John T. Ludeling
John Theodore Ludeling (January 17, 1827 – January 27, 1891) was chief justice of the Louisiana Supreme Court from November 1, 1868 to January 9, 1877.[1][2]
Early life, education, and career[edit]
Born in Monroe, Louisiana,[3] Ludeling entered Saint Louis University at the age of 12, but did receive a degree. He read law in Monroe to gain admission to the bar in Louisiana.[1] He was a lifelong Republican,[4] opposing secession at the outset of the American Civil War, and refusing to take up arms against either side.[1] His principled neutrality won him political support, and after the war he was called to serve in the 1867 Constitutional Convention.[1]
Judicial service and later life[edit]
In 1868, Governor Henry C. Warmoth appointed Ludeling Chief Justice of the state supreme court, making him the fifth person to hold that office,[3] but the first Louisiana native to do so.[1] Ludeling served until 1877, when Governor Francis T. Nicholls appointed an entirely new court.[1]
Ludeling thereafter attained great wealth as president of Vicksburg, Shreveport and Pacific Railway.[4]
Personal life and death[edit]
In 1855, Ludeling married Maria Copley Larkin, with whom he had four children.[1] Later in life, he retired to a plantation home near Monroe called Killeden Plantation. He died there at the age of 68, following a period of heart disease.[4]
References[edit]
- ^ a b c d e f g "John Theodore Ludeling (1827-1891)". Louisiana Supreme Court. Archived from the original on 2019-06-08. Retrieved May 15, 2020.
- ^ "Louisiana Supreme Court Justices, 1813-Present". Louisiana Supreme Court. Archived from the original on 2019-06-08. Retrieved May 16, 2020.
- ^ a b Celebration of the Centenary of the Supreme Court of Louisiana (March 1, 1913), in John Wymond, Henry Plauché Dart, eds., The Louisiana Historical Quarterly (1922), p. 120.
- ^ a b c "Hon. John T. Ludeling, Ouachita Parish", The New Orleans Times-Democrat (January 23, 1891), p. 1.