BIOGRAPHY - SAMUEL LUDLOW
Samuel Ludlow, a successful practitioner at the Ford county bar, maintaining his residence in Paxton, was born in the town of Ludlow, Illinois, being the eldest of the three surviving children of James D. and Susan (Middlecoff) Ludlow, whose family at one time numbered four children. The living daughters are: Teresa, the wife of John L. Benedict of Indianapolis, Indiana; and Katharine, the wife of William H. White, cashier of the First National Bank of Paxton.
The father was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1823, and there spent his youth. He supplemented his public-school education by a knowledge of civil engineering and about 1850 came to Illinois, after which he spent six years at surveying in different parts of the state. Desirous of owning property, in 1856 he invested in farm lands, settling in Champaign county on the present site of Ludlow, and when the town was laid out much of it was upon his lands and was named in his honor. There he resided until 1882, when he removed to Paxton, where he lived retired in the enjoyment of well earned rest up to the time of his death in 1886. He was a republican in politics, influential in the ranks of the party, and for some years held the office of county judge in Champaign county. He was a member of the Christian church and a man of sterling qualities of heart and mind.
Samuel Ludlow spent his youth in his parents' home and early in the '90s began preparation for a professional career as a law student in the office of Judge J. H. Moffett. He also studied under Judge H. H. Kerr, and in 1895 passed the examination and was admitted to the bar. He then opened an office in Paxton, where he has since practiced and in the intervening twelve years has gained an enviable reputation as an able barrister. His knowledge of the law is comprehensive and his application thereof to the points in litigation is accurate and sound. He is clear in his reasoning and his deductions follow in logical sequence, so that he has won many notable forensic victories.
In 1890 Mr. Ludlow was married to Miss Adella Martin, a daughter of James Martin of Paxton. They are parents of four children, of whom three survive: Helen, Albert and Edmund, all yet at home. The parents are members of the Christian church, in which Mr. Ludlow is serving as elder. His political support is given to the republican party, but without hope or desire for political preferment as a reward for party fealty. His standpoint upon any question is ever a rational one and he looks at life with a broad understanding of its purposes and its possibilities, realizing man's obligations to his fellowmen.
Extracted 17 Oct 2016 by Norma Hass from History of Ford County, Illinois, From Its Earliest Settlement to 1908, author E. A. Gardner, Volume 2, pages 747-748.
