Charles Sterrett Ridgely (1781 – 1847) was an American land developer and legislator.

Biography

Charles parents were John Sterrett a privateer, and Deborah Ridgley. His father purchased 1,696 acres patented as Felicity from Mathias Hammond settling in what is now Howard County Maryland. Charles Sterrett graduated St. Johns College in 1802. In June 1810 Charles purchased 567 acres of the family estate from his mother and commissioned

Oakland Manor Oakland or Oakland Manor is a Federal style stone manor house commissioned in 1810 by Charles Sterrett Ridgely in the Howard District of Anne Arundel County Maryland (now Howard County). The lands that became Oakland Manor were patented by John D ...

, which is situated in the center of the current

Rouse Company The Rouse Company, founded by Hunter Moss and James W. Rouse in 1939, was a publicly held shopping mall and community developer from 1956 until 2004, when General Growth Properties (GGP) purchased the company. Beginnings - Moss-Rouse Company T ...

land development project Columbia. Changing his last name from Sterrett to Ridgely to be in line for inheritance of his great uncle's estate ( Capt. Charles Ridgely of

Hampton Hampton may refer to: Places Australia *Hampton bioregion, an IBRA biogeographic region in Western Australia *Hampton, New South Wales *Hampton, Queensland, a town in the Toowoomba Region *Hampton, Victoria Canada *Hampton, New Brunswick *Hamp ...

), Charles accumulated 2,300 acres of land. He served as a Major in the Maryland Militia in the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It bega ...

. In 1824-25, he was assigned as a Colonel of a horse troop to protect

General Lafayette Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de La Fayette (6 September 1757 – 20 May 1834), known in the United States as Lafayette (, ), was a French aristocrat, freemason and military officer who fought in the American Revolutio ...

. He was a member of the

Maryland House of Delegates The Maryland House of Delegates is the lower house of the legislature of the State of Maryland. It consists of 141 delegates elected from 47 districts. The House of Delegates Chamber is in the Maryland State House on State Circle in Annapolis, ...

in 1834-1836 and 1838-1841. He was elected speaker of the house in 1838, 1840 and 1841. His son Randolf Ridgley served in the

Mexican–American War The Mexican–American War, also known in the United States as the Mexican War and in Mexico as the (''United States intervention in Mexico''), was an armed conflict between the United States and Mexico from 1846 to 1848. It followed the 1 ...

, taking command after the death of Samuel Ringgold.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ridgley, Charles Sterrett 1782 births 1847 deaths People from Howard County, Maryland St. John's College (Annapolis/Santa Fe) alumni People from Maryland in the War of 1812 Members of the Maryland House of Delegates Ridgely family 19th-century American politicians