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her surviving diaries from the 1840s reveal a busy family life divided between Hampton
and the Ridgelys' house in town. The children's education by private tutor and local schools
is discussed, as are the highlights of weekends and Christmas visits to the country, the
summer removals to Hampton, and the illnesses of babies Julia Maria and Nicholas who
died.

Eliza, Jr., known to her family as "Didy," married John Campbell White in 1849. The
Whites had two sons: Henry, later ambassador to Italy and France; and Julian. John
Campbell White died in 1853 and "Didy" married Thomas Buckler, a Baltimore physi-
cian, in 1865.. They had one son, William H. Buckler, whose likeness was sculpted for
two statues which adorn the Mansion today. Later memoirs, written by Henry White, also
detail life at Hampton before 1867, relating family trips to Europe and to White Sulphur
Springs, where the Ridgelys owned a cottage.

Until the time of the War Between the States, the fortunes of the Hampton
estate continued to prosper. Income from inheritances and from the estate itself
permitted continual innovations such as plumbing, gas light, "central" heating,
marble steps for the north portico, and additional stables. Outbuildings were renovated
or rebuilt.

An avid traveller, Eliza developed cosmopolitan tastes, importing furnishings and works
of art to complement the many pieces of furniture and silver that she purchased locally
in Baltimore. Many of the fine furnishings on exhibit today reflect the choice of Eliza
Ridgely. She also spent a great deal of her time and money on the gardens, altering them
to the prevailing fashion.

South Facade of Hampton Mansion, 1838. Watercolor by Robert Carey Long. Present whereabouts unknown.