Date Created: 1868
Description: The head of the allegorical figure of Love is a portrait of Little Willie Buckler (1867-1953), the son of Eliza "Didy" Ridgely White Buckler (1828-1894) and her second husband Dr. Thomas Hepburn Buckler (1812-1901). Although originally believed to by American expatriate sculptor William H...
Date Created: 1843
Description: This is one of two delightful drawings depicting children at large parties with dancing done by Sophie Latimer Hoffman, a Baltimore school friend of Eliza "Didy" Ridgely (1828-1894). She sent them to Didy in 1843 along with another satirical drawing poking fun at their school mistress....
Date Created: 1872
Description: A family friend of the Ridgelys who was traveling with them in Europe in the early 1870s, the girl in this portrait was painted in Paris by expatriate artist and engraver Thomas B. Welch (1814-1874). The artist also completed a companion portrait of Margaretta Sophia Ridgely (1869-1949), the...
Date Created: 1790-1810
Description: Painted furniture was popular at Hampton from the time Charles Carnan Ridgely (1760-1829) purchased a suite of white and gilt painted seating furniture in New York in 1797. Around the same time, he also acquired a set of painted armchairs of English manufacture, two of which survive in the Hampton...
Date Created: 1-May-45
Description: The list of officers and men in the Supply Squadron of the 60th Air Depot Group receiving battle honors for service during the New Guinea campaign during World War II includes the name of Staff Sergeant John Ridgely III.
Date Created: 1830-1850
Description: Horses played a major role in the life at Hampton under third master John Ridgely. Rather than continuing his father Charles Carnan Ridgely’s focus on horseracing, John was especially interested in swift carriage horses. He also purchased expensive carriages such as this to transport his family in...
Date Created: 1790
Description: In addition to selecting European wares, Rebecca Dorsey Ridgely also purchased Chinese export porcelains, such as this Chien Lung period bowl. As recorded on a paper label underneath, the bowl descended through the family of her niece, namesake, and heir, Rebecca Pue.
Date Created: 1767
Description: Captain Charles Ridgely (1733-1790) was the builder and first master of Hampton. A ship’s captain in his early career (note the telescope depicted in his hand), he retired from the sea and assumed control of the family iron business in 1763. He also operated a mercantile business in Baltimore Town...
Date Created: 1940
Description: Always styled “Captain,” John Ridgely (1851-1938) was the eldest son of Hampton’s fourth master Charles Ridgely (1830-1872) and Margaretta Sophia Howard Ridgely (1824-1904). He technically became fifth master of the estate upon the death of his father in Rome in 1872, but his mother continued the...
Date Created: 1873
Description: These are unusual photographs on glass from the early 1870s. Capt. John Ridgely (1851-1938) was then a young man dressed in a suit, tie, and academic robes. John had completed his education at Trinity College, Cambridge University in England before returning to Hampton after his father Charles...
Date Created: 1882
Description: Capt. John Ridgely was especially interested in Hampton’s prize-winning herd of Jersey dairy cattle. In this booklet, he meticulously recorded the names, birth dates, heritage, and features of each cow. His wife, Helen West Stewart Ridgely, later annotated the entries with “dead” or “sold” as...
Date Created: 1950 (after 1820 original)
Description: Charles Carnan Ridgely (1760-1829), son of John and Achsah Ridgely Carnan, sister of Captain Charles Ridgely (1733-1790), was educated and trained in business by his uncle. When Capt. Ridgely died childless in 1790, Charles Ridgely Carnan inherited the Hampton estate, iron furnaces, and additional...
Date Created: 1873
Description: In 1870, Charles Ridgely (1830-1872) went abroad with his family for an extended trip to Europe. Even while away, however, he remained very interested in Hampton and maintained an active correspondence with the estate managers. Unfortunately, while visiting Rome in the spring of 1872, he was...
Date Created: 1868
Description: Hampton’s fourth master Charles Ridgely (1830-1872) was the second child of John Ridgely (1790-1867) and Eliza Eichelberger Ridgely (1803-1867). He received his early education at the highly regarded Mr. McNally’s school in Baltimore, went briefly to school in Paris in the winter of 1847-1848, and...
Date Created: 1830
Description: This book was inscribed by Margaretta S. Ridgely (1869-1949) who may have acquired it in London as a child during her family’s visit in 1870. However, it may have first been owned by her mother Margaretta Howard Ridgely (1824-1904). The book can be dated by the style of the fashions in the...
Date Created: 1820
Description: This elegant serving piece bears a mark printed in purple used by the Coalport factory only in the early 1820s: a circle of laurel leaves surrounding "COALPORT/ Feltspar/ Porcelain" and in an outer circle, "The Gold Medal Awarded May 30 1820 Patronized by the Society of Arts."
Date Created: 1930
Description: This gelatin print of the dairy at Hampton shows a building that remained largely unchanged from the 19th century through the 20th century. In addition to being consumed on the estate, milk from the Hampton dairy was sold commercially until mid-century. The operation employed several workers...
Date Created: 1841
Description: This charming small portrait of Eliza "Didy" Ridgely (1828-1894) is likely the work of English miniaturist George L. Saunders. The Memorandum Book of Didy’s father, John Ridgely (1790-1867), records “Pd. G. L. Saunders for portrait…$122.00” in June 1841 and “Pd. G. L. Saunders bill…$606....
Date Created: 1868
Description: This charming statue shows Eliza "Didy" Ridgely White Buckler (1828-1894) holding her infant son William H. Buckler (1867-1953). In later life, Willie Buckler said that it was sculpted “…in Rome by Romanelli in the spring of 1868.” Willie, his parents, his older half-brothers Henry and...
Date Created: 1950 (after 1818 original)
Description: In 1828, John Ridgely married his second wife, Eliza Eichelberger Ridgely (1803-1867), daughter of Nicholas Greenbury Ridgely (1770-1829), a prominent and prosperous Baltimore merchant. Although the two believed they were distant cousins, no common descent for the two Ridgely families has been...
Date Created: 1862
Description: Little Miss Eliza Ridgely (1858-1954) looks none too happy to be having her photograph taken in a Baltimore studio. She pays little attention to the doll lying on her lap. The eldest daughter of Charles and Margaretta Howard Ridgely was named for her grandmother and aunt. She became a social...
Date Created: 1850
Description: Evil Deeds and Evil Consequences was given as a Christmas present to Charles Ridgely, Jr. (1853-1873) in 1857 by his great, great Uncle Otho Eichelberger, who perhaps felt the four year old needed some firm admonition. The remarkable and vivid illustrations and stories might scare a child into good...
Date Created: 1800
Description: Priscilla Dorsey Ridgely inscribed this copy of the bible. Like her older sister Rebecca, the first mistress of Hampton, she was a pious and ardent supporter of the Methodist denomination.
Date Created: 1864
Description: In 1864, Eliza "Didy" Ridgely White (1828-1894) took her extended family to Newport, Rhode Island for the summer, where they stayed at the Bruen Villa on Bellevue Avenue. Several family members and their servants are seen on the porch in this photo, among them family companion Mary Evans...
Date Created: 1770
Description: This is a part of a fireback cast at the Northampton Iron Works, established by Colonel Charles Ridgely and his sons John and Captain Charles in 1761. The iron furnace and forges were located about two miles north of the current location of Hampton mansion. Firebacks were used to protect the bricks...
Date Created: 1904
Description: Helen West Stewart Ridgely (1854-1929) was the wife of Hampton’s fifth master, Capt. John Ridgely (1851-1938). She was a highly accomplished woman: a talented writer, antiquarian, artist, genealogist, manager, and hostess. She was the author of two books still considered standard references, The...
Date Created: 1904
Description: Helen West Stewart Ridgely (1854-1929) was the wife of Hampton’s fifth master, Capt. John Ridgely (1851-1938). She was a highly accomplished woman: a talented writer, antiquarian, artist, genealogist, manager, and hostess. She was the author of two books still considered standard references, The...
Date Created: 1858
Description: Henry White II (1850-1927), eldest grandson of John and Eliza Ridgely, accompanied by his mother Eliza “Didy” Ridgely White and brother Julian White visited to Florence, Italy in the winter of 1857-58. A group of three statues, the first of several pieces of statuary ordered by Didy, were...
Date Created: 1936
Description: Identified and dated in an inscription on the photo, a man who may be one of the tenant farmers or farm workers at Hampton is seen holding a dog near the farm side of the estate to the north of the mansion. The cow barn is nearby and the corn crib can be seen in the background.
Date Created: 1862
Description: Howard Ridgely (1855-1900) and his younger brother Otho Ridgely (1856-1929) pose for a studio photograph with their pet squirrel on a leash. Other Ridgely family children kept pets, and their aunt Eliza "Didy" Ridgely White Buckler (1828-1894) also had a pet squirrel, whose antics she...
Date Created: 1841
Description: John Ridgely (1790-1867) was the first child born in Hampton Hall and third master of the estate. He became the heir after the untimely death of his elder brother, Charles Carnan Ridgely, Jr. (1783-1819). When his father Charles Carnan Ridgely died in 1829, the Hampton “empire” was largely reduced...
Date Created: 1940
Description: John Ridgely III (1911-1990) and Lillian Ketcham Ridgely (1908-1996) are seen in this snapshot as a young married couple. Although John was never officially a master of the Hampton estate, as the eldest son of John Ridgely, Jr. (1882-1959) and Louise Roman Humichouse Ridgely (1883-1934), he and his...
Date Created: 1943
Description: This photograph shows John Ridgely III (1911-1990) and his wife Lillian Ketcham Ridgely (1908-1996); both served their country during World War II. John served overseas in the Pacific theater in the Army Air Corps. Lil, serving as a nurse, was commissioned a lieutenant in the Women’s Army Corps....
Date Created: 1856
Description: Although to our modern eyes some of the children in this painting may appear to be girls due to their clothing, all the individuals depicted are boys. John Ridgely (1851-1938) and his brother Charles Ridgely (1853-1873) (on the right) are shown with their first cousins Henry White II (1850-1927)...
Date Created: 1940
Description: The Hampton herd of registered Jersey cattle continued to be a significant part of the life and business of the estate into the mid-20th century. John Ridgely, Jr. (1882-1959) is seen in this snapshot taken from the Ridgely family’s final decade as owners of Hampton with two fine calves from the...
Date Created: 1951
Description: John Ridgely, Jr. (1882-1959), the son of Capt. John Ridgely (1851-1938) and Helen West Stewart Ridgely (1854-1929), was the sixth and final master of the Hampton estate. In the late 1920s, he established the Hampton Development Company which constructed and sold houses on Hampton lands near the...
Date Created: 1861
Description: John Ridgely, Jr. (1851-1938), eldest child of Hampton’s fourth master Charles Ridgely and his wife Margaretta Howard Ridgely, become the fifth master of the estate. This studio portrait shows him dressed in soldier suit, complete with epaulettes, sword, and knee-length boots. It was one 23 carte-...
Date Created: 1948
Description: This image, taken by renowned Maryland photographer A. Aubrey Bodine, was published on the cover of the Baltimore Sun magazine in June, 1948. John Ridgely, Jr. (1882-1959) and his second wife, Jane Rodney Ridgely (1902-1978), and a servant are seen on the front steps of Hampton taking leave of the...
Date Created: 1907
Description: Louise Roman Humichouse (1883-1934) wed John Ridgely, Jr. (1882-1959), Hampton’s sixth and final master, in 1907. This formal wedding photograph by Kajiwaba Studio, was taken in her hometown of Hagerstown, Maryland. After their marriage, John and Louise built their own home about a half mile west...
Date Created: 1820
Description: This dish is part of a large dessert service originally ordered by Charles Carnan Ridgely of which 17 plates and 10 serving dishes survive. The pieces are embellished with Ridgely family stag’s head crest.
Date Created: 1898
Description: Margaretta S. Ridgely (1869-1949) was the youngest daughter of Charles (1830-1872) and Margaretta Howard Ridgely (1824-1904). After her mother’s death, she became an Episcopal missionary in Africa, founding a girl’s school in Liberia where she spent 28 years. The Liberian government eventually...
Date Created: 1865
Description: This carte-de-visite taken in a Baltimore photo studio around the end of the Civil War shows Margaretta Sophia Howard Ridgely (1824-1904), wife of Hampton’s fourth master Charles Ridgely (1830-1872). Her maternal grandfather was Governor Charles Carnan Ridgely, meaning that she and her husband were...
Date Created: 1897
Description: In a photo taken just a few years before her death, Margaretta Sophia Howard Ridgely (1824-1904) is seen strolling the brick terrace south of the mansion, accompanied by one of her three daughters, Juliana Ridgely Yeaton (1862-1951). The photo is in an album compiled in 1897 by Helen Morris Ridgely...
Date Created: 1900
Description: Evidence in photographs indicates that Mary worked at Hampton for at least 40 years. She is seen here leaning over one of the garden urns on the great terrace.
Date Created: Aug. 1936
Description: An inscription on is snapshot “Mary, Aug 1936” identifies one of the long-time servants at Hampton. Mary had many roles at Hampton including cook. She is seen in front of the octagonal servants quarters, found just east of the mansion until the building burned in 1945.
Date Created: 1863
Description: Nancy Davis (1833 - 1908) was born a slave at Cowpens, the Howard family plantation near Hampton. However, she was free by the time this image was taken at a Baltimore photo studio during the Civil War. Davis was then nursemaid for little Eliza Ridgely (1858-1954), the daughter of Charles and...
Date Created: 1895
Description: Nancy Davis (1833-1908) greets Juliana Ridgely Yeaton (1862-1951) and Margaretta Sophia Ridgely (1869-1949), daughters of Charles and Margaretta Howard Ridgely who the longtime Ridgely family servant had cared for when they were children. Margaretta Howard Ridgely’s half brother James McHenry...
Date Created: 1847
Description: During a lengthy trip abroad in 1846-1848, Charles Ridgely (1830-1872) and his family lived for extended periods of time in Paris. During this time, the teenager’s education was not neglected, and he attended school. This notebook, written in French, records his chemistry lessons, with most notes...
Date Created: 1875
Description: Helen West Stewart Ridgely (1854-1929) was a talented amateur artist who loved to paint landscape views in watercolor. Hampton NHS’s collection contains dozens of her works painted both in Maryland and during trips abroad. Helen was also interested in photography and took many images of historic...
Date Created: 1929
Description: This Permit of Residence allows Margaretta S. Ridgely to live for one year in Liberia. Then sixty years old, Margaretta spent 1929 as her twenty-fifth year residing in the country where she served as an Episcopal missionary and founded a school for girls. Instead of collecting her salary as a...