Since my publication of the Ridgway family in the New Jersey Mirror, I have received several letters which gave me new and important information concerning this family, which I am about to add to this sketch of the Ridgways, and I find there are some traditional errors in my first publication which I shall correct in this account.

The first Ridgway who came to America was Richard Ridgway, with Elizabeth, his wife, and Thomas, their only son, who arrived in the Delaware river, in the ship Jacob and Mary of London. The Ridgways came from Wallingford, Bucks, England; they arrived in America the 7th mo., 1679. At the period of their arrival their son Thomas was two years and two months old, having been born the 25th day of the 5th mo., 1677.

He, Richard, settled in Bucks county. Pa., near Penn's Manor, where it is said he purchased 218 acres of land on which he resided until about the year 1690, when he removed to West Jersey, and after living at various places he finally settled at Springfield, N.J., where he died soon after the 27th day of the 9th mo., 1722, on which day he made his will.

It is affirmed that Richard Ridgway, Sr., was a descendant of the nobility of England, and further, that he was a near kinsman of the then Earl of Chatham.

Many individuals of the various generations of the Ridgway family have been the possessors of an abundance of the riches of this world, and to so great an extent has this been the case that the name of Ridgway seems to carry with it a tingle of the "Almighty dollar."

Richard Ridgway, Sr.'s children by his first wife Elizabeth, were: Thomas, born in England; Richard, born in Pennsylvania, 6th mo., 27th, 1680; Elizabeth born in Pennsylvania, 17th of 2d mo., 1682; and Josiah, whose age is not given. His children by his last wife, Abigail, were Job, Mary, who married ______ Belangee, Jane, who married Isaac Antrim, Sarah and Joseph; I think there must have been a daughter by the name of Abigail by this last wife, for it is recorded in the books of the Burlington Monthly Meeting that in the year 1717 Henry Clothier married Abigail Ridgway. It appears that she was not the daughter of Thomas nor Richard, Jr., and the other sons of Richard Ridgway, Sr., were too yonng to have had a marriageable daughter at that date, and she could not have been Richard's widow, for he did not die until seven years after this marriage.

Elizabeth, daughter of Richard Ridgway, Sr., by his first wife, married Joseph Willits, of Little Egg Harbor. Richard Ridgway, Jr., when 22 years of age was married, 9th of 8th mo., 1702, at Jerusalem, Queens county, Long Island, to Mary the daughter of Hope and Mary Willits, of that place. Richard Ridgway, Jr.'s children were William, Timothy, Elizabeth, Richard, Mary and James.

In the year 1729, Timothy Ridgway married Sarah Cranmer, and settled at Barnegat, and it is said that he had a son Job and a son Richard, and there might have been other children, and some of his posterity are still living in Ocean county. Thomas Ridgway's descendants claim the above said Timothy Ridgway to have been the son of Thomas Ridgway, Sr., and in accordance with their statements I have made the same statement in my former writings, but now I believe they were mistaken.

"Richard Ridgway, Jr., lived but a short life after marriage, and I suppose, on his Springfield farm, near Jobstown; as his will, dated 1718, only sixteen years after his marriage, and his death shortly after, proves. He left his father, Richard Ridgway, of Springfield, his brother Thomas, of Little Egg Harbor, and his brother-in-law, Joseph Willits, of Little Egg Harbor, his executors, which said executors made a title for 250 acres in Springfield township to William Fox, dated May 30th, 1719, which property since that time has been called the Fox farm, 154 acres of which Richard Ridgway, Jr., purchased of Jarvis Pharo, March 24th, 1706, 45-1/2 acres of William Vinecomb, January 15th, 1715, and the balance of John Antrim, November 15th, 1716. Thomas Ridgway, Sr., married Jarvis Pharo's sister Ann. Jarvis Pharo married Elizabeth, daughter of Hope Willits, and Richard Ridgway, Jr., married Mary, daughter of Hope Willits, and Joseph Willits married Thomas and Richard Ridgway's sister Elizabeth, thus making a complete snarl of brothers-in-law.

"Richard Ridgway, Sr., was one of the judges of the Burlington courts, a position of much importance in that early day. This appointment was made in 1701, and continued almost uninterrupted until April, 1720, a period of about nineteen years. In the year 1717, Josiah Ridgway (son of Richard, 1st), was appointed constable of Springfield township."

Mary, daughter of Richard Ridgway, Sr., by his second wife, married ______ Belangee. He must have been Evi Belangee, who settled in Little Egg Harbor, and was the forefather of all the Belangees of whom I have ever heard. Evi Belangee was a French Huguenot, and three of his granddaughters married Ridgway's, who must have been their near kinsmen.

The descendants of the Ridgways, of upper Burlington county, must be very numerous, but I have very little knowledge of their genealogy.

The following records of the Ridgways have been furnished me by gentlemen of Upper Burlington county: Joseph Ridgway, of Springfield, made his will July 7th, 1760. His children were Joseph, Hannah, Daniel, Henry, Rebecca, Allen, Jane, Sarah, Abigail, Catharine and Mary. He must have been the son of Richard, 1st, by his second wife.

Job Ridgway, of Springfield, made his will February 10th, 1761. His children were John, William, Mary, wife of ______ Butcher, Solomon, Job and Miriam, wife of ______ Moon. He was the son of the first Richard Ridgway by his second wife.

Susannah Ridgway, of Springfield, made her will November 16th, 1788. Her children were Beulah, Susanna, Daniel, Freedom and Lott.

Phebe Ridgway, of Little Egg Harbor, made her will 24th, 4th mo., 1783. Her children were Phebe, Ann, Thomas, Jacob and John. She was the widow of John Ridgway, Sr., of Little Egg Harbor, and the mother of Jacob Ridgway the millionaire of Philadelphia.

William Ridgway, of Springfield, made his will February 17th, 1761, and mentions his brothers and sisters by name, Solomon, Job, John, Mary and Miriam. He must have been son of the first Job Ridgway.

James Ridgway, of Little Egg Harbor, made his will 9th mo., 1795. His brothers and sisters were, Isaac, Jeremiah, Asa, Job, Elizabeth and Phebe. He was the son of John, who was the son of Thomas Ridgway, Jr. James Ridgway's mother was Susannah Belangee. Nearly all of his brothers and sisters died young. Isaac, Jeremiah and Phebe, second wife of Ebenezer Tucker, were all who married. All of them died with the scrofula.

Jacob Ridgway, of Springfield, made his will 22nd, 7th mo., 1799. His children were Mary, Jacob, Andrew, Samuel, Phebe, wife of Eliakim Willits, Susannah, wife of Joseph Brown, and Elizabeth, wife of George Craft. This Jacob Ridgway was son of Thomas Ridgway, Sr., of Little Egg Harbor.

Amos Ridgway, of Little Egg Harbor, made his will September 29th, 1803. His wife was Mercy, daughter of Jacob Hubbs, and his children were Jacob and Sarah Ann, both died under fifteen years of age. Amos was son of Job Ridgway, who was son of Thomas Ridgway, Jr.

Benjamin Ridgway, of Mount Holly, is son of Benjamin E. Ridgway, who was son of Solomon, who was son of Job, who was son of Richard Ridgway, Sr., by his second wife Abigail.

With the above items is a statement about property possessed by Solomon Ridgway and his descendants, which I do not fully comprehend, therefore I shall be compelled to omit it in this record.

I am indebted to the kindness of F.W. Earl, of Pemberton, for the following records taken from the records of marriages in the clerk's office at Mount Holly:

Ebenezer Gaskill, married Elizabeth Ridgway, June 21st, 1795; Daniel Knight, married Mary Ridgway, January 3rd, 1796; John Dobbins, married Susannah Ridgway, February 7th, 1796; Samuel Ridgway, married Mary Tonkin, February 15th, 1797; John Butterworth, married Rachel Ridgway, June 26th, 1796; Amos Ridgway, married Mercy Hubbs, February 23rd, 1800; Asa Curtis, married Elizabeth Ridgway, February 23rd, 1800. Amos Ridgway and Mercy Hubbs were from Little Egg Harbor.

                                                   When Born.     When Deceased,
Persons' Names.                                   D.  M.  YEAR.   D.  M.  YEAR.

Job Ridgway ...................................   ..  ..  ....    18,  7, 1782 
Mary, his wife, daughter of John Wright,
    and widow of J. Schooley ..................   ..  ..  ....    ..  ..  ....
    Their Children:
Rebecca .......................................    3, 11, 1762.   ..  ..  ....
Job ...........................................   23,  7, 1864.   16,  7, 1795,
Jonathan ......................................   23, 11, 1796.   ..  ..  ....                                           

Henry Ridgway .................................   26, 12, 1749.    1,  2, 1805.                                    
Mary, his wife, daughter of Sam. Wright .......    7,  2, 1752.   28, 12, 1812.
Their Children:
Ann ...........................................   10, 12, 1771.   ..  ..  ....
Samuel W. .....................................   12,  8, 1773.   ..  ..  ....
Solomon .......................................    5,  9, 1775.   ..  ..  ....

                                                    When Born.    When Deceased.
 Persons' Names.                                   D.  M.  YEAR.  D.  M.  YEAR.

Elizabeth .....................................    25, 10, 1777.  ..  ..  ....
Mary ..........................................     7,  2, 1780.  ..  ..  ....
Sarah .........................................    12,  5, 1782.  ..  ..  ....
Rebecca .......................................    11, 12, 1785.  ..  ..  ....
Hannah ........................................    15,  5, 1787.  18,  1, 1788.
Henry .........................................     5,  7, 1791.  23,  8, 1792.
William .......................................    30, 11, 1793   ..  ..  ....

John Ridgway ..................................    14, 8, 1755.   ..   4, 1845
(This is Gentleman John Ridgway, of
Little Egg Harbor.)
Elizabeth, his wife, daughter of David
Wright ........................................    ..  .. ....    ..   3, 1843.
Their Children:
David .........................................     5, 12, 1777,  20,  6, 1778.
Sarah .........................................     8, 11, 1779,   8,  8, 1872.  
Caleb .........................................     4, 12, 1781,  ..  ..  ....
John ..........................................    23,  8, 1784,  ..  ..  ....
Jacob .........................................     3,  9, 1787.  ..  ..  ....
David W. ......................................    12,  5, 1791.  ..  ..  ....
Andrew C. .....................................     9,  2, 1793   ..  ..  ....
Thomas ........................................     5,  5, 1797.  ..  ..  ....

Andrew C. Ridgway, son of Gentleman
  John Ridgway ................................    ..  ..  ....   ..  ..  ....
Eliza, his wife, daughter of John Bishop ......    ..  ..  ....   ..  ..  ....
  Their Children:
Mary ..........................................    20, 12, 1827.  ..  ..  ....
Craig .........................................    17,  7, 1829.  ..  ..  ....
Susan .........................................    20,  1, 1832.  ..  ..  ....

Joseph Pancoast ...............................     6,  6, 1741,  14,  6, 1808.
Sarah, his wife, daughter of Joseph
  Ridgway .....................................    15,  1, 1748.  29, 11, 1817.
Their Children:
Elizabeth .....................................     8,  4, 1769.  ..  ..  1779.
Hannah ........................................    22,  3, 1770.  ..  ..  ....
John ..........................................    22,  7, 1771.  ..  ..  1842.
Abigail .......................................    21,  7, 1778.  ..  ..  1815,
Sarah, wife of Nathan Willits, of
  Haddonfield, N.J. ...........................    20,  2, 1785.  ..  ..  1853.

George Craft married Elizabeth,
  daughter of Jacob Ridgway ...................    ..  ..  ....   ..  ..  ....

                                                    When Born.    When Deceased.
 Persons' Names.                                   D.  M.  YEAR.  D.  M.  YEAR.
  Their Children:
Ann ...........................................    30, 11, 1793.  ..  ..  ....
Deborah .......................................    ..  ..  ....   ..  ..  ....

Eliakim Willits ...............................     3, 11, 1745.  ..  ..  ....
Phebe,his wife, daughter of Jacob
  Ridgway .....................................    21,  5, 1753.  ..  ..  ....
  Their Children:
Jacob .........................................     1, 10, 1776.   4,  7, 1778.
Samuel ........................................     1,  8, 1778.   3,  5, 1782.
David .........................................    31,  5, 1783.  ..  ..  ....
Elizabeth .....................................    15,  5, 1785.  ..  ..  ....
Mary ..........................................    31,  8, 1787.  ..  ..  ....
Sarah .........................................     4, 12, 1790.  ..  ..  ....
Ann ...........................................    14,  5, 1792.  ..  ..  .... 
Phebe .........................................    10,  9, 1797.  ..  ..  ....
Rebecca .......................................    17,  2, 1799.  ..  ..  ....

Nicholas Waln, son of Richard .................    ..  ..  ....   ..  ..  ....
Sarah, his wife, daughter of Gentleman
  John Ridgway ................................    ..  ..  ....   ..  ..  ....
  Their Children:
Elizabeth .....................................    21,  1, 1800.  ..  ..  ....
Richard .......................................    12, 10, 1802.  ..  ..  ....
Joseph ........................................    20,  5, 1803.  ..  ..  ....
John Ridgway ..................................     8,  2, 1808.  ..  ..  ....
Nicholas ......................................    23,  9, 1810.  ..  ..  ....
Jacob H. ......................................    21,  3, 1813.  ..  ..  ....
Sarah .........................................     6,  7, 1816.  ..  ..  ....

John Bishop ...................................    ..  ..  ....   ..  ..  ....
Mary, his wife, daughter of Joseph
Ridgway .......................................    ..  ..  ....   ..  ..  ....
  Their Children:
Joseph Ridgway ................................    11,  6, 1800.  ..  ..  ....
Lucy ..........................................    ..  ..  ....   ..  ..  ....
Robert R. .....................................    ..  ..  ....   ..  ..  ....
Eliza, married Andrew C. Ridgway, son
  of Gentleman John Ridgway ...................    ..  ..  ....   ..  ..  ....
Ann ...........................................    13,  1, 1809.  ..  ..  ....
Ann, John Bishop's second wife,
  daughter of William Black ...................    ..  ..  ....   ..  ..  ....
  Their Children:
Mary B., married Mahlon Kirkbride, Pa. ........    ..  ..  ....   ..  ..  ....
John, married Rebecca Biddle ..................    ..  ..  ....   ..  ..  ....
Rebecca W. (died unmarried) ...................    ..  ..  ....   ..  ..  ....

                                                    When Born.    When Deceased.
  Persons' Names.                                  D.  M.  YEAR   D.  M.  YEAR

Michael Earl ..................................    ..  ..  ....   ..  ..  ....
Rebecca, his wife, daughter of Job
  Ridgway, who was the widow of J. Schooley ...    ..  ..  ....   ..  ..  ....
Their Children:
Mary, married M. Hutchinson Jenks .............    ..  ..  ....   ..  ..  ....
Lydia, married James Newbold ..................    ..  ..  ....   ..  ..  ....
Martha, married Emley Olden of Princeton, N.J.     ..  ..  ....   ..  ..  ....
Sarah .........................................    ..  ..  ....   ..  ..  ....
Elizabeth S., married Richard Shreve, of
 Mount Holly ..................................    ..  ..  ....   ..  ..  ....

As before stated, Thomas Ridgway was the eldest child of Richard Ridgway, Sr., and was born in England the 25th day of the 5th month, 1677, and was two years and two months old when he with his parents arrived in America. Thomas Ridgway married Ann, daughter of James Pharo, who came to America in the ship Shield. Ann Pharo, like her husband, was born in England, and was about one year old when she came to America. She was born the 21st day of February, 1678. Ann Pharo was the mother of all of Thomas Ridgway's eleven children. A certain author states that Ann was the mother of John, Thomas and Catharine, and that the second wife, Elizabeth Andrews, was the mother of the other eight children, but with the descendants of Thomas Ridgway, it is a tradition that Ann was the mother of all of the children, and that Elizabeth had no children, and the following record is proof that the children were Ann's.

Timothy Pharo, Sr., who married a grand-daughter of Thomas Ridgway, Sr., made the following record in his family Bible:

"Ann Pharo, daughter of the said James Pharo and Ann his wife, was born the 21st day of 12th month, called February, (old style) 1677-8, the mother of Thomas, John and Robert Ridgway, and Catharine Garner and Ann Gauntt, the public preacher, all born in Little Egg Harbor."

This record gives the names of Thomas Ridgway's oldest and youngest children, and if Ann, the first wife, was the mother of the first and the last children, she must have been the mother of those which intervened.

Thomas Ridgway's children were Thomas, John, Catharine, Job, Jacob, Edward, Richard, Elizabeth, Ann, Robert, and Major Woodward says Joseph, and it might have been so. Thomas Ridgway's will proves that he had eight sons and three daughters, but he does not name three of his sons. If he had a son Joseph, his descendants of the present time have no knowledge of him. He must have died early in life, or else left his native place.

Thomas Ridgway must have come to Egg Harbor soon after his marriage, for it appears that all of his children were born in Egg Harbor. It is probable that he married his second wife a short time before his death. He died when about forty-seven years of age.

When the settlement of Little Egg Harbor was instituted, Thomas Ridgway was one of the early emigrants to that locality. He located on the farm now owned and occupied by Amos Ridgway. It has always been considered one of the best farms in the township of Little Egg Harbor. He resided on this farm until his death, which occurred in the year 1724. He must have died in the prime of life. He was one of the elders of the Friends' meeting, and from certain documents of that time it is evident that he was highly respected and deeply lamented by the members of the Society to which he was attached; and Edward Andrews in his will styles him "my loving friend, Thomas Ridgway," in whom he placed great confidence, leaving him to assist his widow in the oversight of her business affairs and the management of her children.

After Thomas Ridgway came to Egg Harbor he became the owner of several farms, and also of a number of tracts of valuable cedar swamp. A traditional account says that he supplied each one of his eight sons with a farm. To some he deeded farms and to others he bequeathed farms, except to John, to him he bequeathed a vessel instead of a farm, and it appears the vessel proved more profitable to him than did the farms to his brothers.

To his son Jacob, it is said, he deeded his farm in Springfield, to his sons Edward and Richard he bequeathed his homestead in Egg Harbor, to his son Thomas he bequeathed the Oliver Parker farm, and to his son Robert he bequeathed the farm now owned by Barzilla Atkinson. His son Job was settled on a farm at Barnegat, and, as was the custom in that age, he appears to have left his three daughters to marry men who owned farms, a task which is evident they in due time accomplished.

I am indebted to the kindness of the late Joseph Ridgway, Esq., for a copy of the will of Thomas Ridgway, Sr., and for the gratification of the curious in such matters, I shall here subjoin a copy thereof, as I deem it the most interesting document of the kind which has come under my inspection.

In the name of God, Amen - the nineteenth day of the sixth month, called August [Old Style], in the year of our Lord, one thousand, seven hundred and twenty-four, I, Thomas Ridgway, of Little Egg Harbor, husbandman, being very sick and weak in body, but of perfect mind and memory, thanks be given unto God, therefore calling unto mind the mortality of my body, and knowing that it is appointed unto all men once to die, do make and ordain this my last will and testament, that is to say, principally and first of all, I give and recommend my soul into the hands of God that gave it, and for my body I recommend it to the earth to be buried in a Christian-like and decent manner, at the discretion of my executors, and also as touching such worldly estate wherewith it has pleased God to bless me in this life, I give and devise and dispose of the same in the following manner and form:

Imprimis. - I give and bequeath to Elizabeth, my dearly beloved wife, all my cattle except four oxen and four cows, and I also give her the use of my plantation whereon I now dwell, and house during her lifetime; and I give her my riding horse and the gray horse and one mare; also I give her two old negroes and the young negro man, and coin after my debts be paid. Imprimis. - I give and bequeath unto my son Thomas Ridgway all that farm whereon he now dwells, and one pair of oxen and two cows and my black horse, and ten acres of meadows beyond Evi Belangee's, to him, his heirs and assigns forever, and I bequeath unto my son, Thomas Ridgway, one negro boy named Ned, to him his heirs and assigns, only I oblige him for to give his mother a bond for fifty pounds towards paying off debts.

Imprimis. - I give and bequeath unto my son John Ridgway, my sloop, and one pair of oxen, and two cows, to him, his heirs, and assigns forever, and ten acres of meadow beyond Evi Belangee's, to him, his heirs and assigns, when he shall come to the age of twenty-one.

Imprimis. - I give and bequeath unto my son, Robert Ridgway, my plantation, which I bought of Charles Dingee, to him, his heirs and assigns forever, when he comes to the age of twenty-one.

Item. - I give and bequeath unto my son Thomas, ten sheep and a plow share, and a cart and wheels that hath been new rimmed, and I also give and bequeath all my cedar swamps for to be equally divided among my eight sons, their heirs and assigns forever, and I give and bequeath unto my two sons, Edward and Richard Ridgway, all my homestead for to be divided between them equally, for to be divided quantity and quality to them, their heirs and assigns forever, after their mother's decease.

Item. - I give and bequeath unto my sons Thomas, Edward and Richard, an undivided right of oak swamp that lies up above my son Thomas, to them, their heirs and assigns forever. And it is my will that my wife have the use of that place that I had of Charles Dingee, until my son Robert comes to age, and it is my will that he live with his mother until he is of age.

Item. - I give and bequeath my well beloved wife, the use of a piece of cedar swamp that lies on a branch of Weste creek, and after her decease I give it to be divided between my two sons, Edward and Richard, their heirs and assigns forever.

Item. - I give and bequeath unto my son John, a little negro boy named Wolder, to him, his heirs and assigns forever. And I do make and ordain my well beloved wife Elizabeth, and my sons Thomas Ridgway and John Ridgway, my executors jointly, and I hereby utterly disallow, revoke and disannul all and every other former testament, wills and legacies and executors by me named in any ways before this time named, willed and bequeathed, ratifying and confirming this and no other to be my last will and testament.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and seal, the day and year before written.

                                       his
                                THOMAS [x] RIDGWAY
                                       mark.
Samuel Andrews,
Mary Jacobs,
                  his
Mordecai Andrews, [x]
                  mark.

Imprimis. - I give and bequeath to my daughter Catharine Garner, two heifers, and I give and bequeath unto my daughter Anne Ridgway, one-third part of my household goods.

Item. - I give and bequeath unto my daughter Elizabeth Ridgway, one-third part of my household goods, and the remainder I give to my wife, and there is twenty pounds which is due my brother Richard Ridgway's estate, which must be paid.

Proved the fifteenth day of January, Anno Domini, one thousand seven hundred and twenty-four, before Samuel Bustill, D. Surrogate and Ordinary of the Western Division of the Province of New Jersey, and probate and letters testamentary sealed by his excellence the Governor were granted on the fourth day of March in the year above said, unto Elizabeth Ridgway, widow and relict of the deceased, and unto Thomas Ridgway and John Ridgway, sons of the said deceased, in the above said last will and testament named, they being first attested in due form of law, well and truly to perform the said will, and to make and exhibit a true and perfect inventory, and also to render a just account when thereunto required.

The above will is recorded in Liber No. 2, of Wills, page 280, in the Secretary's office at Trenton, N.J.

The above will is an evidence of the manner in which daughters were provided for in olden times. Thomas Ridgway appears to have forgotten that he had daughters until after he had executed his will, and then from this circumstance probably bequeathed them more than he otherwise would have done. Was ever there a father of the "olden time" who had not at least one son to whom he bequeathed all his property; except one bed and one cow for each one of the daughters? This was the usual bequest among farmers, but if the testator was not a farmer, "a bed and bedding," or perhaps a loom or spinning wheel was the legacy. Not much encouragement for fortune-hunting lovers. No doubt Thomas Ridgway was a good man and thought himself a just one, but in making provision for his sons and daughters he was blinded by the customs and laws of the dark age in which he lived.

As before stated Thomas Ridgway had eleven children; therefore, there are eleven branches of his posterity, but several of them are involved in much obscurity.

First Branch. - It is said that Job, son of Thomas Ridgway, Sr., settled at Barnegat, but at this day there is no one who knows much of his history. I cannot find any written account of his marriage, yet it is affirmed that he had a family and that his descendants lived in Ocean county. About sixty-five years ago there was a Noah Ridgway living about Freehold, Monmouth county, N.J., and it is very probable he was a son of the aforesaid Job Ridgway. The name of Job is often met with among families of various names in the lower section of Ocean county, and I believe such ones are the descendants of Job Ridgway, and have received their names from their ancient progenitor, the females of his posterity having married into other family names, but I think the name of Ridgway in this line is nearly or quite extinct.

In 1769 there was a Job Ridgway, of Barnegat, who married Elizabeth Mathis, and he must have been a son of the above named Job Ridgway or else a son of Timothy Ridgway. This second Job Ridgway I believe had no son, but he had two daughters, Sophia and Esther. Sophia Ridgway I think married an Edwards, of Barnegat, where her posterity chiefly reside. Esther Ridgway married Joseph Craft and had a son Job Craft, who had a son Eli and a daughter Esther, and perhaps other children. The Crafts all removed to the West.

Second Branch. - Joseph Ridgway, of whom there is no satisfactory account.

Third Branch. - Jacob, son of Thomas Ridgway, Sr., married and settled at Springfield, Burlington county, N.J., and had seven children, whose names were Samuel, Andrew, Jacob, Susannah, Mary, Phebe and Elizabeth. Jacob Ridgway made his will in the year 1794, and it is witnessed by Beulah Ridgway, Edith Ridgway and John Ridgway, who might have been his sisters and brother, or nieces and nephew. Samuel Ridgway married and seems to have died early in life, leaving a son Samuel. Susannah, daughter of Jacob Ridgway, married Joseph Brown. Elizabeth, daughter of Jacob Ridgway, married George Craft. Phebe, daughter of Jacob Ridgway, married Eliakim Willits, Sr., of Little Egg Harbor.

Andrew, son of Jacob Ridgway, married and removed to Salem county, N.J. He was the father of the late Joseph Ridgway, Esq., of Tuckerton, who married three wives. I think the first was a Cranmer, the second a Brown, who was the mother of Charles Ridgway, of Barnegat, and also of Elizabeth Ridgway. The third wife was Charlotte, daughter of Doctor Sawyer, of Tuckerton. The children of this marriage were George, William, Theodore, Cynthia, Sabia and Angelina. Joseph Ridgway, Esq., was one of the prominent men of Tuckerton, and for a long term of years was a justice of the peace.

Jacob, son of Jacob Ridgway, married Susannah Ellis, daughter of Aaron and Susannah Ellis, and sister to Leah Ellis, who married Job Mathis, the father of Micajah, Elihu and Ellis Mathis. Jacob Ridgway and his brother Andrew purchased farms in Salem county, N.J., and went there to reside. At the time of Jacob Ridgway's settling in Salem he had several children, most of whom were grown. Among them I recollect the names of Ellis, Aaron, Susannah and Sarah Ann. Soon after Jacob's establishing himself in his new home, all of his children, except one or two, sickened and died from the effects of a fever which was generated from the miasma which arose from the low, undrained lands of that section of Salem county. Sarah Ann Ridgway married and emigrated to the West.

Fourth Branch. - Thomas, son of Thomas Ridgway, Sr., in the year 1723, married Mary, daughter of Jacob Ong, Sr., of Little Egg Harbor. This Thomas Ridgway resided on the Oliver Parker farm, and this farm was owned and occupied by Ridgways for four generations in succession.

Thomas Ridgway's children were Job, John, Jeremiah, Ann and Sarah.

First Branch. - Job Ridgway, in the year 1767, married Ruth, daughter of James Belangee, Sr., and had children, Thomas, Amos, Samuel and Mercy.

Thomas Ridgway, 3d, married Phebe, daughter of Nathan Bartlett, Sr. Their children, Amos, Mary, Ruth and Mercy. Amos Ridgway married Phebe Bartlett, and had children, Thomas, Edward, Amos, Alfred, Job and Phebe Ann.

Mary Ridgway married Samuel Andrews, and had children, Hannah, Phebe and Mary.

Mercy Ridgway married Edward Bartlett, Jr., and had children, Thomas, Joseph, Alfred and Ames.

Amos, son of Job Ridgway, married Mercy, daughter of Jacob Hubbs, and had children, Jacob, who died unmarried, and Sarah Ann, who married Jeremiah Ridgway, 3d.

Samuel, son of Job Ridgway, left Egg Harbor. No account of his marriage or posterity.

Mercy, daughter of Job Ridgway, married in the year 1789, Joseph Wetherill, of Burlington city.

Second Branch. - John, son of Thomas Ridgway, 2d, married Susannah Belangee, sister to his brother Job's wife. Their offspring were James, Asa, Isaac, Job, Jeremiah, Mary, Elizabeth and Phebe. Most of these children died in childhood.

Isaac Ridgway married Nancy, daughter of Moses Mulliner.

Jeremiah Ridgway, 2d, married Judith, daughter of Nathan Bartlett, Sr., and had children, James, Jeremiah, Charlotte and Asa.

James Ridgway married Naomi Willits and had children - John, Nathan, James, Marion and Mary Naomi. James Ridgway resides in the State of Indiana, and like many others of his name has accumulated a large fortune.

Asa Ridgway married Martha, daughter of Thomas Willits, 2d. Their children were Orville, Mary, Ella, William, Anna, Rose and Kate.

Jeremiah Ridgway, 3d, married Sarah Ann, daughter of Amos Ridgway, 1st. Their children Judith Ann, Jeremiah and Joseph. Jeremiah Ridgway, 3d, resides in the city of San Francisco, and is said to be very wealthy.

Phebe, daughter of John and Susannah Ridgway, married Judge Ebenezer Tucker, being his second wife, and was the mother of Susannah and Josephine Glaveniea Tucker.

Third Branch. - Jeremiah, son of John Ridgway, married Hannah Hubbs, sister to Jacob Hubbs. No children.

Fourth Branch. - Ann, daughter of Thomas Ridgway, 2d, married James Willits, 2d. She was an eminent minister in the Society of Friends; she was a niece of Ann Gauntt, the noted minister, and these two women whose maiden names were Ridgway, made several ministerial journeys together, James and Ann Willits' children were Eliakim, Henry, Thomas, Jeremiah, James, John, Phebe and Ann.

Fifth Branch. - Sarah, daughter of Thomas Ridgway, 2d, in the year 1746, married Caleb Carr, of Rhode Island. He settled in Egg Harbor, and it is said was the forefather of the Carr's, of Mannahawkin. Caleb Carr had sons - Job, Joseph, Samuel and perhaps others, and I think a daughter Catharine, who resided at Cape May, and there might have been other daughters.

Robert, son of Thomas Ridgway, Sr., in the year 1735, married (it is said) Hannah, daughter of Zebulon Gauntt, of Burlington city. Robert had but two children who lived to grow up. These were Joseph, and Hannah, who married Timothy Pharo, Sr., and was the mother of the late Timothy Pharo, of Tuckerton.

Joseph, son of Robert, died a bachelor.

Samuel Pharo's family, Robert Pharo's family, Timothy Pharo's family, James Collins, Jr's family, Japhet Leeds' family, are all of them the descendants of Robert Ridgway. Robert Ridgway's homestead was the J.B. Sapp farm in the confines of Tuckerton.

Sixth Branch. - Edward, son of Thomas Ridgway, Sr., in the year 1732, married Mary Dilleplaine, and it is thought settled at or near Barnegat, and finally removed to Long Island - nothing known of his posterity.

Seventh Branch. - Richard, son of Thomas Ridgway, Sr., married away from Egg Harbor, and it is thought settled in Monmouth county, N.J., and finally took up his residence on Long Island.

Eighth Branch. - Catharine, daughter of Thomas Ridgway, Sr., in the year 1724 married Joseph Gardiner, and immediately after the marriage they left Egg Harbor, he being a resident of some other section.

It is said that Joseph Gardiner died, and his widow married Ephraim Tomlinson, the noted Quaker minister.

Ninth Branch. - Elizabeth, daughter of Thomas Ridgway, Sr., in the year 1726, married Samuel, son of Edward Andrews, and their children who lived to grow up were Peter, Esther and Hannah. Peter Andrews married Hannah, daughter of Jesse Somers, of Somers Point. Peter's children were Jesse, Mary and Sarah.

Esther Andrews married in the year 1744 Joseph Lippincott, and had children, Samuel, Peter and Elizabeth.

Hannah Andrews, in the year 1747, married her cousin Jeremiah, son of John Mathis, Sr. Their children Hezekiah, John, Job, Eli, Mary, Elizabeth and Esther.

Tenth Branch. - Ann, daughter of Thomas Ridgway, Sr., in the year 1730, married Hannaniah Gauntt of Burlington city, son of Zebulon Gauntt, of that place. The children of this marriage were John, Joseph, Ann and Elizabeth. John Gauntt married Jane Satterthwaite, of upper Burlington county. John Gauntt was one of the prominent men of Tuckerton, and an official member of the Society of Friends in that place. He finally removed to Haddonfield, N.J. His children were Samuel, Daniel, John, Elizabeth, Mary and Phebe.

Joseph Gauntt married Elizabeth ______, of upper Burlington county. After Joseph Gauntt's death his widow and children removed to Warrington, York county, Pennsylvania. Ann and Elizabeth, daughters of Hannaniah and Ann Gauntt, married in the upper section of Burlington county. One of them married a Forsyth.

Eleventh Branch. - John, son of Thomas Ridgway, Sr., in 1728, married Phebe Titus, of Westbury, Long Island, and twenty-six years after his marriage with Phebe Titus, he married Phebe, daughter of James Belangee, Sr. When Phebe Belangee was an infant, John Ridgway and his wife visited their neighbor, James Belangee, for the purpose of seeing the new baby. Phebe Ridgway carried the baby to her husband, and as she placed it in his arms said, "John, here is a second wife for thee." After some years Phebe Ridgway died, and her husband in the year 1754, married Phebe Belangee, who when an infant he had held in his arms when his wife pronounced her prediction of this future marriage. The second wife was the mother of his children, whose names were John, born (this is Gentleman John,) 14th, 8th mo., 1755; Phebe, born 16th, 4th mo., 1757; Thomas, born 12th, 9th mo., 1759; Ann, born 12th, 8th mo., 1763; Jacob, born 18th, 4th mo., 1768.

John Ridgway was the possessor of a considerable amount of property, being the wealthiest man of his time and place, except John Mathis, Sr. In the year 1730, John Ridgway bought his father's homestead of Joseph Willits, it being the farm now owned and occupied by Amos Ridgway, and he also owned the Willits Parker farm, whereon he resided at the time of his death, and James Pharo, Sr., becoming involved in pecuniary affairs was compelled to sell his farm to John Ridgway for six hundred pounds, it being the farm at West Creek, now owned by Joseph Cox, Esq.

He bequeathed the Amos Ridgway farm to his son Gentleman John Ridgway who received from some of his associates the title of "Gentleman John Ridgway," a name by which he is still known. At the time of Gentleman John Ridgway's residing in his native place, there were three John Ridgways living on farms in the same neighborhood, and in order to distinguish them John Ridgway, Sr., was called John Ridgway; John, son of Job Ridgway, was called Johnny Ridgway, and the third was known as Gentleman John Ridgway.

John Ridgway, Sr., bequeathed the Willits Parker farm to his son Thomas, and to his son Jacob he bequeathed his farm at West Creek, and it is affirmed that he gave each of his daughters three thousand dollars apiece, and also each of them a house and lot; and each one of his sons were bequeathed considerable sums of money. For many years John Ridgway was an elder in the Friends' Meeting at Egg Harbor, and at his death he left an epistle to the meeting, which document was "read in the meeting to great satisfaction." The following account of John Ridgway, Sr., was taken from a book of memorials concerning deceased members of the Quaker sect:

"He was born in the County of Burlington, in West New Jersey, in the year 1705, and soon after came with his parents and settled within the compass of this meeting. He was religiously educated, which, as he grew in years had a good effect, by his yielding obedience to the heavenly vision of light and grace in his own mind, which weaned him from the vanities of the world. He was a steady and constant attender of meetings, when at home and in health; and although his circumstances in life made him apprehend it necessary to follow the sea for a time, yet by attending to the divine principle of grace, he was preserved from that extravagance in his conduct and conversation, too prevalent in men in that business. He was early in life appointed to the station of an elder in the church he conducted with reputation; being of a benevolent spirit, his heart and house were open to entertain his friends and others, cheerfully and liberally assisting the poor in many respects; and in an extensive commerce and conversation with men of various ranks he demeaned himself with a becoming gravity, which rendered him truly worthy of esteem. He was carefully concerned that his children and other youth might partake of the benefits of a sober education; and in his declining years was much afflicted with bodily indisposition which he was enabled to bear with patience and resignation; often expressing a desire to be contented in the Divine will. He quietly departed this life on the 21st of the Fifth Month, 1774, and was buried at Egg Harbor."

Gentleman John Ridgway married Elizabeth, daughter of David Wright, of New Hanover township, and had children, David, Sarah, Caleb, John, Jacob, David W. (the first David died when one year old), Andrew C. and Thomas.

Gentleman John Ridgway lived a number of years on the farm bequeathed him by his father, which was his grandfather's, Thomas Ridgway, Sr.'s farm, and finally removed to upper Burlington county. He died in 1845, aged ninety years, and his wife lived to be eighty-seven years of age.

Sarah, the only daughter, married Nicholas Waln. He lived to be eighty-five years of age, and she ninety-two. Caleb and John both married and moved West. Jacob married Lydia Coats. David, 2d, died a bachelor. Andrew Craig married Eliza, daughter of John Bishop, of Springfield, N.J. Thomas married Sarah, daughter of John Pancoast, his children, Anna, Emma, Elizabeth, Susan, Edwin, Sarah, John and Caroline.

Thomas, son of John Ridgway, Sr., married Jeannette Low, and his children were Allen, Mary and Ann. He lived on the Willits Parker farm. He owned a vessel in which he frequently made trading voyages to Philadelphia; and on one of the trips he was shipwrecked and drowned about the Capes of the Delaware. After his death his widow married John Rose, and emigrated to the Genesee country, in the State of New York. She took with her all of her children, except Allen, who was a wanderer, and about the year 1822 he died in Tuckerton. No account of his ever being married.

Phebe, daughter of John Ridgway, Sr., married Allen Ridgway, a merchant of Philadelphia. Allen was the son of Joseph Ridgway, who was the son of Richard Ridgway, 1st, by his second wife. Ann, daughter of John Ridgway, Sr., married James Smith, a merchant of Philadelphia. No account of the posterity of these two women.

The youngest son of John Ridgway, Sr., was Jacob Ridgway, distinguished in his time as the second wealthiest man in the city of Philadelphia, and also as the contemporary of Stephen Girard, who was the first on the list of the wealthy men in that city. Jacob Ridgway was born on the 18th day of April, 1768. He was about eight years of age when his father died, but his mother being a woman of good judgment and an excellent manager, the farm was carried on under her superintendence until her decease, which happened in the year 1783. It is said that the young Jacob had always manifested a dislike for farming - the business in which he was being instructed. Providence seems to have destined him for a different occupation. His guardian spirit was continually whispering to him "Thou must be a merchant." Therefore all of his day dreams and even his sleeping visions had a tendency to that subject. He often walked by the side of an ox team aimed with a stout oak ox-goad, that terror to unruly oxen, or made hay or plowed or planted or gathered in the various products of the farm, but his heart and mind were not in his occupation; he did not consider himself adapted to agricultural pursuits, it was too laborious and too slow a process of coining money, and he resolved that if ever he had an opportunity he would enter the mercantile class, and thereby carry out the plan of Providence in making him the most wealthy and renowned member of the Ridgway family. After the death of his mother the business of the farm was entrusted to other hands, and Jacob Ridgway, the disgusted farmer boy, and the "determined to be merchant" gladly relinquished the ox-goad, the plow and all else connected with the hated occupation of coining money by tilling the soil.

With but meagre regrets for his birthplace and the sports he had enjoyed in fishing, fowling and searching for birds' nests in the extensive marshes of his native place, he bade a final farewell to Egg Harbor and all of its loves and hates.

Whilst busily engaged in accumulating his immense fortune, did the thoughts of Jacob Ridgway ever revert to the secluded, yet pleasant and quiet home of his boyhood, where he received the pious instructions of his worthy parents, and where by the golden light of the sun and silvery light of the moon, and the pale and twinkling stars, he dreamed the pleasant and ambitious dreams of his future greatness? Did he ever call to mind the many peaceful Sabbath mornings he had sat within the wooden walls of the "old meeting-house" at Tuckerton while the silent assembly were listening to the "still small voice;" and how frequently he had heard the spirit-taught teachings of his venerable aunt, Ann Gauntt; or listened to the fervent prayers of his cousin, Ann Willits? Did he remember the happy moments he had spent in the dim twilight listening to the musical notes of the whippoorwill as it was crouched on the green before his father's house? Did he recollect how many times he had wandered along the meadow banks and been tantalized by the greetings of the saucy blackbirds, and at other times the pleasure he had enjoyed rowing his boat up and down Tuckerton creek's azure waters or sailing over the breeze-roughed tide of the neighboring bay? Did his mind ever visit the Friends' graveyard at Tuckerton, where were the little green mounds which rose above the dust of his parents, and others whom he had often seen assembled beneath the roof of the primitive Quaker Church? In the eager race after so much wealth, it is scarcely probable that he found much leisure for the indulgence of such sentimentalities.

The following notice of the business life, &c., of Jacob Ridgway, was taken from a sketch of his life, published in the Philadelphia Commercial List and Price Current, It is such an appropriate piece for this work that I hope the author will excuse my appropriating it, in order to help out my account of Jacob Ridgway.

"When the family were broken up, Jacob Ridgway came to Philadelphia. One of his sisters had married James Smith, who was at that time a grocer in Water street below South. Another sister, the elder, was also married to a resident of the city. Jacob took up his residence in Philadelphia. This introduction to business was made under the care of Samuel and Thomas Shaw. These gentlemen were tobacconists, originally, but about the time of Ridgway's arrival in Philadelphia, they associated themselves together as General Merchants, at No. 72 North Water street. In that establishment the young Jersey boy became acquainted with the art and mystery of mercantile life. He was sharp and attentive, and soon became thoroughly proficient in the principles and practices of business. Having capital of his own, the proceeds of his father's bequests, he was not embarrassed at manhood for want of means. He therefore shortly after he was twenty-one years of age, went into partnership with Thomas Shaw. This association only lasted a few years. Mr. James Smith, the brother-in-law of Mr. Ridgway, had meanwhile increased in means and was able to take upon himself the responsibilities of a merchant. A wholesale grocery business was established by Smith & Ridgway about the year 1794. Mr. Ridgway married and took up his residence at No. 68 North Front street.

Smith & Ridgway continued their business as grocers in Water street, and on North Warves, until about the year 1797. They then sold out that establishment to Joseph Pryor, and removed to Nos. 158 and 160 North Front street, where they commenced business on a large scale, as importers and shipping merchants. They employed a large number of vessels and did a very prosperous and profitable trade. The store was afterwards removed to No. 154 North Front street. The European troubles which arose in consequence of the war between Great Britain and France, soon produced embarrassments and injury to martial commerce. In consequence of these obstructions to trade, it was thought best for the interests of the firm that Mr. Ridgway should remove to London. He took his family with him and established there the firm of Merton & Ridgway, still retaining his interest in the house of Smith & Ridgway, in this city, the concern of which was well looked to by James Smith. Having time and taste for adventure during his sojourn in Europe, he traveled extensively over the continent with his family, and enabled his children to enjoy many advantages thereby, which they improved in after days. During all the time, Mr. Ridgway was making money, and his gains were remitted to the United States, with directions that it should be invested in real estate, principally in Philadelphia.

While residing abroad, Mr. Ridgway was appointed Consul for the United States for the port of Antwerp, in Holland. This position gave him many facilities for the successful prosecution of commerce. The house of Smith & Ridgway made extensive consignments to Jacob Ridgway, at Antwerp, and vast sums of money were realized by the connection. In this position he was enabled to take care of himself, and did so in one case even to the extent of preventing the confiscation of a valuable vessel which had been seized by the French. Mr. Ridgway posted to Paris, and obtained from Bonaparte documents of release, with which he hurried back to Antwerp, and prevented the breaking up of the cargo, just as the captors were about to divide it among themselves. About the year 1813 Mr. Ridgway returned to Philadelphia. He found his accumulations wisely invested by his partner in real estate, and rapidly increasing in value. The care of these interests required his attention, and it was no longer necessary that he should remain in business. The firm of Smith & Ridgway was therefore dissolved. Mr. Ridgway removed his residence to the house built by the younger Jared Ingersoll, at 181 Chestnut street, opposite the State House, and in the little one-story office adjoining, he transacted the multifarious business arising from the renting and sales of his houses and lots. His subsequent connection with Dyott's Manual Labor Bank, although not technically making him responsible for the redemption of the issues of that concern, was unfavorably looked upon by the sufferers from that failure. He was considered as a guarantee of the solvency of the bank, and although his legal liability would not be established, his moral responsibility for the redemption of the notes was by a greater portion of the community considered absolute. Mr. Ridgway died in May, 1843, in the 76th year of his age, leaving an estate estimated to be worth $3,500,000 to his three children, John Ridgway, Mrs. Phebe Ann Rush and Mrs. Dr. Barton.

Mrs. Rush, the descendant of the Egg Harbor Quaker, became a leader of fashion in Philadelphia society. John Ridgway removed to Paris, where, as "an American millionaire," he has vied in magnificence with Col. Thorne and other such citizens of the United States, who ape the munificence of the European aristocracy.

Mrs. Barton remains among us in Philadelphia, in the quiet seclusion of domestic life, without ostentation or any desire to promote display.

James Smith, of the firm of Smith & Ridgway, died May 27th, 1826, a consistent member of the Society of Friends."

Mrs. Phebe Ann Rush, wife of Doctor Rush, and daughter of Jacob Ridgway, and the renowned leader of fashion several years ago, died at Saratoga Springs, where she had gone for the benefit of her health. On her mother's side she was of French descent, being a great-grand daughter of Evi Bellangee, a Frenchman, who was an early settler in Little Egg Harbor. Mrs. Rush had the reputation of being possessed of unusual conversational powers, and that when at the gay and fashionable assemblies in which she delighted, and when she conversed she always attracted a crowd of admiring and entranced listeners. But when disease fastened upon her, and death was imminent, she renounced the vanities of the world, and requested, when she died, to be buried according to the forms and customs of the Quaker denomination. She had no children to heir her large estate, therefore, she bequeathed it to Dr. Rush, her husband, and he bequeathed it to the city of Philadelphia, for the purpose of forming a Library.