



53. Newman, Anne Arundel Gentry, 3:101-2.



54. Newman, Anne Arundel Gentry, 3:99.



55. Barnes, The Green Spring Valley, 2:17.



56. A Biographical Dictionary of the Maryland Legislature, 1635-1789, 1:367-68.




57. Culver, "Priscilla of the Dorseys", 1:406-9.




58. A drawing of the portrait is in Doliante, Maryland and Virginia Colonials, 838.

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If you have additions or corrections to this web page, I would be delighted to hear from you. Contact me via e mail at kwg "at" po.cwru.edu just substituting the familiar "@" for "at".

the noxious weed:

one source of wealth for the Ridgely family
and justification for the "necessity" to enslave fellow human beings;
the Ridgelys also profited from the slave trade and real estate speculation