Captain Charles Ridgely III (1733–1790) was a

colonial Colonial or The Colonial may refer to: * Colonial, of, relating to, or characteristic of a colony or colony (biology) Architecture * American colonial architecture * French Colonial * Spanish Colonial architecture Automobiles * Colonial (1920 au ...

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 com ...

(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. 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, whi ...

. 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 the Shipwright. He and his brothers Edward and Joshua patented "Hockley-in-the-Hole" on the south side of the Sev ...

. Ridgely built the massive

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

(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 a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

, 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, Geor ...

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, USA, preserves a remnant of a vast 18th-century estate, including a Georgian manor house, gardens, grounds, and the original stone slave quarters. Th ...

and cared for / operated by the

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational propertie ...

of the

U.S. Department of the Interior The United States Department of the Interior (DOI) is one of the executive departments of the U.S. federal government headquartered at the Main Interior Building, located at 1849 C Street NW in Washington, D.C. It is responsible for the mana ...

. 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) was born Charles Ridgely Carnan.Gerson G. Eisenberg, ''Marylanders Who Served the Nation: A Biographical Dictionary of Federal Officials from Maryland'' (Annapolis: Maryland State Archives, ...

, 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 Swedish-born portraitist Gustavus Hesselius. He painted the portraits of many wealthy politicians and planters in Col ...

''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