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Robert Ridgway (April 21, 1823 – October 16, 1870) was a nineteenth-century congressman, lawyer and journalist from
Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...
.


Early and family life

Born in
Lynchburg, Virginia Lynchburg is an independent city (United States), independent city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. First settled in 1757 by ferry owner John Lynch (1740–1820), John Lynch, the city's populati ...
, Ridgeway attended
Emory and Henry College Emory & Henry College (E&H or Emory) is a private liberal arts college in Emory, Virginia. The campus comprises of Washington County, which is part of the Appalachian highlands of Southwest Virginia. Founded in 1836, Emory & Henry College is ...
and graduated from the
University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United S ...
after studying law.


Career

Admitted to the Virginia bar, Ridgway began his legal practice in Liberty, Virginia (the Bedford county seat, which was incorporated in 1839 as a town, and renamed
Bedford Bedford is a market town in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 Census, the population of the Bedford built-up area (including Biddenham and Kempston) was 106,940, making it the second-largest settlement in Bedfordshire, behind Luton, whilst ...
two decades after his death). He also was editor of the ''Bedford Sentinel''. In 1850 Ridgeway lived in a boardinghouse in
Amherst Amherst may refer to: People * Amherst (surname), including a list of people with the name * Earl Amherst of Arracan in the East Indies, a title in the British Peerage; formerly ''Baron Amherst'' * Baron Amherst of Hackney of the City of London, ...
, the county seat of
Amherst County, Virginia Amherst County is a county, located in the Piedmont region and near the center of the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. The county is part of the Lynchburg Metropolitan Statistical Area, and its county seat is also named Amherst ...
on the other side of Lynchburg, with the innkeeper's family and several clerks and a schoolmaster. In that census, he owned fifteen enslaved people, eight of them women (ranging from 65 and 56 years old to 16 and 12 year old girls) and seven men (ranging from 28 years old to 15, 12 and a 3 year old boy). In 1853, Ridgway moved to
Richmond, Virginia (Thus do we reach the stars) , image_map = , mapsize = 250 px , map_caption = Location within Virginia , pushpin_map = Virginia#USA , pushpin_label = Richmond , pushpin_m ...
and became the editor of the ''Richmond Whig''. However, in 1860 he continued to own 10 slaves in Amherst County (two 70 year old women, women aged 25, 22 and 20, a 20 year old man, girls aged 7 and 2, and a 10 year old boy). At the outbreak of the
Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...
, Ridgeway returned to Amherst. However "Richard S. Ridgeway" enlisted as a private in Company D of the
6th Virginia Cavalry The 6th Virginia Cavalry Regiment was a cavalry regiment raised in Virginia for service in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. It fought mostly with the Army of Northern Virginia. On September 11, 1861, Kentucky-born Wes ...
on April 18, 1861, then went AWOL in September and was discharged on December 23, 1861 based on a surgeon's certificate concerning hip damage in a railroad accident. Shortly the war's end, in 1866, voters in Bedford, Amherst and nearby counties elected Ridgway as a Whig to the
United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the Lower house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...
. However, fellow Congressmen did not permit him to be seated, because Virginia was still under
Congressional Reconstruction The Reconstruction era was a period in American history following the American Civil War (1861–1865) and lasting until approximately the Compromise of 1877. During Reconstruction, attempts were made to rebuild the country after the bloo ...
and had not adopted a state constitution to replace the 1850 state constitution which allowed slavery. After Virginians ratified a new state constitution in 1869 (without its proposed bar on former Confederates holding office), voters in the 5th Congressional district elected Ridgway as a
Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...
to the House, and he served from January 1870 until his death on October 16, 1870 in
Amherst, Virginia Amherst (formerly Dearborn) is a town in Amherst County, Virginia, Amherst County, Virginia, United States. The population was 2,231 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Amherst County, Virginia, Amherst County. Amherst is part of the Lync ...
. He appears in the 1870 census as living in
Elon, Virginia Elon is an unincorporated community in Amherst County, Virginia, United States. The community is located along Virginia State Route 130 (Elon Road) northwest of Lynchburg. It is part of the Lynchburg Metropolitan Statistical Area. History ...
, with his 86 year old mother Mary Ridgway as the head of household, and sisters Elizabeth, Harriet and Rhodie (aged 60, 50 and 48), as well as 44 year old Bettie Winston and 17 year old white servant Priscilla Gentry.1870 U.S. Federal Census for Elon District, Amherst County family 463, p. 63 of 80


Death and legacy

Congressman Ridgway was interred in the family cemetery in Amherst.


See also

*
List of United States Congress members who died in office (1790–1899) The following is a list of United States senators and representatives who died of natural or accidental causes, or who killed themselves, while serving their terms between 1790 and 1899. For a list of members of Congress who were killed while in ...


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ridgway, Robert 1823 births 1870 deaths Politicians from Lynchburg, Virginia Virginia Whigs Conservative Party of Virginia politicians Conservative Party of Virginia members of the United States House of Representatives Members of the United States House of Representatives from Virginia Virginia lawyers American newspaper editors Emory and Henry College alumni University of Virginia School of Law alumni Politicians from Richmond, Virginia 19th-century American journalists American male journalists 19th-century American male writers 19th-century American politicians Journalists from Virginia 19th-century American lawyers