James M. Ritchie

Who was James M. Ritchie?

James Monroe Ritchie was a U.S. Representative from Ohio, father of Byron Foster Ritchie.

Born in Dunfermline, Scotland, Ritchie immigrated to the United States in 1832 with his parents, who settled in St. Lawrence County, New York. His early schooling was limited and he received instruction at home from his father and mother. He studied law. He was admitted to the bar in 1858 and commenced practice in Toledo, Ohio. He served as delegate to the Republican National Convention in 1880.

Ritchie was elected as a Republican to the Forty-seventh Congress. He was not a candidate for renomination in 1882.

He again resumed the practice of his profession in Toledo, Ohio, and died there August 17, 1918. He was interred in Grafton Cemetery, Grafton, Ohio.