Helen West Stewart Ridgely

Helen West Stewart Ridgely, Wife of the ‘Captain’ John Ridgely Fifth Master of Hampton, 1854–1929.

“Like her mother-in-law, Margaretta, Helen West Stewart Ridgely (1854-1929), was an excellent manager of the finances and day-to-day operation of the family estate. She encouraged her children to write and paint – two of her own favorite hobbies. She also continued her own education throughout her life, taking classes and attending lectures, concerts and other programs at educational and cultural organizations throughout Baltimore. During her long association with the Maryland Chapter of the Colonial Dames of America, Helen fought to preserve the physical remnants of Maryland’s colonial history and commemorate its heroes, interests that led her to write two books on local history. A woman of extraordinary energy, she was known to have worked on the farm all morning, clean up and, in the afternoon, travel to Washington D.C. to dine with President and Mrs. Theodore Roosevelt.”

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Historic graves of Maryland and the District of Columbia, with the inscriptions appearing on the tombstones in most of the counties of the State and in Washington and Georgetown, by Ridgely, Helen W. (Helen West), National Society of the Colonial Dames of America in the State of Maryland, 1908.

A calendar of memorial inscriptions collected in the state of Maryland by Ridgely, Helen W. (Helen West), ed; Colonial dames of America. Maryland, 1906.

The old brick churches of Maryland by Ridgely, Helen W. (Helen West), 1894