He was the first of the family to reside north of Baltimore Town in the larger surrounding Baltimore County when he moved there in 1734. He became a gentleman by 1738, and esquire by 1748, and was styled "Charles The Merchant". Ridgely was a planter, merchant, ironmaster, and owner of a furnace and forges. Although his mercantile base was in Baltimore Town and Baltimore County, his interests extended south into neighboring Anne Arundel County where he purchased tobacco, crops, livestock, and slaves from at least 1736 through the 1740s.