Samuel Ringgold (January 15, 1770 – October 18, 1829), a Democratic-Republican, he served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1810 to 1821 with the exception of one two-year absence, was a brigadier general in the Maryland militia during the War of 1812 and father of two sons with distinguished military careers, Samuel and Cadwalader.

Early life and career

Samuel Ringgold was born in Chestertown, Maryland, the second son of Thomas Ringgold V, a merchant, revolutionary and slave trader and Mary Galloway Ringgold. Ringgold's father died young. After his father's death, Ringgold's mother relocated her children, Thomas Ringgold VI, Samuel, Benjamin, Tench and Anna Maria to Washington County, Maryland, where her family owned considerable landholdings that would later become the Fountain Rock plantation.

Plantation and political life

In contrast to his forebears, who were known as merchants and long time denizens of Maryland's Eastern Shore, Samuel Ringgold grew up in a landed, agrarian setting in Maryland's interior, outside of Hagerstown, Maryland. At Fountain Rock, the family grew corn and wheat, eventually becoming one of the largest slave holding plantations in all of Maryland.

As a young man, Samuel would serve on the vestry of the local Saint John's Church. By the time he was 25 he was elected to the Maryland House of Delegates (1795) and later served in the Maryland State Senate (1801–1806). Later, he became a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, representing the fourth district of Maryland from October 15, 1810, to March 3, 1815; he previously ran for this seat while a state delegate in 1796. Ringgold's military career included serving during the War of 1812, and serving as a brigadier general in the Maryland militia. He was again elected to the House of Representatives and served from March 4, 1817 to March 3, 1821. She would become the mother to five of Ringgold's 11 children. Marie Antoinette Hay was the daughter of George Hay, U.S Attorney for the District of Virginia, who represented the Government in prosecuting Aaron Burr for treason. George Hay's second wife was Eliza Kortright Monroe, a daughter of President Monroe, and was step-mother to Marie Antoinette Hay. After Samuel Ringgold's death Marie married a Robert Mackey Tidball.

Samuel Ringgold died in Frederick, Maryland, and is buried in Fountain Rock Cemetery, near Hagerstown, Maryland.

Children and legacy

Ringgold had three sons who served in the military and a daughter who married an army general. The most distinguished of his sons, Samuel (1796–1846) was an officer in the U.S. Army during the Mexican-American War. Also distinguished was Cadwalader Ringgold (1802–1867), a naval officer who served in the United States Exploring Expedition in command of The Porpoise and later headed another expedition to the Pacific Northwest. He saw service in the Civil War before retiring as a rear admiral.

The stepson, George Hay Ringgold (1814–1864) was graduated at the United States Military Academy in 1833, later left the Army to become a farmer but rejoined in 1846. He was in charge of the paymasters of the Department of the Pacific from 1861 till his death in San Francisco, California. George Hay Ringgold was buried at Calvary Cemetery, now part of Cypress Lawn in San Mateo County, California. He was an accomplished scholar, draughtsman, and painter.

A daughter, the "beautiful and accomplished" Marie Antoinette Ringgold (daughter of the second wife and named after her), married the prominent Gen. Henry Morris Naglee in San Francisco on May 26, 1865, after her brother's death.

Family tree

References

  • Biography of (son) Samuel Ringgold (Mexican War officer)
  • History of the Federal Judiciary