Edwin Reed Ridgely (May 9, 1844 – April 23, 1927) was an American businessman, Civil War veteran and politician who served two terms as a U.S. Representative from Kansas from 1897 to 1901.

Edwin R. Ridgely
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Kansas's 3rd district
In office
March 4, 1897 – March 3, 1901
Preceded bySnyder S. Kirkpatrick
Succeeded byAlfred Metcalf Jackson
Personal details
Born
Edwin Reed Ridgely

(1844-05-09)May 9, 1844
Lancaster, Illinois, US
DiedApril 23, 1927(1927-04-23) (aged 82)
Girard, Kansas, US
Resting placeGirard Cemetery
Political partyPopulist

Biography

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Born near Lancaster, Illinois, Ridgely attended district school in the winter months.

Civil War

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During the Civil War enlisted as a private in Company C, One Hundred and Fifteenth Regiment, Illinois Volunteer Infantry, in 1862. He was promoted to sergeant and served until the end of the war.

Career

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He moved to Girard, Kansas, in 1869 and engaged in general merchandising and in agricultural pursuits. He left the Republican Party in 1876 because of its financial policy. He lived in Ogden, Utah, from 1889 to 1893 and then returned to Kansas.

Congress

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Ridgely was elected as a Populist to the Fifty-fifth and Fifty-sixth Congresses (March 4, 1897 – March 3, 1901). He was not a candidate for renomination in 1900.

Later career and death

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He resumed agricultural pursuits in Mulberry, Kansas. He died in Girard, Kansas on April 23, 1927. He was interred in Girard Cemetery.

References

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  • United States Congress. "Edwin R. Ridgely (id: R000244)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.

  This article incorporates public domain material from the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress

U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Kansas's 3rd congressional district

March 4, 1897 – March 3, 1901
Succeeded by