1669 Henry Ridgley Jr was born on October 3, 1699. [1]
1699 The will of Henry Ridgley Jr of Anne Arundel County, Maryland was dated September 13, with probate date April 26, 1700. The will named wife Kathrine, three sons Henry, Nicholas, and Charles, all under age 18 and two daughters Anne and Elizabeth under age 16. Father Henry Ridgley and brother Charles Greenbery were named trustees for the children. [2] [3]
To wife Catherine, extx., dwelling plantation during life and 200 A., part of "Warren's Ridge."
"son Henry and hrs., dwelling plantation and 200 A. afsd. at death of wife; also 282 A., "Ridgely's Beginning," on n. side of Rogue Harbor Branch, Patuxent R.
"son Nicholas at 18 yrs. of age, and hrs., 275 A., "My Quarter Plantation," at hd. of Broad Ck., and 272 A., "Ridgely's Lot," on n. e. side of great branch of Patuxent R.
"son Charles and hrs., money with which to buy land, at 21 yrs. of age.
"dau. Ann and hrs., ½ of "Huntington Quarter" taken up by testator's father (unnamed) and himself.
"dau. Eliza: and hrs., ½ of 300 A. at Chester at hd. of Morgan's Ck.
Sons to be of age at 21 yrs. and daus. at 16 yrs.
Overseers: Henry Ridgely and brother Charles Greenbery.
Test: Robt. Goldsborough, Thos. Reynolds, Wm. Johnson.
1702 Katherine Ridgley Howard was named in the estate account of Colonel Nicholas Greenberry. [4]
1705 Katherine Ridgley, executrix of Henry Ridgley married John Howard. [5]
Research Notes:
Some Delaware descendants of Henry Ridgely Junior and Catherine Greenberry are followed in [6]
A biosketch reports [7]:
"Wardridge," or "Waldridge," and "Broome " the inheritance of Henry Ridgely, the second, lay southwest of " Hockley," on the road leading to the head of South River. In its old graveyard, which had been reserved, stood the following tablet:
" Here lyeth the body of Mr. Henry Ridgely, who was born the 3rd of Oct., 1669, and departed this life on ye 19th day of March, 1700."
Having been fractured by the encroachment of a neighboring settler, the " Peggy Stewart Chapter of the Colonial Dames," ordered its removal to the grounds of St. Ann's Church, Annapolis. His widow, Katherine (Greenberry) Ridgely, his executrix, later married Captain John Howard, who named in his will, 1704, "the five orphans of Henry Ridgely," and requested his executors to grant them their portions, as expressed in the will of their father. They were: Henry Ridgely, the third, later known as Colonel Henry Ridgely, of Howard County; Judge Nicholas Ridgely, of Delaware; Charles Ridgely, who inherited "Howard Luck" from Captain John Howard, and died soon after; Ann Ridgely, wife of Joshua Dorsey, and Elizabeth, wife of Thomas Worthington; Nicholas Ridgely, of Henry and Katherine, married Sarah Worthington; lived, after marriage, on "Wyatt's Ridge." Uppn a, portion of this stands "Belvoir," in sight of Round Bay. He also inherited a portion of "Ridgely's Forrest," near Guilford, Howard County. Upon removing first to Cecil County, he sold the former tract to his brother-in-law, John Worthington, Jr., and his wife's inheritance on the Severn, to her mother, Mrs. Sarah Brice. The heirs of Nicholas and Sarah, all named in his bible record, were, Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel, Ruth and Ann. His wife died in 1721. His daughter, Rebecca, was married "Where I lived in Cecil Co., Md., on Wed., October, 1731, to Benjamin Warfield, son of Mr. John Warfield, of Anne Arundel, Md. by the Rev. Richard Sewell, Rector of Shrewsberry Parrish, Kent Co., Md."
The will of Mrs. Brice, in 1725, named her granddaughter, Rebecca Ridgely, to whom she left, "one quart silver tankard, one dozen silver spoons, and ^50, in money." Similar legacies were given to her sisters. In 1727, Mr. Nicholas Ridgely's wife was Ann French Gordon, daughter of Robert French, and widow of James Gordon. She bore him one daughter, Mary, who, became Mrs, Patrick Martain. In 1727, Nicholas and Ann Ridgely' of Cecil County, sold to John Brown, his inheritance "Ridgely's Forrest,' which was resurveyed into "Browne's Purchase." His daughter Rachel, became the wife of John Vining, Speaker of Delaware Assembly, who owned a large estate in New Jersey. On one of his visits there, he was taken sick, died, and was buried at St. John's Church, Salem, Under the aisle, a stone with an inscription, marks the sepulcher. Mrs. Rachel Vining died in 1753, and was buried under the pew of her father. Judge Ridgely, in Christ Church, Dover.
In 1741, Governor George Thomas, commissioned Nicholas Ridgely as follows: "Reposing a special trust in your loyalty and courage, I have nominated you to be Captain of the Militia Foote, in the upper part of the county of Kent. You are, therefore, to take said Company into your charge, as Captain, and duly exercise both the officers and soldiers in arms, and for so doing, this is your commission. Given under my hand and seal as arms, at the town of New Castle, on the Delaware, 3rd Feb., 1741.
George Thomas."Governor Warfield, a descendant, has the original commission in his possession.
In 1745, Judge Ridgely became the guardian of Caesar Rodney, who later became the most distinguished patriot of the state. To his training, also, was due the successful careers of his son. Dr. Charles Ridgely, and of the brilliant John Vining, his wife's grandson.
Quoting again from the Ridgely manuscript: " Nicholas Ridgely second son of Henry Ridgely, was born at 'Wardridge,' in 1694. He was thirty-eight years of age when he moved to 'Eden Hill,' a handsome plantation near Dover. Mr. Ridgely at once took his place among the leading citizens of his adopted state, filling, with honor, the offices of Kent County, Clerk of the Peace, Justice of the Peace, Prothonatory, Register in Chancery, Judge of the Supreme Com-t of New Castle, Kent and Sussex Counties; enjoying the honor until his death, in 1755. In 1735, as foreman of the Grand Jury he signed a petition to King George II, against granting a charter to Lord Baltimore, in abrogation of the rights of the Penn family, in the three lower counties."
In 1743, his daughters, Sarah and Rachel, granted a power of attorney, attested by Nicholas Ridgely and Rebecca_ Warfield, to their uncle, Henry Ridgely, to receive legacies from" their grandmother's estate. They were then located, "in Kent Co., on the Delaware, in Territories of Pennsylvania." Judge Ridgely's third wife was Mary Middleton Vining, widow of Captain Benjamin Vining, a lady who held a large estate. Her son. Judge John Vining, married Phoebe Wyncoop. Their son, John, was "the Patrick Henry of Delaware," of brilliant wit, lawyer, member of the first Continental Congress, and "the pet of Delaware." His sister, the beautiful Mary Vining, the admiration of General LaFayette, became the bethrothed wife of General Anthony Wayne, who died before the wedding day. Judge Ridgely's daughter, Elizabeth, became the second wife of Col. Thomas Dorsey, of Elk Ridge.
Dr. Charles Ridgely, of Judge Nicholas and Mary, was born in 1738. He became an eminent physician, residing at "Eden Hill," but later in the house upon "The Green," purchased by Judge Ridgely, in Dover. His son, Nicholas, by his first wife, Mary Wyncoop, was the first chancellor of Delaware, universally respected as an able jurist, a courteous gentleman of the old school, in dress and demeanor, holding to provincial customs.
Dr. Charles Ridgely's second wife, Ann Moore, bore him five children. Henry Moore Ridgely, his oldest son, succeeded to the homestead, in 1735; he was admitted to the bar, in 1802; was in Congress, in 1811; Secretary of State, 1817, and again in 1820 He there collected the scattered archives of the State. Repeatedly elected to the Legislature, he framed the most important laws of the State. In 1827, he was sent to the United States Senate, where he advocated a high protective tariff. He died in the old house on "The Green," upon his eighty-second birthday, 1847. He left five children. His oldest son, Henry (V.) Ridgely, in 1889, was in serene old age, an honored resident of Dover, and "Eden Hill." His brother, Henry Ridgely, was the father of Henry Ridgely (V), a prominent lawyer, of Dover. He married Matilda Lloyd, a descendant of the distinguished Maryland family, a notice of whom will be found in the list of governors. They occupy the family homestead, the exterior of which is severely plain. The interior is captivating. The floral designs of the low ceilings, are the work of a Dover artist. The delicate tints of the drawing room walls, and the artistic hangings of the guest chamber, contrast harmoniously with the dark panelings of the wide hall, which is also the library, in which is a chair known as William Penn's. In the garden, where the box bushes have grown in a century or more, into great trees and hedges, on the top of which one may walk fearlessly, as upon a wall. Judge Nicholas Ridgely and his family liked to take tea, all summer long. A rear view of the Ridgely house reveals a cluster of ivy." — Marion Harland.
Henry Ridgely, of Henry and Katherine, of "Wardridge," on coming to manhood, in 1711, sold his homestead to his brother-in-law, Thomas Worthington, and removed to his grand-father's extensive survey, at Huntington. His biography will be found in the history of Howard County.
1717 Henry Ridgley, grandson of Col. Ridgley, sold land called Enfield's Chase, in Prince George's County, to Jacob Henderson. [8]
[1] Hester Dorsey Richardson, Side-lights on Maryland History, Vol. 2 (1913), 440, from a tombstone epitaph, [HathiTrust].
[2] Maryland Colonial Wills, 1693-1694, 11, 371, [MD_Archives Will Book Catalog].
[3] Jane Baldwin Cotton, Roberta Bolling Henry, The Maryland Calendar of Wills: Wills 1685-1702, Vol. 2 (1920), 197, citing will 6-371, [HathiTrust].
[4] Hester Dorsey Richardson, Side-lights on Maryland History, Vol. 2 (1913), 439, [HathiTrust].
[5] Hester Dorsey Richardson, Side-lights on Maryland History, Vol. 2 (1913), 439, [HathiTrust].
[6] Leon de Valinger, Jr., Virginia E. Shaw, and Mrs. Henry Ridgely, A calendar of Ridgely family letters, 1742-1899, in the Delaware State archives, Vol. 1 (Dover, Del., Published privately by some descendants of the Ridgely family for the Public Archives Commission, 1948-61), 12-13, [HathiTrust].
[7] Joshua Dorsey Warfield, The Founders of Anne Arundel and Howard Counties, Maryland (1905), 77-80, [HathiTrust], [GoogleBooks].
[8] Elise Greenup Jourdan, Land Records of Prince George's County, Maryland: 1717-1726 (1990), 5.