Background
Ridgely, William Barret was born on July 19, 1858 in Springfield, Illinois, United States. Son of Charles and Jane M. (Barret) Ridgely.
Ridgely, William Barret was born on July 19, 1858 in Springfield, Illinois, United States. Son of Charles and Jane M. (Barret) Ridgely.
William B. Ridgely attended Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, where he was a member of the Chi Phi fraternity.
Upon his graduation from RPI in 1881, Ridgely engaged in mining, manufacturing, and banking in Illinois before President Theodore Roosevelt named him Comptroller in 1901. During his term, Congress passed legislation extending the corporate existence of the national banks for the second time. Ridgely resigned as Comptroller to accept the presidency of a national bank in Missouri, which had failed the previous year and was reorganized under his leadership.
In 1909 he returned to private business in the Eastern states.
Ridgely died in Washington, District of Columbia, in 1920.
Married Ella M., daughter Married second, Kate A. Deering, December 30, 1905.