Biographical Sketches

ISAAC M. RIDGE, M.D.

In the history of Kansas City no one has borne a more creditable part then the gentleman whose name introduces this review. For almost half a century he has lived in this locality. From the days when this region, now occupied by substantial buildings, magnificent homes and churches, large industries and fine mercantile houses, was a wild forest, rough and heavily timbered, through which the Indians yet frequently traveled and camped on begging tours, the Doctor located here, and from that hour to this has taken an advanced stand in favor of development and improvement. Educational, social and moral interests have been promoted through his efforts, and the material welfare of the city owes much to him. Loyal to every duty, he is a valued citizen, and an upright, honorable man, whose career demonstrates what can be accomplished by persistent effort, energy and earnest endeavor.

The Doctor was born in Adair county, Kentucky, on the 9th of July, 1825. His father was of Welsh and Pennsylvania Dutch ancestry. The great-grandfather of our subject removed from Wales, his native land, on account of his religious views, and, crossing the Atlantic to America in the latter part of the 17th or early part of the 18th century, he landed either in North Carolina or Virginia, in which region many of his descendants are yet living. The grandfather, William Ridge, was probably a soldier in the Revolutionary war. In pioneer days he removed to Kentucky, where for some years he carried on farming. His family numbered 6 sons, and after his death, 3 of the number were bound out to trades. The maternal grandfather of the Doctor was Champ Dillingham, a native of North Carolina, who on the paternal side descended from a Highland Scotch family. He aided in driving the Indians from Kentucky, and was indentified with much of the pioneer history of that state. In manner he was very reserved and quiet, a great lover of books and a very hightly educated man. His father was a Scotch Baptist preacher, and his wife, a Miss Bailey, came of French Huguenot stock.

In 1834, Dr. Ridge accompanied his parents on their removal to Missouri, where the Doctor's boyhood days were in part spent on the farm and in the blacksmith shop. He went to a private school six months in the year, and the remainder of his time was spent at hard labor. He became familiar with the modes of farming, and also a good mechanic; and even after beginning practice he could as readily shoe a horse as set a limb, or sharpen a plow as well as a surgeon's knife, and even did so after coming to Kansas City. After attending the common schools he completed the high school course in Dover, this state. He then took up the study of medicine under the instructions of Dr. Il S. Warren, of that town, and subsequently entered Transylvania University, at Lexington, Kentucky, in the medical department of which institution he graduated in 1848, with the honors of his class.

Soon afterward he came to Kansas City. The Indians that visited and traded at the little hamlet far outnumbered the white settlers, and it was indeed the western frontier - wild and unimproved. With wonderful foresight, however, he believed that the future would bring a development that would transform the rude hamlet into a place of importance. Accordingly he opened an office at what is now the corner of Main street and the levee, and entered upon the practice of his chosen profession. The demands for his services were by no means frequent in those early days, for the population was yet too limited, and the Indians preferred to take their own remedies. But he watched and waited for the time when business would increase, and such was his treatment of the Wyandotte Indians that he won their warm friendship, and was by them given the name of �Little Thunder,� an honor conferred upon but few white settlers in that day. He gained a powerful influence over them, which also extended to other bands of savages who ranged over western Missouri and eastern Kansas.

In June, 1849, Dr. Ridge suffered an attack of cholera, and it was thought that he could not live. A messenger was dispatched on a very fleet horse for Dr. Robinson, and the distance of 110 miles was covered in about 12 hours. The doctor at once hastened to the bedside of his fellow practitioner, with whom he remained for 36 hours, at the end of which time he left him, saying that there was no chance of his recovery!

During the gold fever in California, Dr. Robinson went to the Pacific slope, and after his return to Kansas in the later part of 1853 was elected the first governor of that state. In 1861, during the progress of the war, he made a trip to his old home in Massachusetts, and on again coming to the West made the trip up the river from St. Louis. The boat on which he had taken passage was captured near Napoleon, some miles below Kansas City, and the governor was made a prisoner. News of the capture was telegraphed to Dr. Ridge, who, not forgetting the kindness that he had received at the hands of Dr. Robinson during the cholera epidemic, saddled his horse and rode all night, arriving just in time to save Governor Robinson from an untimely death by hanging at the hands of some of the desperadoes of the South! Thus after several years he was able to return the kindness which had formerly been rendered him.

An era of westward emigration began in 1849 in this locality, and during the next 6 years the city grew with almost phenomenal rapidity, while the land was entered as claims and transformed into farms. It was now that the Doctor's business began to assume extensive proportions and calls for his services came from a wide area, so that he was often compelled to ride from 100 to 150 miles on horseback in 24 hours! His financial resources therefore increased, and he became the possessor of a handsome competence. His travels also made him familiar with the best location of valuable land, and from time to time he made judicious investments, which as the years have passed have brought to him a fortune. Every variety of practice came to him in connection with his professional life, and the excellent successes which attended his efforts gave evidence of a skill and ability that have won him a place among the most eminent practitioners west of the Mississippi river. He was numbered among the most expert surgeons in the West, and has also been very successful in general practice, especially in the treatment of pneumonia.

No section of the country was more involved in the troubles that preceded and attended the opening of the civil war than Kansas. Through these trying periods the doctor was frequently compelled to occupy peculiar and often dangerous positions, yet he frequently assumed the role of �mutual friend� and healed mental as well as physical wounds, smoothing over personal difficulties between old-time acquaintances. This arose purely from an unselfish desire to do away with the wrong and evil that was often too pronounced; but he made innumerable friends, and in consequence his patronage greatly increased until he was at the head of a very extensive and lucrative business. In 1860 trouble again broke out afresh, and he was a second time forced into the position of mediator, this time both as friend and adviser for each side, the union and Confederate. In 1861 there was no other practicing physician in this section, and many a time at the risk of his own life he has given aid to assist a helpless one, extending his kindness to both the wearer of the blue and the gray. On other occasions, such was the lawless condition of the country, he was forced to give his medical service by those who would go to his home and with assumed or real military authority demand his aid for their friends. He has been blindfolded and the bandages not removed from his eyes until he would go to administer the needed medicine. He has been taken from and returned to his home blindfolded, having no clew whatever as to where he had been except from the knowledge of faces when his blind was taken off. The scenes through which he passed at that time if graphically told in detail would be as interesting and thrilling as any which are found upon the pages of �dime novel� literature, and furthermore would be fact instead of fiction!

At length the troublous period was over and the doctor was free to give his time and attention as he willed to his business interests. He made extensive purchases of real estate, and the rapid rise in land values consequent on the rapidly developing population brought him a handsome income. He erected his first residence in front of the custom-house, and it was then considered one of the finest in the city. He at one time owned 84 acres of land bounded on the West by Woodlawn avenue, on the North by 19th street, on the East by Wabash avenue and on the South by 22nd street. This he has inpart divided among the children and it is today a very valuable property. He still, however, owns the West half of the original 84 acres, upon which is situated his magnificent residence, known as �Castle Ridge.� This commands a beautiful view of the city and surrounding country in every direction. Near by are the lovely homes that he has erected for his children. His own palatial abode is in the form of a Greek cross, in architecture combines the Tuscan and Corinthian styles. It is one of the finest residences in the city, richly and tastefully furnished and adorned with all the beautiful works that wealth can procure and art can devise.

The doctor is a man of domestic tastes and find his greatest enjoyment in the midst of his family. In 1850 he was happily married to Miss Eliza A. Smart, daughter of Judge T. A. Smart, of Kansas City, now deceased. She was a lady of rate domestic accomplishments and charitably inclined; and her kindness, benevolence and many other excellencies of character, won her the love and esteem of all. She died a number of years ago, and three of her five children are yet living, namely: William E. and Thomas S., both prominent businessmen of Kansas City; and Mrs. Sophie Lee Lakeman. In 1882, Dr. Ridge was joined in wedlock with Miss May D. Campbell, daughter of Bartley Campbell, a pioneer commercial man of Cincinnati. He was the first man to put on a night force in his packing-house in that city, and the first machinery used in the slaughtering department, and was also the originator of sugar-cured hams. Mrs. Ridge possesses superior musical talent, both as a vocalist and pianist, and for two years sang frequently in the prisons of Ohio and Pennsylvania, where, to those men shut off from all the pleasures of life, her singing was a rare treat, as indeed it is in any gathering. Her rare musical talent has gained her a wide reputation and made her a great favorite both in this city and Cincinnati, and she is known from ocean to ocean on account of her musical powers. She was appointed by the state of Missouri as one of the directors of music at the World's Fair in Chicago in 1893. For some years she was an educator in both vocal and instrumental music, for two and a half years was a vocal teacher in the Christian College at Columbia, Missouri, and was also director of music in the State University at Columbia. She has no superior in the west as a high soprano singer, and her services have been sought by some of the best educational institutions and finest churches in the country. When some charity makes these calls she frequently responds.

The doctor has long been actively identified with the interests of the city, and among the latest improvements that he has added is the new Ridge building, which is recognized as one of the best office buildings west of the Mississippi. In 1891 he began the erection of a large building fronting both on Walnut and Main streets. The section fronting on Main street, however, was not commenced until the summer of 1893. The Walnut street building contains about 100 rooms, and the 2nd story is used for office purposes, but the 3rd and 4th floors are devoted to the Masonic fraternity. The Main street building is 6 stories in height and has about 200 office rooms, besides 6 large stores with basements. In the construction of this building the features considered most important were the lighting and ventilation of the rooms, and this has been accomplished. You see no dark, dingy or ill ventilated rooms in the entire building. The desirable location and the excellent appointments and equipments have made space in this building in great demand, and since its erection business activity in this locality has been greatly accelerated. The doctor has also established an electric plant which furnishes light and power for nearly the entire block as well as his own building. The beautiful new Ridge building stands as a monument to the enterprise of one who is recognized as a most progessive and public-spirited citizen.

Dr. Ridge is an enthusiastic and zealous Freemason, and has taken all the degrees in Scottish and York rite Masonry excepting the thirty-third degree in the southern jurisdiction in Scottish rite Masonry. He is also a member of the Mystic Shrine, and his life typifies the underlying spirit of the order - benevolence. During the trying times preceding the war, the doctor was twice saved from death by the fact that he was a Mason. Though he took sides with neither political faction engaged in carrying on the war, such was the bitterness of feeling that if a man was not pronounced in his support of one faction he was supposed to be in league with the other, and on two different occasions the doctor owed his life to Masonic brethren. Both incidents were remarkable and deserving of preservation in this history. On one occasion a Prussian with a band of 30 followers went to the doctor's home with the intention of taking his life. It was about 10:00 at night and the doctor was milking in the barnyard when 4-5 of the crowd jumped over the fence and ordered him to arise. The doctor coolly replied, �It seems you are in a great hurry.� The men responded, �You had better be preparing for something else,� and again ordered him to arise. He obeyed and they marched him to the yard where a sight met his gaze that made his blood run cold with horror. He saw his wife and son, clad only in the night robes, standing surrounded by the villainous crowd which was eager to take the lives of their victims. The doctor comprehended the situation at a glance and immediately gave the grand hailing sign of distress of the Masons, which was answered by the little Prussian who could scarcely speak English. Being in command of the force, he then drew his sword from its scabbard, gave it a flourish and said, �This is not the man to kill,� The doctor was then given a chance to defend himself against his accusers, who had falsely informed on him. The result was that he was allowed to finish his milking and go to bed in peace.

The second time his life was saved through Masonry was by the intervention of a man of probably more humble origin than the other, a colored barber, -- Louis Henderson - who was a native of Ohio and had never been a slave. For 5 years previous he had followed his calling in Kansas City. One day 2 men entered his shop to get shaved and there discussed a plot to kill a certain doctor. The barber was a Mason and recognized his customer as such. Therefore, before shaving him, he asked, �Who is this doctor you are going to kill?� The man replied, �It is Dr. Ridge. He can't live here any longer.� In answer Henderson responded, �Colonel -----, I can't shave you till you take back all you have said about Dr. Ridge; for he is a better Mason than you or I or any one else in this country, and has done more for the order than any man; and until you take back what you have said I can't shave you, sir.� Quite a protracted discussion followed, and at length the colonel gave his word of honor not to molest Dr. Ridge or to allow any of his company to do so; and from that time forward the colonel and his men were always friendly to the doctor.

Dr. Ridge once served as councilman of Kansas City, and for several years was city physician, but has been in no way a politician. He retired from active practice about 1875 to give his attention to numerous other interests, and now, surrounded by all the comforts of life, he is spending his declining years in the enjoyment of a well earned rest. He has rounded the Psalmist's span of three-score years and ten, but such a man can never grow old. His hair may whiten, and his frame weaken, but his generosity, his kindliness, his many noble qualities remain unchanged as the years pass. He has ever been a man of broad and liberal views, believing that honesty and uprightness is the indication of true Christianity, regardless of church creeds.

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This page was last updated August 2, 2006.