Captain Charles Ridgely III (1733–1790) was a colonial Maryland planter and ironmonger.

Biography

Ridgely was born in Maryland Province in 1733 to Colonel

Charles Ridgely II Col. Charles Ridgely II, "Charles The Merchant" (1702–1772), of "Ridgely's Whim", was a Justice, planter, merchant, ironmaster, and member of the General Assembly of Maryland's lower chamber, House of Delegates and one of Baltimore County's comm ...

(1702-1772), ("Charles the Merchant") and Rachel Howard. With his father and brother, he established the Northampton Iron Works just north of future Towsontown /Towson, under what is now

Loch Raven Reservoir The Loch Raven Reservoir is a reservoir that provides drinking water for the City of Baltimore and most of Baltimore County, Maryland, Baltimore County, Maryland. It is fed by the Gunpowder River, Big Gunpowder Falls river, and has a capacity of ...

. He married Rebecca Dorsey, the daughter of Caleb Dorsey, an ironmonger in

Anne Arundel County Anne Arundel County (; ), also notated as AA or A.A. County, is located in the U.S. state of Maryland. As of the 2020 United States census, its population was 588,261, an increase of just under 10% since 2010. Its county seat is Annapolis, wh ...

. Caleb was a grandson of

Hon. John Dorsey Hon. John Dorsey (before 1646 – 1714) was a colonial settler of Maryland and Anne Arundel County, the youngest son of Edward Dorsey (shipwright), Edward the Shipwright. He and his brothers Edward Dorsey, Edward and Joshua patented "Hockle ...

. Ridgely built the massive Hampton Mansion (now a National Historic Site), after the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

, between 1783 and 1790. By the time it was completed, the

Georgian-style Georgian architecture is the name given in most English-speaking countries to the set of architectural styles current between 1714 and 1830. It is named after the first four British monarchs of the House of Hanover, George I, George II, Ge ...

structure was the largest private home in the country. The Mansion is now preserved as the

Hampton National Historic Site Hampton National Historic Site, in the Hampton area north of Towson, Baltimore County, Maryland, preserves a remnant of a vast 18th-century estate, including a Georgian manor house, gardens, grounds, and the original stone slave quarters. The ...

and cared for / operated by the

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an List of federal agencies in the United States, agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government, within the US Department of the Interior. The service manages all List ...

of the

U.S. Department of the Interior The United States Department of the Interior (DOI) is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the management and conservation of most federal lands and natural resources. It also administers programs relating t ...

. Capt. Ridgely died in 1790, and left the inheritance to his nephew Charles Carnan if he would assume the family name and carry on the Ridgely title. So

Charles Carnan Ridgely Charles Carnan Ridgely (December 6, 1760July 17, 1829), born Charles Ridgely CarnanGerson G. Eisenberg, ''Marylanders Who Served the Nation: A Biographical Dictionary of Federal Officials from Maryland'' (Annapolis: Maryland State Archives, 1992 ...

, became the second master of the Hampton estate and eventually

Governor of Maryland The governor of the State of Maryland is the head of government of Maryland, and is the commander-in-chief of the state's National Guard units. The governor is the highest-ranking official in the state and has a broad range of appointive powers ...

References

External links

''Captain Charles Ridgely''
(1767) by

John Hesselius John Hesselius (1728–1778) was an American portrait painter who worked mostly in Virginia and Maryland. He was the son of the sweden, Swedish-born portraitist Gustavus Hesselius. He painted the portraits of many wealthy politicians and planter ...

''Rebecca Dorsey Ridgely''
(1767) by John Hesselius People from Baltimore County, Maryland 1790 deaths 1733 births American ironmasters Ridgely family {{US-business-bio-1730s-stub