Eliza Ridgely

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eliza_Ridgely

Eliza Eichelberger Ridgely (February 10, 1803 – December 20, 1867) was an American heiress, traveler, arbiter of fashion, and mistress of Hampton, the Ridgely plantation north of Towson, Maryland.

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Eliza Eichelberger Ridgely Ridgely (1803-1867) is one of the most recognizable of the Ridgely women, largely as the result of her portrait by Thomas Sully, “Lady with a Harp,” which is currently exhibited in the National Gallery of Art. Among her contributions to Hampton were the expansion of the formal gardens and installation of the Italian marble urns around the mansion. According to legend, Eliza planted Hampton’s giant Cedar of Lebanon in the 1840s after bringing it back from Europe as a seedling in a shoebox. Throughout her life, many people would write of her beauty, elegance, and sense of fashion, including the Marquis de Lafayette, whom she met and captivated during his 1824-25 American tour and with whom she remained in contact for the rest of his life.