John Ritchie (abolitionist)

John Ritchie (July 17, 1817 – August 31, 1887) was an abolitionist who moved from Franklin, Indiana to Topeka, Kansas Territory, in early spring of 1855 in search of cheap land and to help Kansas enter the country as a "free" state.

His wife, Mary Jane Shelledy Ritchie, was the fifth woman to settle in Topeka and their young son, Hale was the third child.

As early settlers they lived in a dugout through the first winter and around 1856 had constructed and moved in to a limestone house that still stands in Topeka today, located at 1116 SE Madison. He was selected to serve as a delegate in two of the four Kansas constitutional conventions: Leavenworth (1858) and Wyandotte (1859).

Ritchie was part of the Bleeding Kansas episode in history and was engaged in various acts opposing the expansion of slavery in Kansas Territory. Ritchie was a close associate and supporter of the notorious politician James H. Lane, Lane in turn supported Ritchie's later rise in rank during the American Civil War. Ritchie was associated with the "Topeka Boys" and operated a "station" on the Underground Railroad. In January 1859, Ritchie helped John Brown and eleven slaves elude federal troops and escape to Nebraska. He enlisted in the Union Army at the outset of the Civil War and served as lieutenant colonel of the 5th Regiment Kansas Volunteer Cavalry and later as the colonel of the 2nd Regiment, Indian Home Guard. He received a brevet promotion to brigadier general on February 21, 1865.

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