Biographical and genealogical history of the state of Delaware, Vol. II, Part 1

Author: Runk, J.M. & Co
Publication date: 1899
Publisher: Chambersburg, Pa.
Number of Pages: 1500

USA > Delaware > Biographical and genealogical history of the state of Delaware, Vol. II > Part 1

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Gc 975.1 B52 v.2 2052103

REYNOLDS HISTORICAL GENEALOGY COLLECTION

ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY 3 1833 02254 2218

44092

BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL

HISTORY

OF THE

STATE OF DELAWARE

CONTAINING

BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL SKETCHES OF PROMINENT AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS, AND MANY OF THE EARLY SETTLERS.

ILLUSTRATED.

V. 2 VOL. II.

1899.

975.1 BJ2 V. 2 PUBLISHERS : J. M. RUNK & CO., CHAMBERSBURG, PA.

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Biographical and Genealogical HISTORY OF DELAWARE

(CONTINUED)

2052103

ROBERT FRIEDEL, P. O. Felton, Kent county, Del., son of Jacob and Susannah Friedel, was born November 19, 1852, near Jersey Shore, Lycoming county, l'a.

His school education was begun in the pub- lie schools of his native district, and com- pleted in Kent county, Del., after the removal of the family to the latter place in 1865. Mr. Jacob Friedel, the father, incurred a debt in purchasing the new home, which his sons helped him to pay, although it deprived them of some educational advantages. At the age of eighteen, Robert Friedel obtained a posi- tion in a commission house in New York city, where he received sixteen dollars a week. Spending seven years in that position, he ac- quired much practical knowledge of business. After passing the ensuing two years on the home farm, Mr. Friedel married, in 1877, and rented one of his father's farms, near Viola, until 1881, when he purchased of his father his present farm of 116 acres. This traet was a part of the 400 acres bought by Mr. Friedel, the elder, from Hon. Jonathan Willis, member of congress. Robert Friedel erected a new dwelling upon it, improved the buildings already there, planted an orchard and a variety of small fruits, and is now in the enjoyment of a very desirable homestead. Mr. Friedel is a Republican. He is a school commissioner, and does all in his power for the advancement of education. He is a mem- ber of the A. O. U. W., and of the Grange.

Robert Friedel was married, April 15, 1877, to Effie, daughter of Christian Singer. Their children are: I. Frederick II., farmer; Il. Stella E .; III. Wilbur B .: IV. Archibald Oliver; V. Alice; VI. Mabel; VIL. Effic; VIII. Robert C. Mr. and Mrs. Friedel are members of the M. E. church.

Christian Singer, father of Mrs. Friedel, was a native of Germany, and came with his wife and family to this country when Mrs. Friedel was but three years of age. He was

a mason and plasterer; at the time of his death, he was the owner of a farm in Caro- line county, Md. The children of Mr. and Mrs. Singer are; I. Effie (Mrs. Robert Friedel); II. Christian, a farmer of Kent county, Del., married Loretta Cook; III. William, farmer, of Maryland; IV. Daniel, also farming in Maryland, married Katherine Smith. Mrs. Singer died in Lycoming coun- ty, Pa. Mr. Singer was afterwards married to Katherine Elwanger. Their children are: I. John, residing in Maryland; II. Elizabeth. Christian Singer died December 15, 1880, aged eighty-four years.

GEORGE M. BASTIAN, P. O. Felton, Kent county, Del., son of George and Mary (Brion) Bastian, was born August 24, 1832, at the Blue Ball Tavern, in Jackson township, Lycoming county, Pa.

The family name was originally Sebastian. Count Sebastian, paternal great-grandfather of George M. Bastian, came with his two brothers to America, after a revolt against the crown in which they had taken an active part. Mr. Bastian's great-grandfather settled near Pennypacker's Mills, in the vicinity of Philadelphia, Pa. One of his brothers weut to the South, and the other settled in the West. The count was prosperous, and his son Jacob, George M. Bastian's grandfather, owned extensive mill properties and much land, near Newberry, Lycoming county, Pa., now Williamsport, where Mr. Bastian's father, George Bastian, was born. Jacob Bastian was twice married; by his first mar- riage he had two daughters and four sons: I. Daniel; II. George; 111. Andrew; IV. Peter. The sons of his second marriage were: I. Solomon; II. Samuel; besides three daugh- ters. George Bastian was first a potter, but afterwards bought the Blue Ball inn, on Laurel Hill, which he managed with success. George Bastian married Mary Brion, men-

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BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA

bers of whose family took an active part in the Revolution. Their children are: I. Ben- jamin, deceased, was a farmer and justice of the peace in Lycoming county, married Miss Raker; II. Mary (Mrs. Jacob Miller), died in Lycoming county in 1897; III. Esther, or HIettie (Mrs. John Beck), of Tioga county, Pa .; IV. Elizabeth (Mrs. Charles Klump), died in 1875; Mr. Klump resides in Har- rington, Del., he came to the state in 1866, at the same time with George M. Bastian; V. Joseph, of Liberty, Tioga county, Pa., mar- ried first to Hester Schreiner, afterwards to Christiana Moyer; VI. William, died unmar- ried in 1861; VII. Eve (Mrs. J. J. Werline), of Tioga county; VIII. Catharine (Mrs. Henry Miller), of Tioga county; IX. George M. The father, Mr. George Bastian, died in Brush Valley, whither he had gone for medi- cal treatment, in 1835, at the age of fifty- five.

George M. Bastian was but three years old at the time of his father's death, and as the family was large, his opportunities for obtain- ing an education were not ample. He was, however, ambitious; and from his fifteenth to his seventeenth year, he hired himself out for his board, clothing and tuition. He then worked at carpentry, after which, at the age of eighteen, he went to Williamsport, Pa., and served an apprenticeship as carpenter, working afterwards at these trades until 1862. At the beginning of the war of the Rebellion, he had gone to Tioga county, and was engaged in carpentry. At some time during his early manhood he was a teacher.

Mr. Bastian enlisted from Tioga county, and was mustered in at Harrisburg, Novem- ber 18, 1862, as a corporal in Company A, Seventeenth Pennsylvania Volunteers, un- der Captain A. A. Amsbury, Colonel Edward Bierer, in Prince's Division, Eigh- teenth Army Corps, attached to the depart- ment of North Carolina and Virginia, and sta- tioned at New Berne and at Washington, N. (. Mr. Bastian was sent to Harper's Ferry. After spending some time in the hospital at Frederick City, Md., his term of enlistment expiring, he was honorably discharged at Har- risburg, Pa., August 8, 1863. Mr. Bastian opened a recruiting office in Williamsport, Pa., and had thirty recruits, when the citizens objecting to having the office there, he took his thirty men to Harrisburg, where they were

enrolled with credit to Philadelphia county. Mr. Bastian was mustered into service the sec- ond time at Harrisburg, in September, 1564, as a private in Compay E, Two Hundred and Seventh Pennsylvania Volunteers, Capt. Lewis Small, Col. R. C. Cox. The regiment was assigned to the Third Division, Second Brigade, Army of the Potomac. Mr. Bastian was promoted to first lieutenant and adjutant, September 26, 1864. He took part in the skirmish at Hatcher's Run, and in the battles of Fort Steadman, March 25, 1865, and Fort Sedgwick, April 5, 1865; during the latter battle, in the absence of superior officers, Lieu- tenant Bastian commanded his regiment, and was brevetted captain for his bravery. At the close of the war, he was honorably dis- charged, and was mustered out at Alexandria, Va., May 3, 1865. Shortly after, he returned to Tioga county, Pa., and resumed business as a carpenter. In the spring of 1866, he bought his present homestead in Kent county, Del., a fruit and grass farm of 200 acres. Captain Bastian is a Republican, and warmly favors the cause of sound money, and protec- tion for American workmen. The late Re- publican convention placed him on its ticket for representative in the Sixth Representative District.

George M. Bastian was married in Liberty, Pa., in 1858, to Rachel, daughter of Jacob and Hannah (Rank) Bixon. Their children are: I. Anna (Mrs. Waterman Hopkins), of Mispillion hundred; II. Margaret J. ( Mrs. Richard Barrick, of Baltimore, Md .; III. Sarah F. (Mrs. Richard Farlow), of Baltimore, Md .; - IV. Charles D., farmer cf Murderkill hundred, married Mary Hughes; V. James B., traveling sales- man; VI. Joseph W., M. D., of Winning- ton, Del .; VII. Clara D., teacher; VIII. George F., died April 3, 1898, aged twenty- four years; IX. Harry B .; X. Roselle. Mr. Bastian and his family are members of Wil- Jis's Central M. E. church, of which he is a trustee and class-leader.

ORLANDO MORTON PLUMB, de- ceased, son of Alanson and Parthenia ( Percy) Plumb, was born in Hoosick Falls, Rensselaer county, N. Y., April 15, 1837.

Alanson Plumb, his father, was a house carpenter, in easy circumstances; he created

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STATE OF DELAWARE

several of the finest business blocks in Hoosick Falls. About 1841, he went to the West, where several of his brothers resided, intend- ing to purchase land, and carrying with him for that purpose a large sum of money. He was never again seen or heard from at home, and it was confidently believed that he had been robbed and murdered. He was a rela- tive of IIon. Plumb, U. S. senator from Kansas. Alanson Plumb's wife was Parthenia, daughter of Joseph and Mary Percy. They had two children: I. Orlando Morton; II. Rosalda, who died unmarried. Some years after her husband's disappear- ance, Mrs. Plumb became Mrs. Reuben Smith.

When bereft of his father, Orlando M. Plumb was but four years old, and from that time until his mother's second marriage, he lived on the farm of his grandfather, Joseph Percy, and attended the country schools. Dur- the war of the Rebellion, he enlisted, January 5, 1864, as a private in the Seventh New York Heavy Artillery, for a term of three years. He was captured during the attack on Peters- burg, Va., and sent to the stockade prison at Andersonville, where he suffered great hardships for about six months before being exchanged, November 24, 1864. Other bat- tles in which he took part were those of the Fredericksburg Road, May 19, 1864; North Anna river, May 23, 24; Tolopotamie Creek, May 31; Cold Harbor, June 3; Petersburg, June 15, in which engagement Mr. Plumb was captured. Upon their exchange, he and his fellow-prisoners were taken to Charleston, S. C., where they embarked for the north. It was a fearfully cold night; they were thinly clad, and suffered untold agonies; many of them died from exposure. When he had joined his regiment, Mr. Plumb was sent home on furlough for three months, at the end of which time he again returned to the regiment, and remained with it until the war ended in the second year of his faithful and patriotic service.

Once more at home, Mr. Plumb resumed work on the farm. Not long after, he was married; he continued to reside upon the farm near Hoosick Falls for several years more, and then, with his father-in-law, Abner Griswold, removed to Delaware, and bought 300 acres of land in Mispillion hundred, near Harring- ton. ITere he devoted his attention to fruit

raising and general farming. He became a member of the P. C. Carter Post, G. A. R., and of the I. O. H. Mr. Phunb was full of patriotic feeling, and had an enthusiastic love and veneration for "Old Glory." In the fall of 1892, having bought a new flag, he was felling a tree to make a pole on which to raise it; tho tree in its descent to the ground, struck a decayed pine tree that stood near it, breaking off a long and heavy limb, which fell upon Mr. Plumb, causing his death in three days after. He died November 10, 1892, and is buried in the town of Harrington.

Orlando Morton Plumb was married, March 26, 1867, to Lucy Ann, daughter of Abner and Pamelia (Grout) Griswold, of Ben- nington, Vt. Their children are: I. Orlando Morton, 2, who now manages the farm; II. Abner Griswold, graduate from Delaware College at the age of twenty-one, enlisted for the Spanish-American war in Company B., First Delaware Volunteers, and was chosen a sergeant of his company; III. Mary Edith. Mr. Plumb was a member of the Presbyterian church.

The Griswolds are well known among old and honored families of the state of Connec- ticut. Abner Griswold was born in Hebron, N. Y., and went with his parents to Benning- ton, Vt. ITe married Pamelia, daughter of James Grout, who is still living, an octoge- marian. Mr. Griswold died on his farm in Delaware in 1881, at the age of ninety years. Mrs. Plumb was the only one of their children who lived to mature years.

IION. JAMES PENNEWILL, Dover, Del., son of Simeon and Annie E. (Curry) Pennewill, was born near Griswold, Sussex county, Del., June 16, 1854.

Judge Pennewill's grandfather, David Pen- newill, and his son Simeon Pennewill, were both prosperous farmers of Sussex coun- ty. Simeon Pennewill was married February 1, 1847, to Annie E., daughter of Thomas and Nancy Curry. Their children are: I. David, a commission merchant of New York City; II. Hon. James; III. Mary L., wife of Lawrence M. Cashall, M. D., of Bridgeville, Del .; IV. Hon. Simeon S., of Sussex county, Del., state senator. Simeon Pennewill has been for many years a member of the Pres- byterian church, and has filled all the lay offices in the church.

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BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA

Ilis second son, Hon. James Pennewill, passed his youth amid rural associations, and in the wholesome labors and sports common to loys in the country. His education, begun in the public schools of Greenwood, Del., was fur- ther prosecuted at a private school, in Bridge- ville, and at the academy under the care of Prof. Reynolds, Wilmington, Del. In 1871, Mr. Pennewill became a student at Princeton University, and was graduated from that time honored institution in 1875, having just at- tained his majority. Soon after this, he be- gan his legal studies under the preceptorship of Nathaniel B. Smithers, LL. D., of Dover, and was admitted to the bar of Delaware in 1878. For nearly twenty years, Mr. Penne- will practiced with success in Dover, having for his legal associates the most eminent law- yers of that city, among whom were Hon. George E. Massey and Hon. James L. Wal- cott. In June, 1897, he received the appoint- ment of Associate Judge of the Supreme Court of Delaware.

Hon. James Pennewill was married at Dover, December 5, 1888, to Alice, daughter of William G. and Temperance A. Hazel, of that place.

JOHN STRADLEY COLLINS, Dover, Del., son of the late Stephen Martindale and Emma (Stradley) Collins, was born in Mil- ford hundred, Kent county, Del., January 31, 1851. He was appointed teller of the Farmer's Bank of Dover, August 18, 1879, and elected cashier of the First National Bank of Dover, June 17, 1879. He still holds the latter office.

John Stradley Collins was married at Lit- tle Creek, Del., January 10, 1877, to Eliza- beth W. Hobson, daughter of William H. and Mary Hobson, of Little Creek. Their children are: I. John S. W., boru December 28, 1885; IT. Homer Wilson, born Decem- ber 8, 1887.

JOHN II. BATEMAN, Dover, Del., was born March 13, 1880, in Chestertown, Md. His father, Rev. James Bateman, a native of the Eastern Shore of Maryland, was a Metho- dist minister, and died in May, 1830; he mar- ried Susan, daughter of John and Hannah (Stevens) Marion, a native of Kent county, Del., and they had the following children: T.

Ifannah M., who married Charles Emory, and afterward Joshua Davis; II. Mary ( Mrs. Rob- ort B. Houston); III. Charles M., died young; IV. James; V. John II. Mrs. James Bate- man was a member of the Methodist Episco- pal church.

After receiving a common school education, John HI. Bateman began business life as a farmer, and has successively followed the occupations of painter, magistrate, postmaster, bank cashier, and editor. Mr. Bateman is a director in the Bay State Gas Company of Delaware, and is president of a building and loan association. He is a Republican, and one of the active and influential newspaper editors of Kent county.

John H. Bateman was married in 1852 to Caroline S. Armstrong, born in 1827, in New Castle county, Del., daughter of Andrew and Rebekah (Thompson) Armsrong. Her par- ents had children: I. Mary Ann; II. Caro- line D .; III Maria; IV. Joseph D .; V. Ma- tilda; VI. Hester F. Mrs. John H. Bate- man died in 1890. She was a member of the Episcopal church. Her husband belongs to the Methodist church. Their children were: I. James, deceased; II. Caroline, deceased; III. Rebekah (Mrs. Wm. T. Cullen); IV. Josephine; V. Andrew A.

THOMAS F. DUNN, Dover, Del., son of Francis M. and Josephine (MeIlvaine) Dunn, was born in Marydel, Del., February 3, 1868. Francis M. Dunn, the former publisher of The Index, was a native of Kent county, and was the son of Thomas and Ann Dunn. In polities, he supported the Democratic party. Ile married Josephine, daughter of Thomas and Hester J. Mellvaine, who was also born in Kent county. Their children are: I. Thomas F .; II. Cora B .; III. May. Francis M. Dunn died December 29, 1893.

Thomas F. Dunn was educated in the pub- lic schools of his native county. For ten years he was clerk in a general store, and upon the death of his father in 1893, succeeded him as publisher of The Index, in which he has since been prosperously engaged. Like his father, Mr. Duin votes the Democratie ticket. He is a member of the Masonic Order, of the I. O. O. F., and of the I. O. R. M. Mr. Dunn is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church.

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STATE OF DELAWARE

HIENRY RIDGELY, M. D., Dover, Del., son of llon. Henry M. and Sarah (Banning) Ridgely, was born in Dover, April 15, 1817. It was in the latter half of the seventeenth century that a member of the Ridgely family of England, settled in this country; he became the progenitor of the American branch of the family. Dr. Ridgely's great-great-great-grand- father, Col. Henry Ridgely, was a native of Anne Arundel county, Md., and was born February 2, 1694. He married a daughter of Col. Nicholson Greenberry, of Anne Arundel county, and their son, Henry Ridge- ly, 2, was the father of Hon. Nicholas Ridgely, Judge of the Supreme Court of the three counties of Delaware from 1746 to February 18, 1755, the date of his death. In 1711, very early in life, Nicholas Ridgely was mar- ried to Sarah, daughter of Col. John Worth- ington, of Anne Arundel county; the young couple were but seventeen and fifteen years of age. On March 16, 1721, the young wife died; and on December 5, 1723, Nicho- las Ridgely married Mrs. (French) Gordon, daughter of Robert and Mary French, of New Castle, Del., and widow of James Gordon. She was a resident of Cecil county, Md., whither Mr. Ridgely had re- moved some time previous to this marriage; in 1732, he became a citizen of Delaware. Here Mrs. Ridgely died, not long after the removal; and some time later, Judge Ridgely married Mary (Middleton) Vining, daughter of Judge Hugh Middleton, and widow of Cap- tain Benjamin Vining, both of Salem, N. J. For some time after this marriage he resided near Salem, on an estate belonging to his wife; but in 1740, he removed with his family to his farm near Dover, Del., which was his home during the remainder of his life.

Judge Ridgely's public services were many and important. During his early residence in Delaware, he was a member of the Grand Jury, and as foreman, affixed his name to a petition addressed to the King of England, against granting to Lord Baltimore certain privileges which would encroach upon the rights of the Penn family. Soon after his re- moval to Kent county, Del., he was appointed county treasurer, and served afterwards sue- cessively as Clerk of the Peace, Prothonotary, and Register in Chancery. In all these re- sponsible positions, and during the nine years on the Supreme bench, he was distinguished

not only for ability, but for excellent judg- ment and a character of spotless honor. His personal traits won for him universal regard; his religious convictions were sincere, and he was liberal both in his judgments and in his conduct towards others. Not the least of his services to his adopted state was the rearing of three of its noted men; his own son, Dr. Charles G. Ridgely, his step-son, Jolm Vin- ing, and the illustrious Caesar Rodney, who in 1745 chose Judge Ridgely as his guardian.

By his first marriage, with Sarah Worth- ington, Nicholas Ridgely had children as fol- lows: I. Sarah, born November 20, 1712, died December 26, 1734; II. Rebecca, born October 18, 1714, married October 20, 1731, to Benjamin, son of John Warfield, of Anne Arundel county, Md .; III. Rachel, born Feb- ruary 7, 1716, married John Vining, April 20, 1753; IV. Ruth, born March 16, 1718, married James Jarrell; V. Ann, born Febru- ary 18, 1720. The only child by his second marriage was named Mary. The children of Nicholas and Mary (Middleton) Ridgely were: I. Dr. Charles Greenberry, born January 26, 1737; II. Nicholas, born in Dover April 23, 1748, died August 1, 1742; III. Sarah, born at Dover September 30, 1743; IV. Elizabeth, born December 15, 1745, married to Thomas Dorsey, of Elk Ridge, Md., June 21, 1764.

Dr. Charles Greenberry Ridgely, ellest son of Nicholas and Mary (Middleton) Ridge- ly, was born January 26, 1737, near Salem, N. J. With his half-brother and sister, John and Mary Vining, he was educated at Dover, near which place the family resided from his early childhood. His literary course was com- pleted in the newly established Academy of Philadelphia, which afterwards developed into the far-famed University of Pennsylvania, and still remains as one of the noblest monu- ments of its illustrious founder, Benjamin Franklin. Dr. Ridgely's medical course was begun in the same city in 1754; from child- hood he was an enthusiastic and profound stu- dent, thorough in his methods; and it was not long after he began practicing medicine in Dover, in 1758, that he found himself in the enjoyment of an extensive practice, and of a high professional reputation, fully endorsed by his brother practitioners, towards whom he invariably displayed the most serupulous honor and courtesy. He was considerate and encouraging towards the neophytes of the pro-

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BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA

fession, and had the honor of guiding the studies of many who afterwards attained to eminence as physicians. Dr. Ridgely was dis- tinguished for his literary tastes and acquire- ments, having found time amid his manifold duties to make himself familiar with the clas- sies of ancient and modern times. His public services were many and varied. From 1765 to 1785, he was almost continuously a member of the state legislature; for some years before the colonies achieved their independence, he presided as judge in the Courts of Common Pleas and of Quarter Sessions of Kent coun- ty, Del., and was again elected to the bench after the adoption of the Constitution of 1776, which document he, as a member of the constitutional convention, had been instru- mental in drawing up. Few men have been distinguished, and earned the gratitude of their fellow-men, in so many separate lines of life as Dr. Ridgely pursued.

On June 11, 1761, Dr. Charles Greenberry Ridgely was married to Mary, daughter of Abraham and Mary Wynkoop, of New Castle county. Their children were: I. Nicholas, born at Dover, September 30, 1762, was at- torney-general of Delaware, delegate to the constitutional convention of 1792, member of the state legislature and Chancellor of the state, was married May 20, 1806, to Mary Brereton, of Sussex county, Del., died April 1, 1830; II. Charles, born May 3, 1764; III. Abraham, M. D., born September 10, 1765, married Hester, daughter of Rev. Nathan Harris, of Maryland, had children, i. Mary W., ii. Margaretta, both of whom preceded their father to the grave; IV. John, born March 27, 1769, died aged nine years; V. Mary, born November 19, 1772, was married in November, 1807, to Dr. William Winder Morris, of Delaware, died at Dover, March 9, 1855. Mrs. Mary Ridgely, who was a lady of great beauty and worth, died November 23, 1772, aged twenty-seven. Dr. Ridgely was married, June 2, 1774, to Aun, daughter of William and Williamina Moore, of Moore Hall, Chester county, Pa. Their children were: I. Williamina, born at Dover, Febru- ary 20, 1775, died April 21, 1808, was at the time of her death the aflianeed bride of the celebrated General Anthony Wayne; a china tea-set presented to her by Gen. Wayne is now in the possession of Henry and Nicholas John- son, of Kent county, Del .; IT. Mary, born at

Dover, September 9, 1777; III. Henry Moore, born in 1779; IV. George Wynkoop, born April 4, 1781; V. Aun, born February 12, 1784, died at Germantown, Pa., August 29, 1805. Dr. Charles G. Ridgely died Novem- ber 25, 1785, in his forty-eighth year. IIe was a man of sincere piety, a devout member of the Episcopal church.

Hon. Henry Moore Ridgely, eldest son of Dr. Charles G. and Ann (Moore) Ridgely, was born in Dover, August 6, 1779. His early education was cared for by his mother, Charles being but six years old at the time of his father's death. Happily, her sound judgment, no less than her unusual intelli- gence and refinement, amply qualified her to be the guide of her young family. Henry M. Ridgely was graduated from Dickinson College, Carlisle, Pa., and studied law under Charles Smith, Esq., of Lancaster, Pa., who was a relative. About the year 1802, he was admitted to the bar of Delaware, and soon proved himself the worthy competitor of the many able and brilliant jurists who were at that time the boast of the state. His prac- tice was large and lucrative. For a period of forty years, he held the position of president of the Farmer's Bank at Dover. Twice he was elected to represent Delaware in the U. S. House of Representatives, in 1811 and 1813, and declined a third nomination. He was sec- retary of the state of Delaware under Gov- ernors Clark, Stout and Paynter, and rendered peculiar services to the state in re-arranging and organizing the work of that office. He served frequently in the state legislature, and promoted the passage of many useful laws. In 1827, Mr. Ridgely became a U. S. senator; in the upper house, as in the lower, he was the consistent advocate of a protective tariff. Originally a Federalist, he subsequently ad- hered to the Whig party; his politics were the outgrowth of sincere conviction, and of de- votion, eminently unselfish, to the welfare of his country. Greed for the spoils of office had no shadow of a place in this man's honorable nature; while he is known to have declined such offices as those of chancellor and of chief justice, he never hesitated to accept a less ex- alted or lucrative position, if through it he saw the way to serve his fellow-men, or the community in which he lived. As Levy Court commissioner, he vastly improved the finan- cial standing of Kent county ; as trustee of the

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Biographical and genealogical history of the state of Delaware, Vol. II, Part 1

Author: Runk, J.M. & Co Publication date: 1899 Publisher: Chambersburg, Pa. Number of Pages: 1500

Author: Runk, J.M. & Co
Publication date: 1899
Publisher: Chambersburg, Pa.
Number of Pages: 1500