Conditions Governing Reproduction and Use

The copyright status of this collection is unknown. Copyright restrictions may apply. Contact Special Collections and University Archives for assistance in determining the use of these materials. Reproduction or digitization of materials for personal or research use can be requested using our reproduction/digitization form: http://bit.ly/scuareproduction . Reproduction or digitization of materials for publication or exhibit use can be requested using our publication/exhibition form: http://bit.ly/scuapublication . Please contact Special Collections and University Archives (specref@vt.edu or 540-231-6308) if you need assistance with forms or to submit a completed form.

Conditions Governing Access

Collection is open for research.

Preferred Citation

Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: [identification of item], [box], [folder], Pauline Kirtley McPherson Collection, Ms1993-017, Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va.

Source of Acquisition

The Pauline Kirtley McPherson Collection was donated to Special Collections in 1993.

Processing Information

The processing, arrangement, and description of the Pauline Kirtley McPherson Collection commenced in October, 2013 and was completed in January, 2014.

Biographical Note

Completed by Captain Charles Ridgely Jr. in 1790, following seven years of construction, Hampton Mansion (or Hampton House) was considered at the time to be the largest private home in America and continues to be a noted example of Georgian architecture. The mansion, located north of Towson (Baltimore County), Maryland, continued to be home to the Ridgely family until 1947, when it was acquired by a private foundation and opened to the public as a museum administered by the Society for the Preservation of Maryland Antiquities. In 1979, the mansion and grounds were acquired by the National Park Service, which manages the estate as Hampton National Historic Site.

Founder of the Ridgely family of Hampton, Colonel Charles Ridgely Jr. (1702-1772), son of Charles and Deborah Dorsey Ridgely, was born in Prince George's County, Maryland. In 1734, he moved to Baltimore, County, Maryland, where he engaged in agriculture, mercantile business, and iron-forging. Known as "Charles the Merchant," Ridgely married Rachel Howard and the couple would have seven children, five of whom survived to adulthood: John, Pleasance, Achsah, Charles III, and Rachel. Like his father, Captain Charles Ridgely III (1733-1790) engaged in agriculture and iron-forging. In 1790, Ridgely (also known as "Charles the Builder") completed construction of Hampton Mansion, which would continue to be home to his family for nearly 200 years.

As Charles Ridgely III and his wife, Rebecca Dorsey, had no children, the mansion was bequeathed to Ridgely's nephew, Charles Ridgely Carnan (1760-1829), on the condition that he adopt Ridgely as his surname. As heir of Hampton, Carnan/Ridgely expanded the size of the plantation, including its various agricultural, mining, milling, and mercantile interests. Carnan/Ridgely served as Baltimore County delegate in the Maryland House of Delegates (1790-1795), state senator (1796-1800) and as Maryland's governor (1815-1818). He and wife Priscilla Dorsey would have 14 children, and the ownership of Hampton and part of the surrounding estate was passed to their son, John Carnan Ridgely.

Born in 1790, John Carnan Ridgely continued to operate the Hampton plantation. In 1828, he married Eliza Eichelberger (daughter of Nichalas Greenbury Ridgely), a distant cousin, and the couple would have five children: Eliza, Charles, Priscilla, Nicholas, and Julia. Upon John Ridgely's death, their son Charles (1830-1872) and his wife Margaretta Sophia Howard Ridgely, would become owners of Hampton.

Charles and Margaretta Ridgely's son, John Ridgely, the fifth "master of of Hampton," was born in 1851. He married Helen West Stewart (1854-1929), a genealogist, antiquarian and writer. Together, the couple managed Hampton, bringing many updates to the mansion. Their son, John (1882-1959), became the last Ridgely to reside in the mansion. After graduating from the University of Maryland School of Law, he moved to St. Louis, where he worked for the Maryland Casualty Company. Later, Ridgely returned to Hampton but found it impossible to maintain the estate, which he sold in 1947.

Pauline Kirtley was born ca. 1902 in Maryland, the daughter of George and Beatrice Kirtley. From 1955 to 1972, she served as resident curator of Hampton House Museum. Pauline Kirtley married David L. McPherson, and the couple had two children.

Scope and Contents

This collection contains materials relating to the Hampton Mansion (or Hampton House) in Towson, Maryland, and the home's longtime owners, the Ridgely family. Materials on the family include not only original letters, diaries, personal memorabilia, and financial records, but also research notes and correspondence about the family. Materials on the mansion include printed materials, administrative documents and correspondence, research notes, and early 20th-century guestbooks.

Arrangement

The collection is arranged in two series:

Series I. Ridgely and Related Families, 1777-1984. This series contains materials relating to several generations of the Ridgely family, longtime owners of Hampton Mansion. The series contains materials created by family members (including correspondence, diaries, genealogical records, and financial documents) as well as later research materials and correspondence about them. Many of the materials in this series seem to have been compiled by genealogist and writer Helen West Stewart Ridgely, wife of Captain John Ridgely. Among the non-Ridgely related material, the series concentrates heavily on Helen Stewart Ridgely's ancestral lines: the Stewarts, Sampsons, and Moultons. In addition to files on the immediate family, the series also contains information on related lines. Among the notable or unusual items in the series in addition to the materials described above, the series contains expense books and a published memoir of Leonice Marston Sampson Moulton, together with a photograph of Cedarmere, home of Moulton's longtime friend William Cullen Bryant; the diaries of Helen West Stewart Ridgely and her daughter Helen; Ridgely household expense books maintained by Helen West Ridgely; a lock of hair from a member of the Stewart family; and an Armistice Day poem written by John Russell Mackey and inscribed to Sarah Stewart in 1927. A folder at the end of the series for other related families includes a notebook containing genealogical information on many of the Ridgelys and others. The series is arranged alphabetically by subject name. (A single file, however, may contain information on several different individuals, including spouses and descendants.)

Series II. Hampton House, 1903-1992. The focus in this series is on the latter-day administration of Hampton Mansion as a museum and national historic site. The series includes such items as printed materials, correspondence, and research notes relating to the house, its gardens, outbuildings, history, architecture, furnishings, events, and restoration efforts. Among the materials are guides, cookbooks issued by the staff, reports on the home's history, and information for and about docents and hostesses. Also included in the series are notebooks from the early 20th century chronicling guests and activities at the mansion while it was still owned by the Ridgely family. At the end of the series are a few folders relating to other historic sites in the surrounding area. Among these is a small album of scenes from nearby Loch Raven, featuring photographs by Osborne I. Yellott. Apart from these few folders, the series is arranged alphabetically by subject.

Subjects and Indexing Terms

• Hampton National Historic Site (Md.)
• McPherson, Pauline Kirtley
• Ridgely family

Rights Statement for Archival Description

The guide to the Pauline Kirtley McPherson Collection by Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, is licensed under a CC0 ( https://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/public-domain/cc0/ ).