Murderous Madam: The Case of Mary Ridey

Illustration of a 19th century 'bawdy house'

 

Known as "Philadelphia's First Suburb", the neighborhood of Northern Liberties existed as a unique and independent city until 1854, when an Act of Consolidation passed by the state legislature made it a part of the City of Brotherly Love. By this time, Northern Liberties had already grown into a booming metropolis in its own right; its location just beyond the city limits made it an ideal place to erect mills, factories, tanneries, and other types of businesses that were deemed too dirty, smelly, noisy, or dangerous for the crowded city streets of Philadelphia.

Northern Liberties also attracted another type of business which was viewed with disdain: prostitution. By the time of its consolidation in 1854, Northern Liberties had earned a reputation as one of the most infamous red-light districts in the country. From its southern boundary on Callowhill Street to its northern boundary on West Girard Avenue, the streets were thronged with taverns, boarding houses, gambling parlors, cheap hotels and other establishments where patrons could easily procure female companionship for the right price. 

At the time of the Civil War, one such house of ill repute could be found near the lower boundary of Northern Liberties, on a tiny thoroughfare between Willow and Noble Streets known at St. John Street. The madam of the establishment was a young, but headstrong, 24-year-old woman by the name of Adelia Ridey, who had gone by the name of Mary since childhood. Mary was married to John Ridey, and together they ran a tavern on the ground floor while renting out rooms upstairs to female boarders, all of whom were employed in the world's oldest profession. 

But one day, John abandoned his wife and relocated to the upper boundary of the neighborhood, where he opened his own saloon on the southwest corner of Third and Girard with a friend named Joseph Sides and Joseph's sister, Emma, who was also John Ridey's mistress. They also rented rooms to female boarders, and their establishment, by virtue of its ideal location, quickly became a beacon in the red-light district of Philadelphia. 

Rather than throw in the towel or hang her head in disgrace, however, Mary Ridey carried on the business, which thrived under her management. In fact, much of her clientele was comprised of politicians, policemen and other pillars of the community who preferred the shadowy confines of the ramshackle brothel on St. John Street to the houses of ill repute on the busier streets and avenues of Northern Liberties.

A late 19th century photo of Northern Liberties (N. 2nd St.)

 

From Carriage Ride to Chaos 

On the afternoon of Monday, July 3, 1865, Mary and one her bartenders, Ferdinand Albert, went for a carriage ride at Fairmount Park, where they happened to run into Joseph Sides, who was in a carriage with a young woman named Rose. Despite their business rivalry, both parties conversed pleasantly together, and Sides invited Mary and her companion to another drinking establishment he owned at the intersection of Girard Avenue and Germantown Road. They arrived at the tavern sometime in the early evening.

After enjoying a few drinks, the party agreed to pay a visit to the other establishment at Third and Girard. The whiskey flowed freely that night, and at one point Mary confronted her estranged husband in the back room. A scuffle ensued, and bottles were thrown. Mary then confronted Emma Sides, warning her that John Ridey would walk out on her, just as she herself had been abandoned.

Mary abruptly left the saloon with Ferdinand Albert and went home to change her dress. When she returned to the tavern, the argument resumed. By the time she re-emerged from the back room, Mary, who was thoroughly inebriated, had a lump on her forehead, presumably the result of a punch thrown by her husband. She went up to the bar and had a drink of gin. And then, on her way out, she grabbed the bottle and went around smashing every glass picture frame in the room.

About thirty minutes later, at around 10:45 pm, Mary once again returned to Third and Girard. She asked Joseph Sides where she could find her estranged husband, John. "He's gone out back," replied Joseph Sides, turning to lead the way. But just as soon as his back was turned, Mary did the unthinkable. Drawing a dagger concealed in the folds of her dress, she plunged the blade deep into Joseph's back. 

"You bastard!" she hissed. "You'll do just as well as Johnny Ridey!" Mary pulled out the blade, and then stabbed him again, this time piercing his heart.

Joseph staggered a few steps forward, where he attempted to grab a chair. It's not clear whether he intended to use the chair as a weapon or to shield himself from another blow, because just as he raised the chair from the floor, he lost consciousness and toppled over.

Witnessing this horrific scene was Joseph's 17-year-old brother, Isaac Sides. Though Isaac was short and skinny as a rail, he attempted to subdue Mary, with the intention of having her arrested. He lunged for the young woman, seizing her by the hair and pushing her down to the floor, but Mary, armed with the dagger still warm with Joseph's blood, stabbed him in the stomach. According to one witness account, the gash in Isaac's abdomen was so deep that his intestines protruded, and this ghastly sight only seemed to imbue his attacker with an insatiable bloodlust. Mary stabbed him again, and again, and again. Despite his frightful wounds and unfathomable agony, Isaac lingered for nearly a week, drawing his last breath six days later.

As soon as Mary Ridey had completed her slaughter, she raced home to St. John Street, where she washed off her makeup, disposed of her dress, and changed into a sailor's uniform. Once she was satisfied that she could pass for a man, she crept out the back door-- right into the arms of a policeman. Mary had nothing to say when she was taken into custody and gave no statement or explanation for her vicious deed. 

This 1849 guide offered reviews of Philadelphia brothels and "ladies of pleasure".

 

The Trial of Mary Ridey

On the morning of Friday, July 7, 1865, the coroner empaneled a jury for the purpose of holding an inquest over the killing of the Sides brothers. The jury examined the bodies and rendered a verdict that the victim had died by the hand of Adelia Ridey, alias Mary Ridey. She was indicted by a grand jury and held at Moyamensing Prison to await trial on two separate counts of murder.

On September 13, Mary entered a plea of not guilty, and the case was immediately continued because of the absence of an important witness for her defense. The proceedings resumed on November 28 with Judges Oswald Thompson and James R. Ludlow presiding as the jury selection process got under way. Mary, attired in a black mourning dress, was represented by Frederick Dittmann, Lewis Cassidy and David Brown, while the Commonwealth was represented by District Attorney Mann, T. Bradford Dwight and John Wolbert.

The Commonwealth's case was opened by Wolbert, who gave a very brief and blunt statement, and the first witness was Dr. Shapleigh, the physician who had performed the post-mortem examinations of the victims. Also called to testify was John Cahill, who had been inside the saloon tending the bar when the stabbings took place.

According to Cahill, he was sitting at a table Isaac Sides, George Sykes and Bill Daly when Mary plunged her dagger into Joseph Sides' back. "She ran through the bar room as if she wanted to go out the front door," testified Cahill. "Isaac Sides grabbed her with both hands 'round the head... Then I see her make the successful stab at Isaac's bowels. Then I walked back into the yard, but when I came back, she was gone... Joseph died in about ten minutes. He never spoke."

Mary's bartender, Ferdinand Albert, was the next witness for the Commonwealth. He described a day-long drinking binge with Mary, even though she had complained of feeling ill. Called next to the stand was Bill Daly, who, after giving his version of the murder of Joseph Sides, testified that Albert had helped Mary Ridey make her escape. "I could not see whether she cut Issac or not," said Daly. "She got loose from Isaac and Albert opened the door so that she got out. He then ran out after her and I went out, too. She ran fast. I got ahead of Albert to catch her, but she was too fast for me. When I was running, Albert said, 'If you stop her, I'll shoot you!'  I stopped then."

Another witness was Margaret Reeves, who rented a room from Mary Ridey. She described what she had seen when Mary returned home to change her clothing. "I remember Mrs. Ridey's coming home late at night the evening of July Third. I was at home. She came home and went upstairs. I went after her. She undressed herself, took off her black dress. She turned 'round and said, 'Oh, I'm going to kill Joe Sides.' She went to the bed and took a dagger from under her pillow. She tied it round her waist in front of her. She put on a dark blue dress and went out; she put the dress on so that she could slip her hand in just where it opened."

According to Margaret Reeves, Mary returned home alone in a highly inebriated state, and stumbled her way upstairs before changing out of the blue dress. "Before she dressed she turned around and said, 'I've killed Joe Sides.' She had blood on her arm about halfway to the elbow. She washed herself and combed her hair, then she went to the closet and took out the sailor suit." A few moments later, Mary was apprehended by an officer who was waiting for her.

The arresting officer, Charles Wagner, also testified. Officer Wagner, however, believed that Mary Ridey was completely sober at the time. "I took her to the Station House. I knew her when I arrested her. She was able to walk pretty straight and talked pretty straight. It is my impression she was perfectly sober when I caught her."

Judge Ludlow

 

The morning session had been particularly damaging to the defense, as the testimony seemed to suggest that the murder of Joseph Sides had been premeditated. Things were just as bleak during the afternoon session, especially after Edward Sides took the stand and spoke of the murder of his little brother.

"Isaac was seventeen," explained Edward. "Very small for his age, weak, and delicate. He may have weighed one hundred pounds and was sick at the time."

According to Edward, he was at home when he received the news of the attack from his mortally wounded brother after he had fled the scene. "I was standing in the door of my house. Isaac ran up to me from Ridey's. He was covered with blood from his stomach down... I saw where the wounds on his stomach were. Three or four, I think four. One was from front to back, clear through. Only the skin at the back was not cut through."

The defense presented its case during the afternoon session of November 29, opening with a lengthy dissertation by defense attorney Frederick Dittmann, who argued that the Commonwealth couldn't prove murder without a motive. He argued that Mary had been stricken by an attack of "homicidal mania" and was therefore not responsible for her actions. If anything, Dittmann argued, Mary Ridey was to be pitied, as she had attempted suicide just one month before the murders.

Dittmann also attempted to portray Mary as a young woman who had been grossly neglected as a child, both in terms of parenting and education, and that such circumstances alone were a cause of "moral insanity" and, thus, grounds for acquittal. To prove his argument, Dittmann produced a string of childhood friends as character witnesses, all of whom testified that Mary had been a quiet, mild-mannered child until she began hanging out with the wrong crowd. But then Dittmann attempted to strike a major blow to the prosecution by calling a witness who claimed that Mary's mother had coerced her into prostitution at the age of thirteen. The district attorney objected to this line of questioning, and the objection was sustained. Dittmann also tried to bring up the prison record of Mary's mother, but this, too, was met with objection.

The jury deliberated overnight, not reaching a verdict until noon on December 1. They found Mary Ridey guilty of murder in the second degree. However, there was still a chance that Mary could hang, as she still had to face the music for the murder of 17-year-old Isaac Sides.

Judge Oswald Thompson

 

Fair Sentence or Farce?

When the case was called before the court on January 9, 1866, Mary wisely took the advice of her attorney and changed her plea from not guilty to guilty. Not only did this decision save Philadelphia County the time and expense of a prolonged jury trial, it also saved Mary from the gallows, as the slaying of the frail, undersized teenager had been even more brutal than the stabbing of Joseph Sides. As a result, after a speedy bench trial, she was convicted of second-degree murder for the killing of Isaac Sides. 

Mary Ridey was sentenced by Judge Thompson on the morning of January 13 for the murder of Joseph Sides, and she received a sentence of eleven years and six months of solitary confinement at Eastern Penitentiary. Immediately afterward, Judge Joseph Allison tacked on seven years for Isaac's murder, with the sentences running consecutively.

While many viewed the sentence as fair, others hailed it a travesty of justice, as testimony conclusively proved that the murder of Joseph Sides had been premeditated. Some argued that Mary's small stature and physical beauty-- which had elicited no shortage of remarks by the press-- had influenced the jury to spare her from a first-degree murder conviction. One newspaper wrote: She is a bright, round-faced little body, with a pretty face... and about the last person in the world you would think capable of hurting a fly, let alone killing anyone. 

Others, however, scoffed at the idea that Mary's unsavory upbringing had caused her to become afflicted with "moral insanity", and some were clearly angered that Mary hadn't been sentenced to death. The Philadelphia Evening Telegraph remarked:

All over the country executions are taking place for murder, and the Scriptural command that "Whosoever sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed" is being fulfilled. Here, however, murders are being committed to a most astonishing extent, and yet it is nearly four years since any wretch has paid the penalty of his crime. The recent trial of Mary Ridey, at which she was convicted of killing in the second degree and let off with imprisonment, even in the dace of evidence so convincing... has called public attention to the fact that trials by jury are rapidly degenerating into a farce.

 

Sympathizers Demand Pardon

Almost immediately after she was sentenced there came calls demanding her release from Eastern Penitentiary. In Harrisburg, Governor Andrew Curtin was deluged with letters begging him to pardon the murderous madam, but the governor was unmoved. In 1867, a new governor took office, John W. Geary, and upon the conclusion of his second term in January of 1873, Governor Geary, who was determined to retire from politics and return to private life, issued a slew of pardons (132 in total), much to the chagrin of his political opponents-- as well as the warden of Eastern Penitentiary. On January 22, 1873, the Philadelphia Inquirer wrote:

Warden Townsend, of the Eastern Penitentiary, has been somewhat agitated over the decrease of his resident population, and the convicts within the cells of the famous Cherry Hill are all intensely excited and expectant over an anticipated return to the busy world outside by means of a pardon signed by the retiring governor of the state.

On his last day in office-- Monday, January 21-- Governor Geary issued three pardons: One for Emma Scott, a minor who had been languishing in prison for setting fire to a barn in Bucks County, one for a petty criminal named John Pickens, and one for Mary Ridey, whose release was recommended by her spiritual advisor, Father Riley.

Mary kept a low profile after her release from prison and her final years are shrouded in mystery, as are are the lives of so many wayward women who lived, and often died, in the red light district of Philadelphia. More often than not, these forgotten denizens of houses of ill repute went to their unmarked graves in potter's field without much mourning, and certainly without an eloquent funeral service or newspaper obituary, and we can only wonder if their souls found in death the peace they never found in life.