Letter from Charles Pinckney to Sir Ridley
re: passage of constitution, 1787

Charles Cotesworth Pinckney [1746-1825] was born in Charleston, South Carolina, into a family with origins in County Durham. In 1753 the family moved to London and Charles attended Westminster School. It was here that he met Matthew White Ridley [1745-1813], heir to the Baronetcy of Blagdon. The pair attended the same Oxford College. Sir Matthew went on to serve as Member of Parliament for Morpeth [1768-1774] and Newcastle [1774-1812]. After returning to South Carolina, Pinckney practiced law, was elected to a seat in the colonial legislature in 1770 and was involved in the campaign that led to South Carolina becoming an independent state in 1776. Pinckney undertook distinguished military service during the Revolutionary War, serving as George Washington’s aide-de-camp and was taken prisoner by the British at the surrender of Charleston in 1780. He was a member of the convention that framed the US constitution.

This letter is located in the Ridley family papers held by Northumberland Archives. The closeness of the friendship between the two men and the mutual respect in which they held each other is demonstrated by the fact that Pinckney sent a copy of the constitution document to Ridley the day after it was agreed by Congress. Sadly, the copy constitution does not appear to have survived.