Eliza Eichelberger Ridgely (February 10, 1803 – December 20, 1867) was an American heiress, traveler, arbiter of fashion, and mistress 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 *Ha ...

, the Ridgely plantation north of

Towson, Maryland Towson () is an unincorporated community and a census-designated place in Baltimore County, Maryland, United States. The population was 55,197 as of the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Baltimore County and the second-most populous unincorpo ...

. She is the ''Lady with a Harp'' of

Thomas Sully Thomas Sully (June 19, 1783November 5, 1872) was a portrait painter in the United States. Born in Great Britain, he lived most of his life in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He painted in the style of Thomas Lawrence. His subjects included nationa ...

's portrait, now in the

National Gallery of Art The National Gallery of Art, and its attached Sculpture Garden, is a national art museum in Washington, D.C., United States, located on the National Mall, between 3rd and 9th Streets, at Constitution Avenue NW. Open to the public and free of char ...

, Washington, D.C.
Comprehensive Guide to Collections: Eliza Eichelberger Ridgely Ridgely
' last revised December 4, 2007, online at nps.gov, web site of 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 ...

, accessed July 26, 2008Lady with a Harp: Eliza Ridgely, 1818
at nga.gov, accessed July 26, 2008; as Ridgely was both her maiden name and her married name, she is sometimes called Eliza Eichelberger Ridgely Ridgely.

Early life

Eliza Ridgely was born on February 10, 1803, the only child of Nicholas Greenbury Ridgely (1770–1829), a rich wine merchant from

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

and Elisabeth (

née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...

Eichelberger) Ridgely, who married on July 30, 1801.Eichelberger, A. W., ''Philip Frederick Eichelberger and his descendants 1693-1900'' (Hanover Press, 1901) p. 21, quoting 'Church Records of St Paul's Parish', vol. 2, p. 6. Her mother, who was born on December 6, 1783, was the daughter of Johann Martin Eichelberger and his wife Elizabeth Welsh, and died a few hours after the birth of Eliza, aged only nineteen years and two months. Her father died in 1829 and was buried in the cemetery at Hampton.Some Notable Ridgelys
at nps.gov, web site of the National Park Service, accessed July 26, 2008

Life

Eliza Ridgely was an heiress who became a foreign traveler and an arbiter of fashion.Hampton Highlights Volume 8, No. 1 - Fall 2006
at historichampton.org, accessed July 26, 2008 She met and befriended the

Marquis de 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 Revoluti ...

during his United States tour of 1824–1825 and stayed in contact with him for the rest of his life. Ten of his letters to her have survived, including an invitation to visit La Grange, his country estate in France—a visit which took place in 1834—and his congratulations on her marriage. A number of Eliza's replies and related correspondence––including the news that she was, at long last, going to visit La Grange in 1833––were discovered and published in 2019.

Personal life

On January 8, 1828, Eliza Ridgely married John Carnan Ridgely (1790–1867). He was the son of Charles Carnan Ridgely who served as

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

of the state of

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

from 1815 to 1818.A Hampton Chronology
Hampton National Historic Site (U.S. National Park Service July 2006) Her husband was the grandson of John Carnan and Achsah (née Ridgely) Carnan. John's great-uncle and Achsah's brother,

Charles Ridgely III 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 (1702-1772), ("Charles the Merchant") and Rachel Howard. With his fa ...

(d. 1790), was the builder of the

Hampton plantation Hampton Plantation, also known as Hampton Plantation House and Hampton Plantation State Historic Site, is a historic plantation, now a state historic site, north of McClellanville, South Carolina. The plantation was established in 1735, and its ...

which was built in 1790 and had been the largest private residence in the United States.Experience architectural greatness at Md.'s Hampton Mansion
at usatoday.com, accessed July 26, 2008 He was childless and as he approached the end of his life, willed that his sister's progeny should take the Ridgely name and in doing, would inherit his vast estates. Thus, John Carnan Ridgely was, in fact, a fifth cousin of his wife, Eliza Eichelberger Ridgely. When her husband's father died in July 1829, his estate of some was divided, her husband John inherited the main house and . Eliza thus became the third mistress of Hampton. Together, Eliza and John were the parents of five children: * Eliza Ridgely (1828–1894), who married firstly John Campbell White (1825–1853) in 1849, becoming the mother of the diplomat Henry White. After his death, she married Dr. Thomas Hepburn Buckler (1812–1901) in 1865. * Priscilla Ridgely (b. 1831) * Nicholas Greenbury Ridgely (b. 1834) * Charles Ridgely (1838–1872), who married Margaretta Sophia Howard (1824–1904) in 1851. * Julia Maria Ridgely (b. 1841) Hampton Natl Historic Site

Eliza Ridgely had a serious approach to financial affairs. The daughter of a merchant, she had married into a family which recorded the smallest transaction, and she kept careful accounts of all her expenditure, even noting the nine and a half cents she paid for a piece of ribbon. As well as her personal spending, her accounts also show her expenses in ensuring that the Hampton slaves were clothed and shod, a major undertaking.Lancaster, R. Kent, 'Chattel Slavery at Hampton/Northampton, Baltimore County' in ''Maryland Historical Magazine'', vol. 95, no. 4 (Winter 2000) online a
Antebellum Plantation Life
(see section headed 'chatelaine') She also recorded her subscriptions, such as those to the Baltimore Humane Impartial Society from 1849 to 1854 and her donations to a Widows Asylum between 1849 and 1851.
at mdhs.org, accessed July 26, 2008 Eliza Ridgely ordered church services for her slaves in the attic of the Hampton carriage house. The services were taken by a white minister, Mr Galbraith, until he was dismissed for marrying a woman believed to have African blood. Ridgely herself oversaw funerals and weddings in the house's great hall. One of Ridgely's grandsons, the diplomat Henry White, recalled that she "...was very particular in having what she was pleased to describe (and which I then believed to be) 'marriages', performed by a clergyman, between the negro servants, when so inclined: not realizing – certainly I did not at the time – that slaves were unable to perform any civil act, being mere chattels". Ridgely's daughter Eliza recorded having taught a group of slave children the

Lord's Prayer The Lord's Prayer, also called the Our Father or Pater Noster, is a central Christian prayer which Jesus taught as the way to pray. Two versions of this prayer are recorded in the gospels: a longer form within the Sermon on the Mount in the Gosp ...

. Eliza Ridgely was an avid gardener, and in the 1830s and 1840s she improved the gardens and enhanced the landscape at Hampton, planting exotic trees such as the

Lebanon Cedar ''Cedrus libani'', the cedar of Lebanon or Lebanese cedar (), is a species of tree in the genus cedrus, a part of the pine family, native to the mountains of the Eastern Mediterranean basin. It is a large evergreen conifer that has great religi ...

which still stands on the house's south lawn. She is said to have brought this herself as a seedling from Europe, carrying it in a shoebox. She and her husband bought furniture for the house which reflected the classical influences already indulged there.A Palace in the Wilderness
at nps.gov, accessed July 26, 2008 In 1839, the

landscape gardener Landscape architecture is the design of outdoor areas, landmarks, and structures to achieve environmental, social-behavioural, or aesthetic outcomes. It involves the systematic design and general engineering of various structures for constructio ...

Henry Winthrop Sargent found that Hampton's venerable appearance and foreign air "...quite disturb one's ideas of republican America".

Lady with a Harp

Thomas Sully's painting ''Lady with a Harp'' ''(pictured)'' is a portrait of Eliza Ridgely done in 1818, when she was only fifteen, showing her wearing an

Empire An empire is a "political unit" made up of several territories and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the empire (sometimes referred to as the metropole) ex ...

satin gown with a draped shawl as she plucks the strings of a

pedal harp The pedal harp (also known as the concert harp) is a large and technologically modern harp, designed primarily for use in art music. It may be played solo, as part of a chamber ensemble, or in an orchestra. It typically has 47 strings with seve ...

. It was commissioned by her father, Nicholas Greenbury Ridgely, who at the same time was himself painted by Sully. Eliza really did play the harp, and her surviving bills and receipts include those for music lessons and for the repair of her harp in the years 1820 to 1826. Whether her arms were as long and her figure as slender as they were painted is uncertain. Sully later commented on all his work "From long experience, I know that resemblance in a portrait is essential; but no fault will be found with the artist (at least by the sitter) if he improve the appearance." The painting was kept at Hampton from the 1820s until 1945, when it was sold to the

.Thomas Sully, American, 1783–1872, Lady with a Harp: Eliza Ridgely, 1818
at nga.gov, accessed July 26, 2008 After David Finley, director of the gallery, had acquired ''Lady with a Harp'' he became an advocate for the preservation of Hampton. He helped to arrange a deal under which the Ridgelys sold the house to

Ailsa Mellon Bruce Ailsa Mellon Bruce (June 28, 1901 – August 25, 1969) was a prominent American socialite and philanthropist who established the Avalon Foundation. Early life Ailsa was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on June 28, 1901. She was the daughter of t ...

Avalon Foundation The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation of New York City in the United States, simply known as Mellon Foundation, is a private foundation with five core areas of interest, and endowed with wealth accumulated by Andrew Mellon of the Mellon family of Pit ...

, which in 1948 gave it to the

. There is now a copy of the painting at Hampton.

Surviving papers of Eliza Ridgely

A number of financial records kept by Eliza Ridgely have been preserved: *''Account book of expenses on trip to Europe'' (1833–1834) *''Servants Clothing Book'', (1835–1854) *''Account Book'' (1838–1846) *''Accounts of Eliza E. R. Ridgely with her Trustees for her father's estate'' (1840s) *''House Accounts'' (1845) *''Accounts of Eliza E. R. Ridgely with her Trustees for Nicholas G. Ridgely's estate'' (1840s) *''Travel Account Book'' (1846–1847) *''Account Books'' (1849–1853) *''John & Eliza Ridgely, Farm Account Book'' (1850–1864) *''Account Book as Trustee to Nicholas G. Ridgely'' (1858–1867) Other surviving

manuscript A manuscript (abbreviated MS for singular and MSS for plural) was, traditionally, any document written by hand – or, once practical typewriters became available, typewritten – as opposed to mechanically printing, printed or repr ...

s include letters Eliza Ridgely wrote to her daughter Eliza (known as 'Didy') between May 8 and July 12, 1858, a

commonplace book Commonplace books (or commonplaces) are a way to compile knowledge, usually by writing information into books. They have been kept from antiquity, and were kept particularly during the Renaissance and in the nineteenth century. Such books are simi ...

of poetry she kept before her marriage, and letters she wrote and received from her friend Lafayette, her son Charles at

Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

and her daughter Eliza traveling in Europe.

Bibliography

*Considine, Basil, 'Letters to a Marquis: New Documentary Findings in the Correspondence of Eliza Eichelberger Ridgely of Hampton and the Marquis de Lafayette' in ''Maryland Historical Magazine'' 114, no. 1 (Spring/Summer 2019) pp. 43–78 *Considine, Basil and Elissa Edwards, 'Eliza Ridgely (1803–1867): Kind of a Badass. How the 'It Girl' of Antebellum America Shattered Stereotypes of Female Accomplishment in the United States' Society for American Music, Digital Lectures in American Music Series. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kSsa1taLxik *Miller, Beth L., 'The Ridgelys of Hampton: New Perspectives on Musical Life in Early-Nineteenth-Century Baltimore' in ''Journal of Musicological Research'' 14 (1994) pp. 35–54 *Shipe, Bess Paterson, 'Eliza Eichelberger Ridgely, The Lady with a Harp', in ''Maryland Historical Magazine'' 77, no. 3 (Fall 1982) pp. 230–237 *Torcia, Robert Wilson, 'Eliza Ridgely and the Ideal of American Womanhood, 1787-1820' in ''Maryland Historical Magazine'' 90, no. 4 (Winter 1995) pp. 405–423

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ridgely, Eliza 1803 births 1867 deaths People from Towson, Maryland Ridgely family