Episode 17: The Green River Killer, Part II
In Part I, Zelda and Denise discussed The Green River Killer and the search for the perpetrator, Gary Ridgway. Then they began looking into his family tree, specifically his immediate family and his maternal line.
Now, in Part II, Zelda, Denise, and their guest, Mira, explore Ridgway’s paternal line, a line filled with drama and even more murder from the Gary’s distant family connection to Rush Limbaugh to the Civil War to another serial killer living in late 19th Century Kentucky and more.
Thomas, Sr. and wife Gladys in the 1960s.
Gladys and Thomas, Sr.
Thomas Ridgway, Sr., Gladys Bivens Ridgway, and Thomas, Jr., ca 1943. Gary’s grandparents and his father.
Thomas, Sr. and Gladys on their wedding day at Roswell, New Mexico in 1922.
The Ridgway family in the 1960s. From left to right: Thomas, Sr., Joyce, Tom, Jr. (Gary’s father), Gladys, and Roy.
Rev. David “Long Dave” Maggard and wife Susannah Harrison
Rev. Long Dave Maggard, Gary’s third great-grandfather
Part of Isaac Newton Ridgway’s Civil War records, a muster roll. Notice that it describes his appearance.
Historical marker in Tulia, Texas that mentions Andrew Jackson (A. J.) Bivens, Gary’s second great-grandfather.
Home of A. J. Bivens in Texas.
Source: Find a Grave
Gladys Bivens, Gary’s grandmother, as a teenager.
Gladys as a young girl.
Gladys as a baby, ca 1904
The daughters of Thomas F. Bivens and Mary Sedona Bollinger, (from left to right): Jewell, Gladys (Gary’s grandmother), Eunice, and Winnie.
The Thomas F. Bivens family (from left to right): Eunice, Jewell, Gladys, Winnie, Thomas, Roy Thomas, and Mary Sedona.
Third great-grandparents to Gary, Thomas Wilcox Waldrip and his wife Cyrena German/Garman.
Part of the 137 pages of the will included summons like these to each of the children of Joseph German (1774-1858).
Just one of the many pages in Joseph German’s will listing “property.” Sadly, human beings were considered property and as such slaves. The German family had many that were all sold into further bondage to their neighbors in Monroe County, Mississippi in 1858.
Source: The Memphis Appeal Avalanche, 11 Dec 1891
Talton Hall, serial killer from the late 1800s in Kentucky.
Continuation of The Memphis Appeal Avalanche story
Source: The Evening Bulletin, 29 Jun 1885