John Ritchie (Maryland)
Encyclopedia
John Ritchie was a U.S. Representative
from Maryland
.
Born in Frederick, Maryland
, Ritchie completed preparatory studies at the Frederick Academy. He commenced the study of medicine but abandoned it for the study of law at Harvard University
. He was admitted to the bar
and began practice in Frederick in 1854.
Ritchie served as captain of the Junior Defenders (militia) and was ordered by President James Buchanan
to the scene of John Brown
's raid at Harpers Ferry. He also served as State's attorney for Frederick County, Maryland
, from 1867 to 1871.
Ritchie was elected as a Democrat
to the Forty-second
Congress (March 4, 1871-March 3, 1873). He was an unsuccessful candidate in 1872 for reelection to the Forty-third
Congress, and resumed the practice of law in Frederick. He was appointed by Governor William Thomas Hamilton
on March 16, 1881, chief judge of the sixth judicial circuit and associate justice of the Maryland Court of Appeals
to fill the unexpired term of Judge Richard Bowie
.
Ritchie was elected in November 1881 to this office for a term of fifteen years and served until his death in Frederick, Maryland
, October 27, 1887.
He was interred in Mount Olivet Cemetery
.
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
from Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
.
Born in Frederick, Maryland
Frederick, Maryland
Frederick is a city in north-central Maryland. It is the county seat of Frederick County, the largest county by area in the state of Maryland. Frederick is an outlying community of the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is part of a greater...
, Ritchie completed preparatory studies at the Frederick Academy. He commenced the study of medicine but abandoned it for the study of law at Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
. He was admitted to the bar
Admission to the bar in the United States
In the United States, admission to the bar is the granting of permission by a particular court system to a lawyer to practice law in that system. Each U.S. state and similar jurisdiction has its own court system and sets its own rules for bar admission , which can lead to different admission...
and began practice in Frederick in 1854.
Ritchie served as captain of the Junior Defenders (militia) and was ordered by President James Buchanan
James Buchanan
James Buchanan, Jr. was the 15th President of the United States . He is the only president from Pennsylvania, the only president who remained a lifelong bachelor and the last to be born in the 18th century....
to the scene of John Brown
John Brown (abolitionist)
John Brown was an American revolutionary abolitionist, who in the 1850s advocated and practiced armed insurrection as a means to abolish slavery in the United States. He led the Pottawatomie Massacre during which five men were killed, in 1856 in Bleeding Kansas, and made his name in the...
's raid at Harpers Ferry. He also served as State's attorney for Frederick County, Maryland
Frederick County, Maryland
Frederick County is a county located in the western part of the U.S. state of Maryland, bordering the southern border of Pennsylvania and the northeastern border of Virginia. As of the 2010 Census, the population was 233,385....
, from 1867 to 1871.
Ritchie was elected as a Democrat
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
to the Forty-second
42nd United States Congress
The Forty-second United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1871 to March 3, 1873, during the third and fourth...
Congress (March 4, 1871-March 3, 1873). He was an unsuccessful candidate in 1872 for reelection to the Forty-third
43rd United States Congress
The Forty-third United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1873 to March 4, 1875, during the fifth and sixth...
Congress, and resumed the practice of law in Frederick. He was appointed by Governor William Thomas Hamilton
William Thomas Hamilton
William Thomas Hamilton , a member of the United States Democratic Party, was the 38th Governor of Maryland in the United States from 1880 to 1884...
on March 16, 1881, chief judge of the sixth judicial circuit and associate justice of the Maryland Court of Appeals
Maryland Court of Appeals
The Court of Appeals of Maryland is the supreme court of the U.S. state of Maryland. The court, which is composed of one chief judge and six associate judges, meets in the Robert C. Murphy Courts of Appeal Building in the state capital, Annapolis...
to fill the unexpired term of Judge Richard Bowie
Richard Bowie
Richard Johns Bowie was an American politician and jurist.Born in Georgetown, Washington, D. C., Bowie attended the public schools and Brookville Academy. He studied law and graduated from the Georgetown Law School in 1826, commencing practice soon thereafter in the District...
.
Ritchie was elected in November 1881 to this office for a term of fifteen years and served until his death in Frederick, Maryland
Frederick, Maryland
Frederick is a city in north-central Maryland. It is the county seat of Frederick County, the largest county by area in the state of Maryland. Frederick is an outlying community of the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is part of a greater...
, October 27, 1887.
He was interred in Mount Olivet Cemetery
Mount Olivet Cemetery (Frederick)
Mount Olivet Cemetery is a cemetery in Frederick City, Maryland. It was chartered on October 4, 1852 to provide several of the downtown churches more room for interments, after their cemeteries became full...
.