Page:Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography (1900, volume 5).djvu/276

250 was made captain, 28 Feb., 1815, and was flag-officer, commanding tin.- West India squadron, in 1827-'30, protecting the commerce of the United .Slates and suppressing piracy. He was in charge of the Brooklyn navy-yard 'from 1833 till 1839, served as flag-officer, commanding the Brazil squad- ron from 1840 till 1843. and then on waiting orders until his death in 1*4*.

RIDUELY, Charles, physician, b. in Dover, Del., 30 Jan.. 1738; d. there. 35 Xov.. 1785. He was educated at the Philadelphia academy, studied medicine under Dr. Phineas Bond, and begun t" practise in 1758 at Dover, Del., where he passed his life. From 1765, with few intervals, till his death he was a member of the Delaware legisla- ture. He was presiding judge in Kent county of the court of common pleas, and before the Revolu- tion of the quarter sessions. He was elected a dele- gate to the State constitutional convention, and was afterward called again to the bench, which he occupied during the remainder of his life. His son. Nicholas, jurist, b. in Dover, Del., 30 Sept.. 17IJ3: d. in Georgetown. Del., 1 April. 1830, studied law, was admitted to the bar <>f his native state, and after practising several years became successively attorney-general and member of the legislature. In 1801 he was appointed chancellor of the state of Delaware, and held that office fur twenty-nine years until his death, that event occurring while the court over which he presided was in session. His half-brother, Henry Moore, senator, b. in Dover, Del. in 1778; d. there, 7 Aug., 1S47. re- ceived a good education, studied law, was ad- mitted to the bar, and began to practise at Dover. He was elected and re-elected to congress as a Fed- crali-t. serving from 4 Nov., 1811, .till 3 March. 1815. He then returned to Dover and continued in practise his profession until he was eleeted I". S. senator from Delaware in place of Nicholas Van Dyke, dei-eased. He held the seat from 33 Jan.. 1837. till '', .March, 1839, when he retired and re- sumed the practice of his profession.

RIDGELY, Charles, governor of Maryland, b. 6 Dec., 1703; d. at Hampton, his estate, Baltimore co., Md., 17 July, 1839. His name was originally Charles Ridgely Carnan. but he was adopted by his ! uncle, Capt. Charles Ridgely, who left him a for- i tune at his death in 1790, on condition that he should change his name. He served in the state senate, and was chosen governor of Maryland three times successively, in 1815-'17. He was also briga- dier-general of Maryland militia. Gov. Ridgely was t he owner of about 400 slaves, all of whom he manumitted by his will.

RIDGELY, Daniel Boone, naval officer, b. near Lexington, Ky., 1 Aug., 1813; d. in Philadel- phia, Pa., 5 May, 1868. He entered the navy as midshipman. 1 April, 1838, and was commissioned lieutenant, 10 Sept., 1840. During the Mexican war he was attached to the sloop " Albany," and participated in the bombardment and capture of Vrra I'm/. Tnspan, Alvarado, and Tarapico in 1846-'9. He was attached to the naval observa- tory at Washington in 1850-"2, cruised in the sloop " Germantown " in 1854 in the West Indies, and was commissioned commander, 14 Sept., 1855. In 1857-'8 he commanded the steamer " Atalanta" in the Paraguayan expedition. He was on leave when the civil war began, but volunteered for aei i e ser- vice promptly, commanded the steamer Santiago de Cuba" in the West Indies during the early part of the contest, from 1861 till 180:1, and was suc- cessful in capturing blockade-runners, lie was commissioned captain, 16 July, 1803. In lsi!4-'5 he commanded the steamer " Shenanduah " on I ho North Atlantic blockade, and assisted in both at- tacks on Fort Fisher. In the year 1865 he was on the " Powhatan " with Admiral Rodgers's squad- ron in the Pacific ocean, and returned in com- mand of the steamer " Lancaster " in 1867. Capt. Ridgely. was promoted to the rank of commodore, 25 July, 1806, and was a member of the board of naval examiners at Philadelphia in the year 1867 and at the time of his death.

RIDGELY, James Lot, author, b. in Balti- more, Md., 27 Jan., 1807 ; d. there, 16 Nov.. 1881. lie was educated at St. Mary's college. Baltimore, and at Mount St. Mary's college. Kmmettsburg, Md.. ~tudied law, was admitted to the bar in 1838, and began to practise in his native city. He was a member of the city council in 1834-'5, of the state house of delegates in 1838, and of the Consti- tutional conventions of 1849 and 1864. He was for twelve years register of wills for Baltimore county, several years president of the board, of education, and aided in establishing the present public-school system in 1848. He was appointed by President Lincoln collector of internal revenue, and for many years was president of a fire-insurance company. He became an Odd-Fellow in 1839, was a member of the Grand lodge of Maryland in 1830. and of the Grund lodge of the United" States in 1831. In 1836 he was elected grand sire by the latter, and in 1842 he became grand recording and corresponding sec- retary. He is the principal author of the various rituals that are now in use. He had also written " Odd-Fellowship What is It ? " " The Odd-Fel- low's Pocket Companion" (Philadelphia, 1853); and many other works of a similar character. He was the editor of " The Covenant,'' the official magazine of the order.

 RIDGWAY, Robert, ornithologist, b. in Mount Carmel, Ill., 3 July, 1850. He was educated at common schools in his native town, where he showed a special fondness for natural history. A correspondence with Spencer F. Baird in 1864 led to his appointment, three years later, as naturalist to the U. S. geological exploration of the 40th parallel, under Clarence King. Since that time he has been chiefly occupied in government work, and in 1879 he was appointed curator of the department of birds in the U. S. national museum, which place he now (1898) holds. Mr. Ridgway received the degree of M. S. from the Indiana state university in 1884, and has been vice-president of the Ornithologists' union since its organization in 1884. He is also corresponding member of the Zoological society of London, and the Academies of science of New York, Davenport, and Chicago, foreign member of the British ornithologists' union, and member of the permanent ornithological committee (Vienna), also honorary member of the Nuttall ornithological club of Cambridge, Mass., the Brookville, Ind., society of natural history, and of the Ridgway ornithological club of Chicago, Ill. His published papers exceed 300 in number. Many of them have appeared in the &ldquo;Proceedings of the U. S. National Museum&rdquo; and are descriptive of new species and races of American birds, as well as several catalogues of North American and other birds contained in the museum. He was joint author with Spencer F. Baird and Thomas M. Brewer of &ldquo;A History of North American Birds&rdquo; (3 vols., Boston, 1874), and of &ldquo;The Water Birds of North America&rdquo; (2 vols., 1884), in which he wrote the technical parts. He is the author of &ldquo;Report on Ornithology of the Fortieth Parallel&rdquo; (Washington, 1877); &ldquo;A Nomenclature of Colors for Naturalists&rdquo; (Boston, 1886); and &ldquo;Manual of North American Birds&rdquo; (Philadelphia, 1887).