National Register Listing

Somerville

1 mi. E of Kenton on DE 42, Kenton, DE

Somerville, the home of Nicholas Ridgely, reflects the statesman's awareness of the architectural taste of his times.

When Ridgely bought the property in 1798, the farm contained 455 acres, part of an 1800-acre tract. The property had long been in the tenure of Benjamin Eubanks, who may have lived in the present rear wing of the house.

Ridgely's purchase was bounded on two sides by converging streams and then contained land on the opposite side of the Dover-Kenton Road which is now in other hands.

The tract known as Partnership or Mill Range, of which Somerville is part, was originally granted to John Richardson and Francis Whitwell in 1683. It was, in turn, part of the Manor of Frieth, a 10,000-acre manor that William Penn had laid out for himself. In 1703, when Robert French of New Castle bought the land from the Hambly family, he found it necessary to reimburse the original grantees for payments that were still due. Having cleared the title, French left Partnership to his son Daniel in 1713, with the proviso that it would descend to Daniel's sisters Mary and Elizabeth if he should die without issue. Robert French's widow, Mary, married James Gordon and then Nicholas Ridgely, the grandfather of Chancellor Nicholas Ridgely who later bought the tract.

Robert French created an estate tail, which kept the property in the hands of his heirs for another generation. Elizabeth French Finney's son inherited his mother's half-share; Mary French, daughter of Robert, married James Gardner. On December 13, 1758, James and Mary Gardner and David Finney had the Partnership tract divided by a writ of Partione Facienda. David Finney got, as his half-share, 1206 acres. His aunt and uncle received 594 acres, including the site of Somerville, as their share. Having docked the entail on his portion, David Finney sold part of it in 1763.

The Gardner half of the property, because it contained less acreage, must have been more valuable. The tenant was paying £80 per year rent, and Gardner's will dated 1773 indicates that there was a mill on the property.

Gardner left his property to his three grandsons, the sons of his only daughter, Mary, and her husband James McMullan. The grandson of one of these heirs sold Ridgely the property in 1798. By a curious provision of the deed, the seller specified that the property would thereafter be known as Somerville.

From the time of his first biography, written but eight years after his death, writers have described Nicholas Ridgely as a man held in high esteem by all who knew him. A man with an uncommonly fine countenance and a strong, clear voice who "adhered strictly to the manners, customs and fashions of his youth," Ridgely was well informed on many subjects. However, it was in his knowledge of the law that he excelled.

The Ridgely family had long served the Lower Counties in the field of the law. Nicholas' grandfather, also named Nicholas, had served as county treasurer, clerk of the peace, prothonotary, and register in chancery. For nine years, the elder Nicholas served on the Supreme Court. Dr. Charles Ridgely, the Chancellor's father, served in the colonial and state legislatures for twenty years, presided as a judge of Common Pleas and Quarter Sessions, and served in the convention that wrote the 1776 Delaware constitution.

Chancellor Nicholas Ridgely (1762-1830) received a background in politics and reached manhood during a politically stimulating era. After securing a liberal education, Nicholas spent more than four years studying law under Robert Goldsborough of Cambridge, Maryland. By the time he was 25, Nicholas was already recognized for his talents; he served as a Kent County delegate to the state convention that ratified the United States Constitution. For the next three years, he served in the Legislative Council, or upper house, and thus participated in the election of the first U. S. Senators and presidential electors.

In 1791, he became attorney general and a delegate to the state constitutional convention, which was to revise the Delaware government. He had the honor of being "perhaps the youngest man in the Convention" and became one of its most influential members.

While still serving as attorney-general, Ridgely was elected in 1792 to the General Assembly as a representative from Kent. Since this session was responsible for revising the code to conform to the new constitution, it is interesting to note that the key acts were introduced by young Nicholas Ridgely.

Upon Chancellor William Killen's resignation from the bench in 1801, Nicholas Ridgely was appointed his successor. At this time, the Chancellor was the sole judge of the Court of Chancery, which had been formed under the 1792 constitution. Legal scholars have considered Ridgely to be the founder of chancery court practice and principles in Delaware.

Nicholas Ridgely served as chancellor until his death, during the April term at Georgetown in 1830. He was survived by his wife, Mary Brereton Ridgely, to whom he was married in 1806.
Upon her death, his estate passed to his nephew, Henry Moore Ridgely. The widow continued to live at Eden Hill, near Dover, where they had moved in 1810, but she did not dispose of Somerville until 1846.

Local significance of the building:
Listed in National Register of Historic Places in 1974.