Background

Albert Gallatin Riddle was the son of Thomas and Minerva (Merrick) Riddle and the grandson of Thomas Ridel or Riddell who emigrated from Ireland as a child and died in Monson, Massachussets. The grandson was born there, and the next year the family removed to Geauga County, Ohio. When Albert was only seven years old his father died. When he was twelve he was apprenticed to a well-to-do farmer; but he was not inclined toward farming and in 1831 worked with his two elder brothers as a carpenter.

Education

His ambition, though, was for something else, and during the following two years he spent part of his time in study. In 1835 he went to Hudson, where he entered school, and later he attended for a year the academy at Painesville. There he became interested in oratory and debating. He began the study of law under the direction of Seabury Ford in the spring of 1838, and after a period of intensive application to his work he was admitted to practice in 1840.

Career

He proved himself a successful political speaker in the Harrison campaign of 1840, and three weeks after his admission to the bar he was nominated for the office of prosecuting attorney, was elected, settled at Chardon, and served six years.

Upon the nomination of Zachary Taylor, he issued the call for a mass meeting at Chardon that inaugurated the Free-Soil party of Ohio. Soon afterward, he was nominated by the Whigs and Free-Soilers of his district for the state House of Representatives, was elected, and became at once the recognized leader of these two groups in the House from 1848 to 1850. He removed to Cleveland in 1850.

In 1859 he acted as counsel for the defense in the Oberlin-Wellington Rescue case (for argument see History of the Oberlin-Wellington Rescue, 1859, comp. by J. R. Shiperd). He won the respect and confidence of his fellows and was very attentive to business. He distinguished himself in many arguments in Congress, among them on the bill to abolish slavery in the District of Columbia. The first battle of Bull Run was fatal to his congressional career, for in connection with it he made certain confidential critical statements that gained publicity and were used against him. He did not seek reëlection in 1862.

He again devoted himself to the law, but in the autumn of 1864 he accepted a consulate in Cuba as a convenient pretext for making an examination into the plans and workings of the blockade runners. This service he performed in a satisfactory manner. He then established himself in the practice of law in Washington.

He was law officer for the District of Columbia from 1877 to 1889. He was a successful writer as well as orator. He died in Washington, D. C. , and was buried in Rock Creek Cemetery.

Achievements

• His first publication was a series of eight lectures delivered before the law department of Howard University, Law Students and Lawyers (1873). His first novel, Bart Ridgeley (1873), was commented on as the best American novel of the year. The ensuing year appeared The Portrait and in 1875 Alice Brand, a story of Washington after the war. He prepared many of the biographical sketches in a History of Geauga and Lake Counties (1878). In 1880 he published The Life, Character, and Public Services of J. A. Garfield. Old Newbury and the Pioneers was published in 1885 with some family and local history, his Life of Benjamin F. Wade in 1886, and Recollections of War Times in 1895. He did much newspaper work and wrote many short stories.

Works

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  • Castle Gregory: A Story of the Western Reserve Woods in the Olden Times (Classic Reprint)

    (Excerpt from Castle Gregory: A Story of the Western Reser...)

  • Recollections of War Times: Reminiscences of Men and Events in Washington, 1860-1865 (Classic Reprint)

    (Excerpt from Recollections of War Times: Reminiscences of...)

  • Mark Loan: A Tale of the Western Reserve Pioneers (Classic Reprint)

    (Excerpt from Mark Loan: A Tale of the Western Reserve Pio...)

  • Suffrage Conferred by the Fourteenth Amendment: Woman's Suffrage in the Supreme Court of the District of Columbia, in General Term, October, 1871; ... Sarah E. Webster Vs. The Judges of Election

    (Excerpt from Suffrage Conferred by the Fourteenth Amendme...)

  • The Life, Character and Public Services of Jas. A. Garfield

    (This book was originally published prior to 1923, and rep...)

  • The Portrait: A Romance of the Cuyahoga Valley

    (This work has been selected by scholars as being cultural...)

  • War Times: Inside Washington 1860~1865 (Abridged)

    (Albert Riddle's remarkable political career included the ...)

  • The Portrait: A Romance of the Cuyahoga Valley

    (This is a reproduction of a classic text optimised for ki...)

  • Alice Brand: A Romance of the Capital

    (This is a reproduction of a classic text optimised for ki...)

  • Castle Gregory: A Story Of The Western Reserve Woods In The Olden Time (1884)

    (This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of th...)

  • Elmer Riddle: A Sketch of His Life (Classic Reprint)

    (Excerpt from Elmer Riddle: A Sketch of His Life Hampden ...)

  • The Life of Benjamin F. Wade (Classic Reprint)

    (Excerpt from The Life of Benjamin F. Wade A word of the ...)

Politics

He was an ardent Whig and very bitter against slavery.

He claimed that, by a just construction of the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments of the Constitution, women were entitled to vote.

Connections

In January 1845 he married Caroline Avery of Chardon. They had seven children.

Father:

Thomas Riddle

Mother:

Minerva (Merrick) Riddle

Spouse:

Caroline Avery