William G. Ritch
Acting Governor of New Mexico Territory
June 3, 1875 - July 30, 1875
	Marsh Giddings
	Samuel Beach Axtell
Member of the Wisconsin Senate from the 21st district
January 8, 1868 - January 13, 1869
	George Gary
	Ira W. Fisher
Personal details
Born	(1830-05-04)May 4, 1830 Ulster County, New York
Died	September 14, 1904(1904-09-14) (aged 74) Paloma Springs, New Mexico
Resting place	Santa Fe National Cemetery
Political party	Republican
Military service
Allegiance	United States
Branch/service	United States Army Union Army
Rank	First Lieutenant, USV
Unit	46th Reg. Wis. Vol. Infantry
Battles/wars	American Civil War

William G. Ritch (May 4, 1830 – September 14, 1904) was acting governor of the New Mexico Territory and a member of the Wisconsin State Senate.

Biography

Ritch was born on May 4, 1830 in Ulster County, New York.^[1] During the American Civil War, he was a first lieutenant with the 46th Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry Regiment of the Union Army. He died on September 14, 1904 and was buried at Santa Fe National Cemetery. Ritch was a member of the Knights Templar.

Political career

Ritch was a member of the Wisconsin State Senate in 1868. Later, he became Secretary of the New Mexico Territory. During this time, he contributed to the design of what would later become the Seal of New Mexico. Following the death of Marsh Giddings on June 3, 1875, Ritch became acting Governor of the territory. He remained so until Samuel Beach Axtell was appointed. While acting governor, he encountered some controversy over his initial refusal to pay off the bounty hunter who shot down Billy the Kid, a decision that was eventually reversed. Ritch was a Republican.^[2]

References

External links

• Works by or about William G. Ritch at Internet Archive