Canadian Loyalist soldier and politician (1736–1808)
Gabriel George Ludlow (April 16, 1736 – February 12, 1808) was a Loyalist [ 2] military officer and politician who served as the first mayor of Canada's oldest incorporated city, Saint John , in then-colonial New Brunswick .
Life and career
Gabriel George Ludlow was born on April 16, 1736, in Queens County, Long Island , in the Province of New York of then-British America . He was born to merchant Gabriel Ludlow and Frances Frances (née Duncan) Ludlow. Additionally, he was the younger brother of George Duncan Ludlow .[ 3]
Ludlow served in the 3rd Battalion of the Long Island-based De Lancey's Brigade as a colonel. He later served as a King's College governor as well as a Justice of the peace .[ 4] Ludlow later arrived in Parrtown with his older brother.[ 5] On May 18, 1785,[ 6] upon the incorporation of Saint John following the amalgamation of the Loyalist-created Parrtown and Carleton ,[ 7] Ludlow was sworn into office as its first mayor. According to the Telegraph-Journal , he was additionally the first mayor in Canada.[ 6]
Ludlow's family, including himself,[ 8] were firm supporters of slavery and were slaveowners . His father traded slaves, and whilst his older brother, George, was the first Chief Justice of New Brunswick ,[ 9] he also declared slavery, which he practiced, to be legal in the controversial 1799 court case R v Jones .[ 10] [ 11]
Ludlow also temporarily served as the acting Lieutenant Governor of New Brunswick .[ 12]
Personal life
On February 12, 1808, Ludlow married Anne Verplanck,[ 3] sister of Gulian Verplanck , the Federalist Speaker of the New York State Assembly .[ 13] They had one son, Gabriel Verplanck Ludlow,[ 3] the father of Edward Hunter Ludlow .[ 13] On February 12, 1808, Ludlow died in Saint John at the age of 71,[ 3] and was buried at the Old Carleton Graveyard in Saint John West along with his wife.[ 14] [ 15]
References
^ Hopkins, J. Castell (John Castell) (1898). Canada: an encyclopædia of the country; the Canadian dominion considered in its historic relations, its natural resources, its material progress and its national development, by a corps of eminent writers and specialists . Toronto : Linscott Pub. Co. p. 297. Retrieved April 19, 2024 .
^ "The Loyalist Founders of St. John" . The Burlington Free Press . November 22, 1889. p. 7. Retrieved May 1, 2024 .
^ a b c d "Biography – LUDLOW, GABRIEL GEORGE – Volume V (1801–1820)" . www.biographi.ca . Dictionary of Canadian Biography . Retrieved May 1, 2024 .
^ "Gabriel George Ludlow" . Newsday (Suffolk Edition) . August 29, 1976. p. 355. Retrieved May 1, 2024 .
^ "Anniversaries" . Calgary Herald . February 12, 1914. Retrieved May 1, 2024 .
^ a b "Descendants sought;trees to honour mayors" . Telegraph-Journal . February 28, 2000. Retrieved May 1, 2024 .
^ "Saint John" . Encyclopædia Britannica . April 26, 2024. Retrieved May 1, 2024 .
^ Lockhart, Bob (February 16, 2012). "There's a richness of black history in New Brunswick; Black History Month" . The Daily Gleaner . ProQuest 921563675 . Retrieved May 2, 2024 .
^ "Portrait of controversial figure George Ludlow removed from UNB law school" . The Canadian Press . CBC News . October 31, 2019. Retrieved May 2, 2024 .
^ "Biography – LUDLOW, GEORGE DUNCAN – Volume V (1801–1820)" . www.biographi.ca . Dictionary of Canadian Biography . Retrieved May 2, 2024 .
^ Chilibeck, John (October 28, 2019). "Ludlow's questionable legacy in New Brunswick" . Telegraph-Journal . ProQuest 2309185087 . Retrieved May 2, 2024 .
^ "Anniversaries" . The Calgary Daily Herald . February 12, 1914. Retrieved May 1, 2024 .
^ a b NEW YORK'S GREAT INDUSTRIES . Historical Publishing Company. 1885. p. 88. ISBN 978-1-4255-2748-8 . Retrieved May 1, 2024 .
^ "Colonel Gabriel G. Ludlow" . Historical Marker Database. Retrieved May 1, 2024 .
^ "St. John Will Have Celebration on May 18" . The Gazette . May 16, 1928. Retrieved May 1, 2024 .
External links