Joseph Ridpath

RIDPATH, KELSEY, JARRAD, PETTY

Posted By: Marthann Kohl-Fuhs (email)
Date: 5/13/2009 at 15:50:46

1889 BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY OF
SHELBY AND AUDUBON COUNTIES, IOWA
W. S. DUNBAR & CO., PUBLISHERS
113 ADAMS STREET, CHICAGO

pages 753-754

JOSEPH RIDPATH, farmer and stock-
raiser, Audubon County, Iowa, was born
in Montgomery County, Virginia, on
the west side of the Blue Ridge Mountains,
September 21, 1829. He is the son of James
A. and Rebecca (Kelsey) Ridpath, who were
the parents of five children. The father was
a native of Virginia and a farmer by occu-
pation, and the mother was of German
descent. The grandfather of our subject was
a native of England, and was brought to this
country at the age of eight years. Joseph
is a cousin of the historian, John Clark Rid-
path, a resident of Greencastle, Indiana.
He passed his boyhood in Ross County, Ohio,
whither his parents had moved when he was
one year old. His father died here three
years later, leaving him an orphan when a
mere child. The mother and children, a few
years later, removed from Ross County, Ohio,
to Putnam County, Indiana, where they
bought a piece of land in the green woods,
which they partly cleared out. During this
time Joseph was bound out to Henry Picket,
with whom he remained until his eighteenth
year. Mr. Picket proved to be a good father,
and when Joseph left him, gave him a suit of
clothes, a horse, saddle and bridle. In the
meantime the mother and other members of
the family had removed to Parke County, In-
diana. Here the mother was again married
and passed the remainder of her days. In
1849 Mr. Ridpath left Putnam County and
came to Mahaska County, Iowa, where he
bought forty acres of land, paying $1.25 per
acre. This he improved, and added to it
eighty acres, more, on which he resided until
the spring of 1880, when he removed to Au-
dubon County, Iowa. Mr. Ridpath was mar-
ried to Miss Betsey Jarrad, of Mahaska
County, Iowa, by whom four children were
born -- Henrietta, wife of G. H. Petty; Thomas
M., Otis (deceased) and Albert. The mother
died in Mahaska County. Mr. Ridpath was
married to his present wife in May, 1866.
Mrs. Ridpath's maiden name was Rebecca J.
Petty, and she is a daughter of James B.
Petty, a native of Ohio. On the breaking
out of the late civil war Mr. Ridpath enlisted
in Company E, Thirty-third Iowa Volunteer
Infantry. He was immediately sent to Lit-
tle Rock, Arkansas, under General Steele.
He was then sent to Camden, Arkansas, and
on the defeat of General Banks he was ordered
into the Seventh Army Corps. He was fol-
lowed and overtaken at the Saline River, and
had a sharp engagement with General Price's
forces, in which a good many men were killed
and wounded and taken prisoners. He was
then ordered back to Little Rock, thence to
Mobile, Alabama, where the siege continued
eight days. He was then ordered to the
mouth of the Rio Grande River, and then to
New Orleans, where he was transferred to
Company E, Thirty.fourth Iowa Volunteer
Infantry. August 15, 1865, he was mustered
out of the service at Houston, Texas. He
then returned to Mahaska County, Iowa,
where he engaged in the more peaceful pur-
suits of agriculture, having served his coun-
try faithfully and honorably. He is a member
of the G. A. R., Allison Post, No. 34, of
which he is Quartermaster-Sergeant. Mr.
Ridpath's farm consists of eighty acres of
well-improved land.