George Read Riddle (c. 1817 – March 28, 1867) was an American engineer, lawyer and politician from

Wilmington, Delaware Wilmington is the List of municipalities in Delaware, most populous city in the U.S. state of Delaware. The city was built on the site of Fort Christina, the first Swedish colonization of the Americas, Swedish settlement in North America. It lie ...

. He was a member of the Democratic Party who served as U.S. Representative and as U.S. Senator from Delaware.

Early life and family

Riddle was born in

New Castle, Delaware New Castle is a city in New Castle County, Delaware, United States. The city is located six miles (10 km) south of Wilmington, Delaware, Wilmington and is situated on the Delaware River. As of 2020, the city's population was 5,551. New Cast ...

, and studied civil engineering at Delaware College, now the

University of Delaware The University of Delaware (colloquially known as UD, UDel, or Delaware) is a Statutory college#Delaware, privately governed, state-assisted Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Newark, Delaware, United States. UD offers f ...

. In addition he studied law and was admitted to the Delaware Bar in 1848, beginning a practice in Wilmington, Delaware. With his engineering background, he was named as a commissioner to retrace the

Mason–Dixon line The Mason–Dixon line, sometimes referred to as Mason and Dixon's Line, is a demarcation line separating four U.S. states: Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware and West Virginia. It was Surveying, surveyed between 1763 and 1767 by Charles Mason ...

in 1849, and was otherwise engaged in the construction of railroads and canals. In 1844, Riddle was hired to design the

Wilmington and Brandywine Cemetery Wilmington and Brandywine Cemetery is a rural cemetery at 701 Delaware Avenue in Wilmington, Delaware. Founded in 1843, it contains over 21,000 burials on about 25 acres. History The cemetery was envisioned in 1843 by Sam Wollaston, who sought ...

. During the Civil War, Riddle served with the Home Guard of Wilmington. His wife's name was Margaret.

Political career

From 1849 to 1850, Riddle served as a Deputy Attorney General of the United States. After losing in the election of 1844, he was elected to the U.S. House in 1850 and served for two terms from March 4, 1851, until March 3, 1855. During the 33rd Congress, Riddle was the Chairman of the Committee on Engraving. Running for a third term he was defeated in 1854 by Elisha D. Cullen. In 1860, Riddle was one of only two

slaveholder The following is a list of notable people who owned other people as slaves, where there is a consensus of historical evidence of slave ownership, in alphabetical order by last name. A * Adelicia Acklen (1817–1887), at one time the wealthi ...

s in Delaware. He owned three slaves, a 68-year-old male and two females aged 56 and 12. On February 2, 1864, Riddle was elected to the United States Senate to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of U.S. Senator James A. Bayard Jr. He served until his death on March 28, 1867.

Death and legacy

Riddle died while in office at Washington, D.C., and is buried in the

at Wilmington.

Almanac

Elections are held the first Tuesday after November 1. U.S. Representatives took office March 4 and have a two-year term. The General Assembly chose the U.S. Senators, who also took office March 4, but for a six-year term. In this case he was completing the existing term, the vacancy caused by the resignation of James A. Bayard Jr.

Notes

References

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External links

Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
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Places with more information

Delaware Historical Society The Delaware Historical Society began in 1864 as an effort to preserve documents from the Civil War. Since then, it has expanded into a statewide historical institution with several buildings, including Old Town Hall and the Delaware History M ...

website
505 North Market Street, Wilmington, Delaware 19801; (302) 655-7161. *

Library website
181 South College Avenue, Newark, Delaware 19717; (302) 831-2965. {{DEFAULTSORT:Riddle, George R. 1810s births 1867 deaths People from New Castle, Delaware Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Delaware Democratic Party United States senators from Delaware Delaware lawyers Politicians from Wilmington, Delaware 19th-century American lawyers University of Delaware alumni People of Delaware in the American Civil War Burials at Wilmington and Brandywine Cemetery United States senators who owned slaves Members of the United States House of Representatives who owned slaves 19th-century members of the United States House of Representatives 19th-century United States senators