William Henry Rideing was an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 author with strong connections to England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

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Biography

Rideing's father was an officer in the service of the Cunard Line

Cunard Line

Cunard Line is a British-American owned shipping company based at Carnival House in Southampton, England and operated by Carnival UK. It has been a leading operator of passenger ships on the North Atlantic for over a century...

. After the death of his mother, Rideing went to Chicago, Illinois, where he remained until 1870.

He early began writing for the press, and soon became connected with several journals. In 1874, he gave up newspaper work to devote himself entirely to literature and magazine writing. He made several trips to Europe and elsewhere with different artists to obtain material on special subjects. In 1878, he served as special correspondent with the Wheeler Survey

Wheeler Survey

The Wheeler Survey was a survey of a portion of the United States lying west of the 100th meridian. It comprised multiple expeditions, and was supervised by First Lieutenant George Montague Wheeler....

 expedition in Colorado

Colorado

Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...

, New Mexico

New Mexico

New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...

, Nevada

Nevada

Nevada is a state in the western, mountain west, and southwestern regions of the United States. With an area of and a population of about 2.7 million, it is the 7th-largest and 35th-most populous state. Over two-thirds of Nevada's people live in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, which contains its...

, California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

, and Arizona

Arizona

Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...

. From 1881 to 1883, Rideing edited Dramatic Notes in London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

, England. On his return to America he again entered journalism in Boston

Boston

Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...

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Works

• Pacific Railways Illustrated (New York, 1878)
• A-Saddle in the Wild West (London, 1879)
• Stray Moments with Thackeray (New York, 1880)
• Boys in the Mountains (1882)
• Boys Coastwise (1884)
• Thackeray's London (London, 1885)
• Young Folks' History of London (Boston, 1885)
• A Little Upstart (1885)
• The Boyhood of Living Authors (1887)