The following information was assembled from numerous sources and cannot be used directly as proof of Qualifying Service or Lineage.
It is considered a research aid and is intended to assist in locating sources that can be used as proof.
John Ridgeway was born 3 September 1741 at central Virginia, a son of Samuel Ridgeway and Elizabeth Woodson. He was married Elizabeth Woodson, 2 November 1739; Mary Bellomy, 1 July 1742; and Phebe Seay, 1 May 1751. Among Samuel’s children were: James, John, William, Thomas, Richard, Hope (a son), and Rosamond. The Ridgeways lived at an area of Goochland County that became part of Albemarle County in 1744, and part of Buckingham County in 1761.
Ridgeway moved to Ninety-Six District, South Carolina, and settled near the Reedy River at present-day Laurens County. During the Revolution, he fortified his house to create Fort Ridgeway. He served as a captain in the Little River Regiment of Militia. Among his troops were his sons, Samuel and John.
The Tory Major William "Bloody Bill" Cunningham crossed the Saluda River to raid Ridgeway's Fort, September 3, 1781. The fort was one of two blockhouses on the Reedy River that the Patriot Militia had built to protect the frontier settlements from the raids of the Loyalists and Indians. Captain John Ridgeway garrisoned one of the blockhouses with 30 men on the Little River Regiment. After the death of Ridgeway and nine others, the remaining patriots surrendered the blockhouse to Cunningham. Captain John Ridgeway was likely buried near his home and the location of his death.
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