Charles Carnan Ridgely | |
|---|---|
 portrait by Thomas Sully | |
| State House of Delegates District, Baltimore County | |
| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Maryland | |
| In office 1790–1795 | |
| Constituency | Baltimore County |
| 15th Governor of Maryland | |
| In office January 2, 1816 – January 8, 1819 | |
| Preceded by | Levin Winder |
| Succeeded by | Charles Goldsborough |
| Member of the Maryland Senate | |
| In office 1796–1800 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | December 6, 1760 Baltimore, Province of Maryland, British America |
| Died | July 17, 1829 (aged 68) Baltimore County, Maryland, U.S. |
| Resting place | Family Vault, Hampton, Baltimore, Maryland |
| Spouse | Priscilla Dorsey |
| Children | 13[1] |
| Residence(s) | 'Hampton', Baltimore County, Maryland |
| Profession | Politician |
Charles Carnan Ridgely (December 6, 1760 – July 17, 1829) was born Charles Ridgely Carnan.[2] He is also known as Charles Ridgely of Hampton.[2] He served as the 15th Governor of the state of Maryland in the United States from 1815 to 1818. He also served in the Maryland House of Delegates from 1790 to 1795, and in the Maryland State Senate from 1796 to 1800. Charles was born in Baltimore. He was the son of John Carnan and Achsah Ridgely, sister of Captain Charles Ridgely. The Maryland Gazette described him as an aristocrat.
"As a Senator or Delegate, justly appreciating the merits and demerits of the human character, he always avoided visionary schemes and dangerous experiments." (Maryland Gazette)[3] Ridgely devoted his tenure to internal improvements. He devoted his attention to the state during the unpopular war with Great Britain. It appropriated ground for the erection of a Battle Monument in Baltimore, aided education, and chartered manufacturing and insurance companies, so that 'during his administration, the State enjoyed its greatest period of prosperity.' Ridgely passed an act which provided education for the poor in five separate counties; which was seen as important to the early development of public education in Maryland. A second act created the Commissioners of the School Fund. The act appropriated a fund to establish free schools within the state of Maryland.[1]
- ^ a b Archives of Maryland (Biographical Series): Charles Ridgely of Hampton (1760–1829), March 31, 2011. Maryland State Archives
- ^ a b Gerson G. Eisenberg, Marylanders Who Served the Nation: A Biographical Dictionary of Federal Officials from Maryland (Annapolis: Maryland State Archives, 1992), 181.
- ^ Maryland Gazette Collection MSA SC 3447; January 1, 1829 – December 31, 1835 M 1290. A Publication of the Archives of Maryland Online. Image 129