Edwin Reed Ridgely was a U.S. Representative

United States House of Representatives

The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...

 from Kansas

Kansas

Kansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...

.

Born near Lancaster, Illinois

Lancaster, Illinois

Lancaster is an unincorporated community in Wabash County, Illinois, United States. Lancaster is located 9 miles west of Allendale and 12 miles northwest of Mt. Carmel....

, Ridgely attended district school in the winter months.
During the Civil War

American Civil War

The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

 enlisted as a private in Company C, One Hundred and Fifteenth Regiment, Illinois Volunteer Infantry, in 1862.
He was promoted to sergeant and served until the end of the war.
He moved to Girard, Kansas

Girard, Kansas

Girard is a city in and the county seat of Crawford County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 2,789.- History :...

, in 1869 and engaged in general merchandising and in agricultural pursuits.
He left the Republican Party

Republican Party (United States)

The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...

 in 1876 because of its financial policy.
He lived in Ogden, Utah

Ogden, Utah

Ogden is a city in Weber County, Utah, United States. Ogden serves as the county seat of Weber County. The population was 82,825 according to the 2010 Census. The city served as a major railway hub through much of its history, and still handles a great deal of freight rail traffic which makes it a...

, from 1889 to 1893 and then returned to Kansas.

Ridgely was elected as a Populist to the Fifty-fifth

55th United States Congress

-House of Representatives:* Republican: 206 * Democratic: 124* Populist: 22* Silver Republican: 3* Silver: 1* Independent Republican: 1TOTAL members: 357-Leadership:-Senate:* President: Garret Hobart * President pro tempore: William P...

 and Fifty-sixth

56th United States Congress

-House of Representatives:- Leadership :- Senate :* President: Garret Hobart , until November 21, 1899 , vacant thereafter.* President pro tempore: William P. Frye * Democratic Caucus Chairman: James K. Jones...

 Congresses (March 4, 1897-March 3, 1901).
He was not a candidate for renomination in 1900.
He resumed agricultural pursuits in Mulberry, Kansas

Mulberry, Kansas

Mulberry is a city in Crawford County, Kansas, United States. The population was 520 at the 2010 census.-Geography:Mulberry is located at .According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , all of it land....

.
He died in Girard, Kansas

Girard, Kansas

Girard is a city in and the county seat of Crawford County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 2,789.- History :...

, April 23, 1927.
He was interred in Girard Cemetery.

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