Page:The Biographical Dictionary of America, vol. 09.djvu/111

 RIDDLE

RIDDLEBERGER

RIDDLE, George Read, senator, was born in Newcastle, Del., in 1817 ; a descendant of George Read, the signer. He was educated at Delaware college, studied engineering, and was engaged in locating and constructing railroads and canals in Delaware, Pennsylvania, Maryland and Virginia, 1840-48. He was admitted to the Delaware bar in 1848 ; settled in practice in Newcastle ; served as deputy attorney-general of Newcastle county, 1848-50 ; was a comniissiouer to retrace Mason and Dixon's line in 1849 ; a Democratic represent- ative from Delaware in the32d and 33d congresses, 1851-55, and was defeated for the 84tli congress in 1854. He was chairman of the committee on engraving and of the special committee on the Peruvian Guano question in the 32d and 33d congresses. He was a delegate to the Demo- cratic national conventions of 1844. 1848 and 1856. and was elected to the U. S. senate in 1864, to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of James A. Bayard, serving from Feb. 2, 1864, until his death in Washington. D.C., March 29. 1867.

RIDDLE, Matthew Brown, educator, was born in Pittsburg, Pa., Oct. 17, 1836 ; son of David Hunter (q.v.) and Elizabeth Blaine (Brown) Riddle ; grandson of the Rev. Matthew (q.v.) and Mary (Blaine) Brown ; great-grandson of Matthew Brown, a Revolutionary soldier, and greats-grandson of John Brown, whose father, John Brown of Priesthill. Scotland, the martyr covenanter, known as the " Christian Carrier," was shot in 1685 by Graham of Claverhouse, at Priesthill, in the presence of his wife and little son, John. Mr. Riddle was graduated from Jefferson college, A.B., 1852, A.M., 1855, and from the New Brunswick Theological seminary in 1859. He was adjunct professor of Greek at Jefferson college, 1857-58 ; was licensed to preach. May 26, 1859, and served during the civil war as chaplain of the 2d regiment of New Jer- sey militia. He was married, Aug. 21, 1862, to Anna M. Walther of Heidelberg, Germany. He was pastor at Hoboken, N.J., 1862-65; Newark, N.J., 1865-68; professor of New Testament ex- egesis at Hartford Theological seminar}^, 1871-87, and professor of New Testament exegesis at Western Theological seminary, Alleghen\', Pa., from 1887. He was an original member of the American Company for New Testament Revision in 1871 and of the assembly's committee for re- vising the proof texts of Westminster Standards, and also of the Committee for Revising the Con- fession of Faith (1890), The honorary degree of D.D. was conferred on him by Franklin and Marshall college in 1870, and by the College of New Jersey at the Sesqui-centennial celebration in 1896, and that of LL.D. by the Western Uni- versity of Pennsylvania in 1894. He translated and edited the epistles to the Romans, Galatians,

Ephesians and Colossians in the American edition of Lange's Commentary (1869, new edit., 1886) ; edited the gospels of Mark and Luke for the American edition of Meyer's commentary ( 1884) ; revised and edited Edward Robinson's " Greek Harmony of the Gospels" (1885), and Robinson's "• Englisii Harmony" (1886). He contributed to Schaff's "Popular Illustrated Commentar}- on the New Testament" (1878-83) ; and to Coxe's edi- tion of the "Ante-Nicene Fathers" (2 vols.), to Schaff's " Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers " (2 vols.), and with the Rev. John E. Todd, prepai-ed the notes on the International Sunday -School Lessons for the Congregational Publishing society of Boston, 1877-81 ; and from 1894 wrote on the Lessons from the New Testament in the Sunday School. Times, Pliiladelphia. In 1903 he was one of the two surviving members of the American cojupany who prepared the '• Standard Edition of the Revised New Testament " (1901) ; the other being Ex-President Timothy Dwight of Yale,

RIDDLEBERGER, Harrison Holt, senator, was born in Edinburg, Va., Oct. 4, 1844 ; son of Madison and Susan (Shryock) Riddleberger and grandson of Jacob and Amelia (Heiskel) Shryock. He studied under a private tutor, and in March, 1802, raised a company for the Confederate army and entered the service as 2d lieutenant of in- fantrj^. He took part in the Richmond, Mar}-- land and Pennsylvania campaigns ; was promoted captain, and transferred to the cavalry ; was cap- tured, and held as a prisoner of war from July, 1864, He returned to Edinburg in April, 1865, where he became editor of Tlie Tenth Legion Banner. He married Nov, 29, 1866, Emma V., daughter of Peter and Elizabeth (Samuels) Belew of Edinburg. He represented Shenandoah county in the Virginia legislature, 1871-75. He was ad- mitted to the bar in 1875, and settled in practice in Woodstock. He served as commonwealth's attorney for Shenandoah county, 1876-80 ; was a presidential elector on the Democratic ticket in 1876, and on the Readjuster ticket in 1880 ; a member of the Virginia senate, 1876-81, where he served as chairman of the committee on Federal relations, and as a member of that on courts of justice. He became editor of the Virginian, a Republican newspaper, published in Woodstock in 1881, having previously edited the Shenandoah Democrat. He was elected to the United States senate in 1881, and served in that body, 1883-89, all of the time as chairman of the committee on manufactures, and as a member of the committee on naval affairs, on the District of Columbia and on education and labor. He labored actively for the rejection of the proposed extradition treaty with Great Britain, for which he received resolu- tions of thanks from Irish societies of the L'nited States. He died in Woodstock, Va,, Jan. 24, lb90.