Philanthropy

There is a consistent thread in the philanthropic efforts of the Ridgelys on supporting children and education. Ridgely women especially became involved in both local and international causes and much of the motivation of the family came from a religious faith.

 

Knighthood award from the Republic of Liberia to Margaretta S. Ridgely, 1927.

NPS

Governor Charles Carnan Ridgely was an incorporator of the Baltimore Orphan Asylum. John and Eliza Ridgely provided the financial backing and stone for the construction of the Trinity Episcopal Church and helped aid the Orphans Asylum and the “Union Protestant Infirmary,” built in 1854 and now Union Memorial Hospital. Eliza Ridgely also made significant donations to a wide variety of religious and charitable organizations that assisted the needy. In particular, she was supportive of the Sunday School movement and assistance to impoverished women. She also meticulously recorded in her account books the numerous small gifts to poor individuals she met in daily life.

Eliza “Didy” Ridgely White Buckler became heavily involved with the education of young women. She opened a girls’ school in Warrington, Virginia. Her nieces continued this tradition. Margaretta (“Margie”) Ridgely is best known for her decades of missionary work in Liberia, for which she received a knighthood from the Liberian government. This included her founding of an Episcopal girls’ school, “The House of Bethany,” an offshoot of which is still in operation today. Margie also donated her salary to support the effort of a missionary in China.

 

Letter from David Finley to John Ridgely about his hopes to give Hampton to the Nation as a museum, 1945.

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Margie’s sister, Eliza III, was more active locally in Baltimore, as a founder of the United Women of Maryland and as a board member of the Female House of Refuge. She was also proactive in cleaning up public parks and building playgrounds in Baltimore City.

Ultimately, the Ridgelys sold the Mansion and part of the collection to the Avalon Foundation at far below market value in 1948. By choosing to do this, John Ridgely, Jr., enabled the core of the estate, buildings, collections, and stories to be preserved for future generations. He and his descendants and relatives have continued to donate significant collections of family archives and objects in the years since the establishment of Hampton National Historic Site.