Capt. John Ludlow

JOHN7 LUDLOW (CORNELIUS6, JEREMIAH L.5LUDLAM, HENRY4, HENRY3, WILLIAM2, WILLIAM1) was born 14 December 1752 in Long Hill, Morris Co., New Jersey, and died 26 March 1823 in Cincinnati, Hamilton, Ohio.He married (1) CATHERINE COOPER 19 October 1772, daughter of DANIEL COOPER and CATHERINE HANKINSON.She was born 03 May 1754 in Morris, NJ, and died 23 June 1783.He married (2) SUSAN DEMUN Unknown, daughter of JOHN DEMUN and MARY CALDWELL.She was born 25 June 1765 in New Jersey, and died 24 April 1844 in Cincinnati, Hamilton, OH.

Notes for JOHN LUDLOW:

First Sheriff of Hamilton County, Ohio. See 1798 elected to the first territorial legislature John married his cousin, Catherine Cooper.

The following are from the joint study of myself(Deanna West) and Larry Chester:

Among the names which appear frequently in the history of the Miami purchase, and upon the land records of Hamilton county, is that of Ludlow. The brothers, Israel and John Ludlow were prominent men in their day. Israel Ludlow became surveyor, and a joint proprietor, in place of the unfortunate Filson, with Denman and Patterson, in laying out the village of Losantiville. He was captain of the Cincinnati militia in 1790--1, and his descendants are widely and reputably known.

John Ludlow and family came from Buffalo to Cincinnati in November, 1789, occupying first a double-roomed log cabin on the northwest corner of Front and Main streets. The following year he became the first sheriff of the county, and in 1798 was elected to the first territorial legislature. The first execution was done by Sheriff Ludlow, James Mays being the condemned man, and costs were allowed him by the commissioners, for "gallows, coffin, and grave-digging, fifteen pounds, eight shillings. and nine pence.

John Ludlow, the oldest son of Cornelius Ludlow and only child of Catherine Cooper was born Dec. 12, 1752 at Long Hill, N. J. He married his cousin, Catherine Cooper, a daughter of Daniel Cooper Jr. in 1772. He is often styled "Captain" but we have not found record of his service in the Revolution. There is a Capt. Ludlow mentioned in the New Jersey Archives--no given name. The widow of one Zephaniah Horton, in her claim for pension--mentions a John Ludlow as Adjutant in the Militia of Morris County. (original on file in the Bureau of Pensions, Washington, D. C.). One Charles Marsh in his own claim (Invalid No. 1055) specifies service in Essex County Militia under an Ensign John Ludlow, but no government documents have been found. The only record found in them is of the payment of carting to June 30, 1780, $597.30-90ths to John Ludlow. These last statements are furnished by the Adjutant General of New Jersey, Frederick Gilkyson, the last one a certified statement, November 28, 1927.

His father was a colonel and his brother a general. It is hardly possible that he too did not give service but so far we have found no certified record of it. He went to Cincinnati, then a small settlement called Losantville, in 1786. He removed his family to Ohio in 1789. The journey was made in a large schooner wagon drawn by four yoke of oxen. Greve, in the "Centennial History of Cincinnati," tells a thrilling story of an experience of John Ludlow which illustrates the difficulties of transportation endured by the pioneers. He had brought his family across the wilderness of Pennsylvania in the schooner to Red Stone on the Ohio. Here he joined with a trader named McGowan and boarded a flat boat which was loaded with grind stones, castings and bar iron. Two wagons belonging to Ludlow were swung on one side of the boat to balance the weight of horses, oxen and cattle on the other side.

When the boat reached the lower of the Three Sisters Islands, it hit a sunken log, sprung a leak, and began to fill rapidly. In attempting to make the island the bow struck a heap of drift. All of the company with the exception of two little children, William and Elizabeth, five and three years old, leaped to the drift. They had climbed to the roof of the boat to escape the water. The boat was at once cabled to a tree but the strong current struck her with so much force that while she was swinging around, the weight was thrown on one side. The roof of the boat came off and floated away with the children on top of it. The boat sank and all the live stock was drowned with the exception of one horse. McGowan ran to the top of a hill and seeing another flat boat three miles away, he hoisted the signal of distress. Two men on the boat, Hunt and Prince, recognized the signal. Prince wanted to land but Hunt feared an Indian decoy. Finally Prince rowed near the shore with other men who were heavily armed. When they heard the story they immediately pushed on after the children but they had to row 12 miles before overtaking them. Immediately after the children were taken off the roof it struck a drift heap and was carried under by the current.

John Ludlow was one of the first settlers in Hamilton County, living in a log cabin of two rooms on the N. W. corner of what is now Front and Main St. in Cincinnati. He afterwards obtained a deed for a large tract of land from John Cleve Symmes and established Ludlow Station on Mill Creek in 1794 after the close of the Indian Wars. This place was sometimes called Cummingsville. It is now a part of Cincinnati. Here Mr. Ludlow spent the remainder of his life. He was one of the founders of the first Presbyterian church built in Cincinnati, his name heading the list of subscribers.1

Upon reaching Cincinnati, the family settled first in a two-room log cabin on the northwest corner of Front and Main Streets, built by his half brother Israel Ludlow. If standing today, that cabin would be located in the middle of the fifty-yard line at Riverfront Stadium!

The Ludlow farm to which he moved in 1794, and where he spent the latter part of his life was extensive, taking in what is now Ivorydale, and the village of St. Bernard, which changed it's name from Ludlow Station to St. Bernard as a tribute to it's German population. The house was situated on the site of the big smokestack of the Procter and Gamble Company in Ivorydale. The original homestead was of course a part of the property sold to the Procter and Gamble Company and became that company's first office. In later years it was used as a blacksmith shop. His second house in the area was erected in a large grove of trees near Carthage Pike overlooking Mill Creek. It had a large central hall with doors front and back, an extremely cold area in winter. Fireplaces and later heating stoves were required for warmth in each room. It was wired for electric lights in the 1930's by which time it had been divided into apartments. When Alber's store was built, the structure was torn down, and the Post Office is at the site of the old Ludlow home today. John Ludlow built for his son John, a frame house that also existed into the 1930's, another ancient landmark in the community. The large grove of fine old trees, called Ludlow's Grove, was for many years a popular picnic ground for Cincinnatians. Ludlow Grove Park in St. Bernard overlooks Mill Creek today, another memorial to this early settler. John Ludlow was the student of the family while his half brother Israel was the businessman. John mounted his horse each day and rode over his fields to oversee the work, in the fashion of an English Squire, and returning to his books for diversion.

He took a prominent part in politics, serving a number of terms as sheriff of Cincinnati. The jail was so poorly constructed that it often cost more to guard the prisoners than to try them. "At one time, knowing that his man would escape from the 'board pile' as the jail was called, he allowed him 20 lashes and excused him from further surveillance."2 He was chosen a representative for Hamilton County in 1798 at the first Territorial election held in Ohio. He was re appointed in 1800 and served in the second session which met in Chillicothe. His name is included in the list of members at the third session, Nov. 23, 1801 and also in 1802.3 1Williams, Hist. Montgomery County; Williams, Hist. Hamilton County, Proc. N. J. Hist. Soc. Vol. III, Third Series, pp. 43-59, Art. by Arthur E. Cooper. 2Williams, History of Hamilton County, p. 232. 3Williams, History of Montgomery County, p. 282, History of Warren County, p. 247

• More About JOHN LUDLOW:
• Burial: March 1823, Spring Grove Cemetery and Aboretum
• More About JOHN LUDLOW and CATHERINE COOPER:
• Marriage: 19 October 1772
• More About JOHN LUDLOW and SUSAN DEMUN:
• Marriage: Unknown

Children of JOHN LUDLOW and CATHERINE COOPER are:

* 	i.	 	SARAH8 LUDLOW, b. 1773, Morris County, NJ; d. 1831; m. JOHN LONG, Unknown; b. Unknown; d. Unknown.

• More About JOHN LONG and SARAH LUDLOW:
• Marriage: Unknown
• ii. AGNES LUDLOW, b. May 1775; d. 1831.
• iii. STEPHEN LUDLOW, b. 05 May 1778, Long Hill, Morris County, NJ; d. 22 March 1855, Lawrenceburgh, Dearborn County, IN; m. (1) JANE POTTER, Unknown; b. Unknown; d. Unknown; m. (2) LEAH ANN BELL, Unknown; b. Unknown; d. Unknown.
• Notes for STEPHEN LUDLOW:
• Stephen Ludlow was a well respected gentleman in Lawrenceburgh, Dearborn County, IN.See history of Dearborn County, IN.

	More About STEPHEN LUDLOW and JANE POTTER: Marriage: Unknown

More About STEPHEN LUDLOW and LEAH BELL: Marriage: Unknown

	iv.	 	LYDIA LUDLOW, b. 01 April 1780, Hamilton, OH; d. 05 April 1826, Springfield, Clark County, OH; m. * OGDEN ROSS, Unknown; b. Unknown; d. Unknown.

• More About OGDEN ROSS and LYDIA LUDLOW:
• Marriage: Unknown
• 33. v. COOPER LUDLOW, b. 11 June 1783, Cincinnati, Hamilton, OH; d. 1832, Springfield, Clark County, OH.

Children of JOHN LUDLOW and SUSAN DEMUN are:

* 	vi.	 	WILLIAM D.8 LUDLOW, b. 1785.

• vii. MARY LUDLOW, b. 26 November 1791.
• viii. JOHN LUDLOW, JR., b. 1795.
• 34. ix. SUSAN LUDLOW, b. 1810, Butler Co., OH; d. Unknown.
• x. ELIZABETH LUDLOW, b. Unknown.
• xi. MARTHA LUDLOW, b. Unknown.
• xii. RUTH LUDLOW, b. Unknown.

Source: Genealogy.com

John was the first sheriff of Hamilton County, Ohio. He was the brother of founding father Israel Ludlow. Note: springgrove.org=59913.tif.pdf

• Reference: Find A Grave Memorial - SmartCopy: Aug 4 2018, 19:18:36 UTC