Mabel Lloyd Ridgely

Mabel Lloyd Fisher Ridgely (April 13, 1872 – January 11, 1962) was an American suffragist and historical preservationist, president of the Delaware Equal Suffrage Association and of the Public Archives Commission, and a founder of Old Dover Days, an annual festival.

Mabel Lloyd Ridgely
Mabel Lloyd Ridgely, from a 1919 publication.
Born
Mabel Lloyd Fisher

(1872-04-13)April 13, 1872
Washington, D. C.
DiedFebruary 11, 1962(1962-02-11) (aged 89)
Resting placeDover, Delaware
NationalityAmerican
OccupationPreservationist, Suffragist
Spouse(s)
Henry Ridgely
​
​
(m. 1893; died in 1940)​

Early life

Mabel Lloyd Fisher was born in Washington, D. C., the daughter of Charles G. Fisher and Philippa Lloyd Fisher.

Career

Ridgely's suffrage work included a term as president of the Delaware Equal Suffrage Association.[1] She worked to persuade the state's General Assembly to ratify the 19th Amendment in 1920.[2] The state Senate voted to ratify but the lower house did not.[3] After suffrage was won, Ridgely was the first president of the state's League of Women Voters.[4]

Ridgely had a particular interest in historical preservation. She served as president of the Public Archives Commission in Delaware, helped restore and preserve the Old State House[5] and the John Dickinson House in Dover, and was a founder and organizer of Old Dover Days,[6] a festival focused on local history.[7] She also helped to found the Delaware State Archives. She wrote a history of her husband's family, What Them Befell (1949), about the Ridgelys in colonial Delaware, based on their surviving correspondence.[8]

During World War I, Mabel Lloyd Ridgely chaired the Women's Liberty Loan Committee in Delaware.[9]

Personal life

Mabel Lloyd Fisher married Henry Ridgely, a judge, in 1893. They had a daughter, Philippa E. Ridgely (1894-1983). Mabel was widowed when Henry, who was blind, died in 1940.[10] Mabel Lloyd Ridgely died in 1962, aged 89 years. The research room at the Delaware Public Archives in Camden, Delaware is named for Mabel Lloyd Ridgely.[11]

Mabel's grandson, Henry Ridgely Horsey, was a judge on the Delaware Supreme Court from 1978 to 1994.[12]

Legacy

Ridgely was inducted into the Hall of Fame of Delaware Women. The Delaware Public Archives named a research room in her honor.[13][14]

References
  1. "Women Voters in New League" Evening Journal (August 21, 1920): 9. via Newspapers.com
  2. "Predicts Victory" News Journal (March 22, 1920): 1. via Newspapers.com
  3. Janet Lindemuth, "The 19th Amendment in Delaware" Delaware Campus Library Blogs (March 19, 2012).
  4. "Women's League Elect Officers" Morning News (October 1, 1920): 5. via Newspapers.com
  5. "Old State House" in Gabrielle Esperdy and Karen Kingsley, eds. SAH Archipedia (University of Virginia Press 2012).
  6. "A Day in Old Dover" Denton Journal (April 30, 1937): 5. via Newspapers.com
  7. "Dover Days" Delaware Public Archives Blog (April 30, 2010).
  8. Mabel Lloyd Ridgely, What Them Befell: The Ridgelys of Delaware & Their Circle in Colonial & Federal Times: Letters 1751-1890 (American Press 1949).
  9. "Congratulations for Loan Workers" Evening Journal (October 17, 1918): 5. via Newspapers.com
  10. "Henry Ridgely, Bar Leader, Dies in Dover" Sunday Morning Star (July 14, 1940): 3.
  11. "How Do I Preserve my Documents, Photographs, and Digital Memories?" Delaware Public Archives.
  12. "Former Delaware Justice Horsey dies at 91" Delaware State News (March 4, 2016).
  13. Willis, Meghan. "Biographical Sketch of Mabel Lloyd Fisher Ridgely". Biographical Database of NAWSA Suffragists, 1890-1920. Alexander Street Documents. Retrieved 27 July 2019.
  14. "Research at The Mabel Lloyd Ridgely Research Room". Delaware Public Archives. State of Delaware. Retrieved 27 July 2019.
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