John Ritchie (politician)

John Ritchie (born August 12, 1831 in Frederick , Maryland ; †  October 27, 1887 ) was an American lawyer and politician . Between 1871 and 1873 he represented the state of Maryland in the US House of Representatives .

Career

John Ritchie attended Frederick Academy and then began studying medicine, which he dropped out. After studying law at Harvard University and his admission to the bar in 1854, he began to work in Frederick in this profession. Ritchie was also a captain in the state militia. In this capacity, he was summoned by US President James Buchanan to Harpers Ferry in 1859 , where John Brown had committed his historic raid on an arsenal. During the Civil War he was Brevet Brigadier General of Volunteers in the Union Army . Between 1867 and 1871, Ritchie served as a prosecutor in Frederick County . At the same time he embarked on a political career as a member of the Democratic Party .

In the congressional election of 1870 Ritchie was elected to the US House of Representatives in Washington, DC , in the fourth constituency of Maryland , where he succeeded Patrick Hamill on March 4, 1871 . Since he was not confirmed in 1872, he could only serve one term in Congress until March 3, 1873 . After his time in the US House of Representatives, he practiced as a lawyer again. In 1881 he became a judge in the Maryland Sixth Judicial District and an associate judge on the Maryland Court of Appeals . He died on October 27, 1887 in his hometown Frederick, where he was buried.

Web links

• John Ritchie in the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress (English)

• John Ritchie in the database of Find a Grave (English)