John Ridgely, III

John Ridgely, III

NPS

John Ridgely, III (1911-1990), was the eldest son of Louise Roman Humrichouse (1883-1934) and John Ridgely, Jr. (1882-1959). He was born May 11, 1911, in his father’s house, Windy Knoll, at 508 Hampton Lane, which was then a part of the Hampton Estate. He and his siblings, J. Walker H. Ridgely (1915-1976) and Louis Roman Ridgely (1920-1998), spent their childhoods between Windy Knoll and their grandfather’s house at Hampton. John Ridgely, III, graduated from the Gilman School in Baltimore, after which he spent several years working in New York, where he met his future wife, Lillian M. Ketcham, a native of Connecticut. They were married at St. Patrick’s Cathedral on St. Patrick’s Day, March 16, 1935.

After their marriage, John and Lillian Ridgely settled in Baltimore, where John Ridgely began working in the printing industry. In 1936, the couple moved into the Hampton mansion with John Ridgely’s father, John Ridgely, Jr., who had been widowed in 1934, and grandfather, John Ridgely of Hampton, known as Captain John Ridgely (1851-1938). Lillian Ridgely served briefly as mistress of Hampton for these three generations of Ridgely men, being responsible for practical management of the household and the estate’s formal gardens, both of which had suffered since the death of Captain Ridgely’s wife, Helen W. S. Ridgely (1854-1929). Lillian Ridgely was a knowledgeable horticulturist and she worked diligently to restore the Hampton gardens, replanting much of the parterres herself. She also maintained the records of the Hampton Farm Dairy, which was an active industry at Hampton during that period.

 

Lillian & John Ridgely Ill in World War II uniforms

c. 1945 (NPS)

Captain John Ridgely died in 1938, and in 1940, John Ridgely, Jr., married Jane Hartman Rodney (1902-1978). At that time, John and Lillian Ridgely moved from Hampton mansion to the Hampton Farm House, a late 18th-century structure on the estate that had served chiefly as a farm overseer’s or tenant farmer’s residence. Plumbing, electricity and other modern amenities had been installed in the Farm House in the early 20th century, but John and Lillian Ridgely were the first Ridgely family members to occupy that house for several generations. They left it in 1942, when both of them joined the armed forces to serve in the war effort.

John Ridgely III of Hampton joined the US Army Air Force in 1942. The various orders, permits, and passes he kept help to document his active military service, from driving trucks in Oklahoma to enjoying the Non-Commissioned Officers Club halfway around the world in Port Moresby, Papua, New Guinea. He received training at several US air bases including Stinson Field, Texas, Tinker Field, Oklahoma, and Fort Collins, Colorado, where he received a diploma from AAF Technical School as a Squadron Technical Supply Clerk in March 1943. John was assigned to the 60th Depot Supply Squadron, and by November 1943 was on his way to the South Pacific aboard the USS Mount Vernon (see middle shelf, “V-Mail” letter to his father and “Ancient Order of the Deep” membership card for crossing the Equator.)

Tech. Sgt. John Ridgely III arrived in Japan as a member of the American occupation forces by September 1945 and was stationed there until late November. He had been provided with both specially printed currency and instructions on speaking the language. While there, he met the local people, toured the countryside, took numerous photos, and acquired souvenirs such as the Japanese “Rising Sun” flag. Another notable item he brought home was an American propaganda leaflet that had been dropped over Japan late in the war, clearly making the point, through depicting captured Pacific islands aligned with hours on a clock face, that time was running out. Shortly before leaving Japan, Sgt. Ridgely was granted leave to the Hakone Hotel, a hot springs resort in the mountains outside Tokyo.

 

John Ridgely III draft card

NPS

During the New Guinea Campaign, he wrote his uncle and aunt in Baltimore about the conditions he found at air fields on the island including heat, blinding sun, and runways of hard-packed coral sands that were in very frequent use. John returned from active duty in occupied Japan aboard the SS Uruguay in December 1945, arriving at Fort Lawton, Washington just before Christmas. Having previously been awarded battle honors for his participation in the New Guinea Campaign, John Ridgely III received an Honorable Discharge in January 1946 at Fort Meade, Maryland. He brought home not only a wealth of documents and photos, but mementos such as the artillery shell casings.

Lillian Ridgely joined the Army Nurse Corps in 1942 as well and was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant, later attaining the rank of 1st Lieutenant. She treated wounded soldiers and airmen at Regional Hospital Station at Kessler Field, Biloxi, Mississippi, from 1943 to 1946, earning a meritorious service ribbon.

 

Case with items from what John Ridgely III brought home. Items like American propaganda leaflet, memorabilia from WWII, etc.

NPS

John and Lillian Ridgely returned to Baltimore after the war, where they built a house, Spring Hollow, at 710 Hampton Lane on a portion of the Hampton Farm Property. John Ridgely, III, resumed working in the printing business for Arthur Thompson and Company, from which he retired about 1980. Lillian Ridgely pursued her avocation, horticulture. She was a charter member of the Town and Country Garden Club and very active in other local and regional garden club activities as well. In addition, she became a highly-respected wildflower photographer, exhibiting her photographs and giving lectures around the country. In the late 1950s, she produced a catalog of Maryland flora that became a standard reference guide for environmental preservation groups.

After Hampton became a National Historic Site in 1948, John and Lillian Ridgely strongly supported the Society for the Preservation of Maryland Antiquities (SPMA) and the National Park Service (NPS) in their efforts to preserve the estate and tell its story. Mr. and Mrs. Ridgely donated numerous Ridgely family artifacts to Hampton NHS, identified persons in old photographs, related their memories of life at Hampton, and supported the fundraising and publicity activities undertaken by the SPMA and the friends group that developed later from it, Historic Hampton, Inc, on behalf of Hampton.

In 1980, after the death of Jane H. R. Ridgely, John Ridgely, III, and the other heirs of John Ridgely, Jr., sold the Hampton Farm House and surrounding 14 acres with former quarters of the enslaved and other farm buildings to the National Park Service to become part of the Hampton National Historic Site.

The couple had no children. John Ridgely, III, died in 1990, and Lillian K. Ridgely died in 1996.

 

Individuals

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  Lillian Ketcham Ridgely

  Learn about Lillian, and her amazing accomplishments from being a WWII vet, a nurse, and helping run Hampton.

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  John Ridgely, Jr.

  The final owner of the Hampton Estate.

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  Learn about more

  People of Hampton

  Hundreds of people lived, worked, and were enslaved at Hampton coinciding America's development as a nation. Explore more of their stories.

 

Learn More

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  The Ridgely Family

  The Ridgely Family owned and managed the Hampton Estate for almost 200 years. Explore their impact on history!

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  The Ridgelys of Hampton

  Learn about the history of the Ridgely family at Hampton.

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  Free Black Laborers

  Free Black Laborers worked at Hampton for various reasons. A good amount did to eventually purchase their family members.

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  Revealing the Lives of the Enslaved

  A recent Ethnographic Study uncovered major information on the lives of those enslaved at Hampton and their descendants. Read about it here.

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  Slavery at Hampton

  From the colonial period through 1864, the Ridgelys enslaved over 500 people. Enslaved persons, from young children to the elderly

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  History & Culture

  History & Culture

  Hampton National Historic Site today preserves the core of what was once a vast commercial, industrial, and agricultural plantation.