Thomas Ritchie was born in Tappahannock, Essex County, Va. on 5 November 1778. He unsuccessfully studied law and medicine, then read politics and economics. After his health failed, he set up a bookstore in Richmond. Under sponsorship of Spncer Roane and Thomas Jefferson, Ritchie began publishing the Richmond Enquirer in 1804 which he continued for forty-one years. From 1845 until 1851, he edited the Washington Union, an organ of the Polk administration. He died 3 July 1854. Further information about this individual or organization may be available in the Special Collections Research Center Wiki: http://scrc.swem.wm.edu/wiki/index.php/Thomas Ritchie.