Charles Ridgely II
Col. Charles Ridgely II, "Charles The Merchant" (1702–1772) of "Ridgely's Whim", a Justice, planter, mechant, ironmaster, and member of the Lower House. Charles II was the son of Charles Ridgely I, "Charles The Planter" (c. 1670 – 1705) and Deborah Dorsey (c. 1685 – 1752).
Ridgely was born in Prince George's County, and still a minor at the death of his father in 1705. He inherited the estates "White Wine" and "Claret" from his grandfather Hon. John Dorsey, Capt. (c. 1645 – 1715), although he never lived at either. At the time they totaled 1,400 acres (5.7 km2) between them, and Ridgely later resurveyed them into 2,145 acres (8.68 km2) by adding some surplus land.
Ridgely married Rachel Howard (c. 1696 – 1750) of "Hampton", in about 1722. Rachel was born in about 1696 in Baltimore, Maryland, and died in 1750 in Baltimore County. Rachel was the daughter of Captain John Howard Jr. (c. 1667 – 1704) and his first wife Mary Warfield (c. 1670 – 1699).
Ridgely became a justice of the peace in Baltimore County in 1741, a position he held until 1753, and became a Justice of the Quorum in 1750. In addition he served as a justice of the Especial Court of Oyer, Terminer, and Gaol Delivery in 1748 and 1750. Ridgely served on the lower house of the general assembly in Baltimore County from 1751 to 1754, and at the same time county commissioner. Ridgely was commissioned a major in 1751, and became a colonel by 1757. He was also a vestryman and churchwarden of St. Paul's Parish.
Upon his marriage to Rachel, he acquired the estate known as "Howard's Timber Neck" from his father-in-law. In 1732, this land was combined with another property known as "Brotherly Love", resurveyed and termed "Ridgely's Delight". In 1735, Ridgely began leasing parcels of land in "Ridgely's Delight". The historic district and neighborhood which remains today and is still known as "Ridgely's Delight", is situated on what was first a Susquehannock Indian path, and in the Federal period, a main highway from Washington to Philadelphia (now Washington Boulevard). The earliest houses within today's boundaries of "Ridgely's Delight" date from about 1804. A large portion of the development of "Ridgely's Delight" occurred between 1816 and 1875, with particular intensity during the 1840s and 1850s.
He was the first of the family to reside in Baltimore County when he moved there in 1734. He became a gentleman by 1738, and esquire by 1748, and was styled "Charles The Merchant". Ridgely was a planter, merchant, ironmaster, and owner of a furnace and forges. Although his mercantile base was in Baltimore Town and Baltimore County, his interests extended into Anne Arundel County where he purchased tobacco, crops, livestock, and slaves from at least 1736 through the 1740s.
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