Here is an interesting Lud character. He was a son of John Norman Ludington/Zalmon/Comfort/Elisha/Henry/Wm/Wm the first in America. He lived to be 95 years. Ron Wood, Prof. R.F. "Past and Present of Dallas County, Iowa." Chicago: The S.J. Clarke Publishing Company, 1907, pp. 647-651. Alfred N. Ludington, who since 1887 has lived retired in Adel, prior to which time he engaged actively in farming for a number of years, was born in Petersburg, Somerset county, Pennsylvania, July 16, 1836. His mother died when he was only four years of age, after which he lived with his uncle, Jacob Hoover, until the year 1844. He then accompanied his father on the removal to Fayette, Pennsylvania, where he worked in a tanyard until 1846, thus beginning to earn his own living when a lad of but eight years. In 1846 the family took up their abode upon a farm, where Alfred N. Ludington remained until March, 1852, when he accompanied the family to Dallas county, Iowa. He continued at home until 1857, when, having attained his majority, he started out in life on his own account. During the summer he worked for Dr. Barick Mitchner and in the winter seasons attended school until 1859. Attracted by the gold excitement at Pike's Peak, he and thirteen companions, all from this locality, formed a company to go to the gold diggings. They hired a man by the name of Eggleston to go with an ox team and haul their provisions. Mr. Ludington remained with the company until they were at a point twenty-five miles west of Omaha, Nebraska, which at that time was an Indian district. They felt that they were meeting the entire number of emigrants upon a return trip, so that the company broke up and all returned with the exception of Mr. Ludington. Not content to go back home without experiences in the gold fields of the west, he joined a company bound for Washington territory, making arrangements with one of the party to haul his provisions to Fort Walla Walla. While on the plains water was very scarce and at times hard to get. On one such occasion Mr. Ludington noticed a small bunch of willows and, thinking he would find water there, he started with his canteen for the clump of trees. He found no water but did find Indians on looking among the willows. He thought the red men wanted his scalp but what drew their attention was a good eight inch heavy revolver which he carried in his belt. To keep them from taking the revolver he made the Indians march in front of him until they reached the wagons, showing them by motions and signs what would happen to them if they refused, for the red men were armed only with bows and arrows. His next unusual adventure was with a bear in the Cascade mountains. Mr. Ludington and three other boys were out hunting when they discovered a grizzly about one hundred and fifty yards above them on a nearly perpendicular ledge of rock. They all considered themselves expert shots, but knowing something of the habits of the wounded grizzly they decided to be careful. All taking a favorable position, they fired at the same time and when the report of the guns was heard the grizzlycame rolling and tumbling down the rocky side too fast to suit them, so they ran. When they had gone a mile or more they began thinking the matter over and concluded it would not do to go to camp with that kind of a report, so they turned and cautiously picked their way back to the place where they had last seen their bear. There lay Bruin on the ledge of rocks with four bullet holes through his body. The bear proved to be a large one, weighing fourteen or fifteen hundred pounds. The party met with no further adventures except the loss of a number of their cattle by drinking alkali water. At length they reached Fort Hall, an old evacuated fort in Utah. By this time their ox teams had become so weakened that Mr. Ludington and three other young men were persuaded to start out on foot by an old Californian who was with the crowd and had been across the plains before. He told them that by following the Snake river they would strike settlements in Washington territory in five or six days and that they could get plenty of meat by hunting along the way. So they started with flour enough to last six or seven days but they saw no white people for five weeks. The flour lasted about ten days and the rest of the time they lived on meat without salt. They cut their meat in strips and dried it by the fire during the night. They made their camp always with the Indians so as to keep on good terms with them and were not molested by the savages, who, however, would have stolen their guns and ammunition had they not prevented this by one of them always remaining on the watch. The first settlement they found was at Fort Walla Walla in Washington. The fort was occupied by troops and Mr. Ludington and his companions secured work at driving government teams. After remaining there for two weeks he received eighteen dollars in money, and with this he took a boat down the Columbia river to Portland, Oregon, where he arrived in September, 1859. He remained in and about Portland until January, but as there was little work there and he got an opportunity to work his passage on a steamship bound for San Francisco he proceeded to the Golden Gate. After two or three days he got a chance to work his passage on a boat to Sacramento and thence made his way to Hangtown, now Marysville, California, where he worked in the mines until March, 1860. Mr. Ludington then returned to San Francisco and thence went twelve miles across the bay to Oakland, in which locality he got work on a farm at twenty-five dollars per month, remaining there until February, 1861. He then returned to San Francisco and took passage on a steamship for New York, paying two hundred dollars for his ticket. The meals furnished were extremely poor but Mr. Ludington managed to get into the good graces of the steward, who on the second day came on deck to grind his knives. Mr. Ludington offered to work the grindstone and while so doing got into conversation with the steward. He told him that he would be glad to help at anything about the cooking that would give him better meals and when askedif he knew how to wash dishes said he had had some experience in that work. From that time on to Panama he had splendid fare and helped about the culinary department as opportunity offered. With the other travelers he crossed the Panama by rail, a distance of sixty miles, to Acapulco in South America, where they boarded a steamer bound for New York city, arriving after a voyage of twenty-five days. Mr. Ludington remained in New York two days and then took the train to Iowa City, the terminus of the road, where he arrived with a capital of but a dollar and a half. He then started on foot for home, reaching his destination three days later with seventy-five cents in his pocket, but with broad experiences and an intimate knowledge of the western mining country in its pioneer times. In April, 1861, Mr. Ludington rented land from Benjamin Green, which he farmed that summer, and on the 9th of August, 1862, he enlisted in CompanyC, Thirty-ninth Iowa Infantry, after selling his crop to Mr. Green for five cents per bushel in the field. In September, 1862, the company went from Adel to Des Moines and spent the time in camp and drill until about the 1st of November, the barracks and camp being about twenty rods east of the capitol building. Thence they were sent to Indianola, where they took the cars for Davenport and camped and drilled there until about the 1st of December. The regiment was then put on boats and started south, landing at Columbus, Kentucky, about the 12th of December. Two days later they were ordered to Corinth, Mississippi, but the rebels blocked their advance at Jackson, Tennessee. There they joined two Indiana regiments and a day or two later started out after the rebel cavalry commanded by General Forest. After two or three days hard marching they overtook the enemy at a place called Parkers Crossroads. They arrived at Corinth about the 6th or 7th of January, where they were quartered in large Sibley tents, having iron rods that passed up from the ground through the center of the tent and on which kettles could be hung in which they could do their cooking. The rebels having captured their provisions on taking the railroad, the supplies of the men became very scarce. At that time every colonel had a camp guard at his tent and Mr. Ludington was assigned to duty there. He was particularly hungry one evening when he was summoned by the colonel's darky cook to eat supper with his commander. When he was relieved from guard duty he accepted the invitation and made a very hearty meal. As his eyes wandered around the tent he saw a quarter of a beef rolled up in a piece of canvass lying under the colonel's bunk. He says now that he feels that his subsequent action displayed little gratitude for the meal he was then enjoying, but that night when he was off duty he waked two or three of his mess and set them to digging a hole right under the camp kettle that hung on a chain from the center of the tent. Mr. Ludington then went back to the colonel's headquarters, cut a.hole in his tent so he could reach under the bunk and thus obtained the beef. When he returned he found his messmates had finished the hole and wrapping the beef in paper they lowered it into the hole, replaced the dirt upon it and covered it all over again with ashes so that there was no trace of what had been hidden there. Early the next morning the colonel had a detail looking over the camp for his beef but did not find it. For fear of discovery Mr. Ludington and his mates had to use the beef at night. Such were some of the escapades in which the soldiers indulged. They remained in camp at Corinth until about the middle of April. when they were ordered to Tuscumbia, Alabama. At Bear Creek, Alabama, quite a battle was fought, after which they proceeded to Tuscumbia, remaining there three or four days and then returning to Corinth, where they continued until the 1st of November, 1863. Thence they marched to Pulaski, Tennessee, where they guarded the railroad until the 1st of March and then continued on to Athens, Alabama. From that point they started with Sherman's march on the Atlanta campaign, stopping first on the battlefield of Chickamauga and proceeding two days later to Buzzards Roost, where occurred a very hotly contested engagement.. The Union troops were victorious, however, and afterward proceeded to Snake Creek Gap, where another battle occurred; then on to Resaca and to Rome, Georgia, where they were in camp for two months. At that point Mr. Ludington had quite an adventure when out with a foraging squad about two miles from camp. He found a nice fat hog in a pen about five rods from a house situated in a garden. He knew that he could not capture the hog at that time, else the whole regiment would have an interest in the porker, but when evening came on he told eight or ten of the boys about his find and they started for the pen, agreeing with a picket to give him part of the meat if he would let them pass. The boys were all well mounted and everything proceeded nicely for some time but is was extremely dark and as Mr. Ludington was the only one who knew anything about the location of the pen it fell to his lot to go in and kill the pig. He had done some of that kind of work before and managed to reach the pen and stick his bayonet into the pig, killing him with a single stroke. The animal just gave one squeal but it was enoughto bring twenty or thirty rebels to the scene. Mr. Ludington's companions had the start of him and, mounting their horses made their escape. Before Mr. Ludington could leave the pen, however, the enemy were around him in every direction. His only chance was to lie flat on his stomach in a cabbage patch. The rebels kept up the hunt for him for what seemed to him a very long time. At length they found his horse and again started on the search. They stepped over and around him in the garden but owing to the darkness of the night they at length gave up the search and he lost no time in getting out of the place. From Rome the regiment to which he belonged proceeded to Altoona Pass, where they had a hard battle against overwhelming numbers, the regiment losing heavily in killed, wounded and prisoners. Later they proceeded with Sherman on the march to the sea and on to Washington, where with his comrades Mr. Ludington was honorably discharged June 5, 1865. After returning from the war Mr. Ludington purchased forty acres of land in Colfax township and later added a tract of eighty acres. He engaged in farming for more than twenty years thereafter but in 1887 retired to Adel, where he has since lived. A few years later he sold his farm in Colfax township and bought one hundred and sixty acres in Nebraska. In early manhood he married Sarepta Hooks, who was born in Ohio, February 14, 1848. They became the parents of a daughter and son: Lottie, the wife of Charles Fike, who is living on a farm near Jamaica, Iowa; and John A., a merchant of Bemidji, Beltrami county, Minnesota. Since 1866 Mr. Ludington has been a faithful and devoted member of the Methodist church. His political allegiance has been given to the republican party since its organization and for eighteen years he has been constable, while for three years he has been delinquent tax collector. He also served as deputy under Sheriff Payne and for two years was deputy sheriff under J.N. Hanes. He belongs to the Grand Army post and thus maintains pleasant relations with his old army comrades. His has been in many respects and interesting and unusual history owing to his experiences in the far west and in the south during the Civil War. He relates many interesting tales of those days and also of pioneer life in Iowa. He has witnessed almost the entire growth and development of this county and is one of its honored pioneer settlers. Name of Deceased:LUDINGTON, ALFRED N. Year:1932 Certificate Number:079692 County of Death:Ada, City:BOISE Date of Death:06/08/1932, Date of Birth:07/10/1836

Thanks Ron, a long but entertaining read. M ----- Original Message ----- From: "ron ludington" <ronlud@execulink.com> To: <LUDDINGTON-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Tuesday, August 15, 2006 6:43 AM Subject: [LUDDINGTON] > Here is an interesting Lud character. He was a son of John Norman > Ludington/Zalmon/Comfort/Elisha/Henry/Wm/Wm the first in America. He lived > to be 95 years. > > Ron > > Wood, Prof. R.F. "Past and Present of Dallas County, Iowa." Chicago: The > S.J. Clarke Publishing Company, 1907, pp. 647-651. > Alfred N. Ludington, who since 1887 has lived retired in Adel, prior to > which time he engaged actively in farming for a number of years, was > born in Petersburg, Somerset county, Pennsylvania, July 16, 1836. His > mother died when he was only four years of age, after which he lived > with his uncle, Jacob Hoover, until the year 1844. He then accompanied > his father on the removal to Fayette, Pennsylvania, where he worked in a > tanyard until 1846, thus beginning to earn his own living when a lad of > but eight years. In 1846 the family took up their abode upon a farm, > where Alfred N. Ludington remained until March, 1852, when he > accompanied the family to Dallas county, Iowa. He continued at home > until 1857, when, having attained his majority, he started out in life on > his own account. During the summer he worked for Dr. Barick Mitchner > and in the winter seasons attended school until 1859. Attracted by the > gold excitement at Pike's Peak, he and thirteen companions, all from this > locality, formed a company to go to the gold diggings. They hired a man > by the name of Eggleston to go with an ox team and haul their provisions. > Mr. Ludington remained with the company until they were at a point > twenty-five miles west of Omaha, Nebraska, which at that time was an > Indian district. They felt that they were meeting the entire number of > emigrants upon a return trip, so that the company broke up and all > returned with the exception of Mr. Ludington. Not content to go back > home without experiences in the gold fields of the west, he joined a > company bound for Washington territory, making arrangements with one of > the party to haul his provisions to Fort Walla Walla. While on the > plains water was very scarce and at times hard to get. On one such > occasion Mr. Ludington noticed a small bunch of willows and, thinking he > would find water there, he started with his canteen for the clump of > trees. He found no water but did find Indians on looking among the > willows. He thought the red men wanted his scalp but what drew their > attention was a good eight inch heavy revolver which he carried in his > belt. To keep them from taking the revolver he made the Indians march > in front of him until they reached the wagons, showing them by motions and > signs what would happen to them if they refused, for the red men were > armed only with bows and arrows. His next unusual adventure was with a > bear in the Cascade mountains. Mr. Ludington and three other boys were > out hunting when they discovered a grizzly about one hundred and fifty > yards above them on a nearly perpendicular ledge of rock. > They all considered themselves expert shots, but knowing something of the > habits of the wounded grizzly they decided to be careful. All taking > a favorable position, they fired at the same time and when the report of > the guns was heard the grizzlycame rolling and tumbling down the rocky > side too fast to suit them, so they ran. When they had gone a mile or > more they began thinking the matter over and concluded it would not do > to go to camp with that kind of a report, so they turned and cautiously > picked their way back to the place where they had last seen their bear. > There lay Bruin on the ledge of rocks with four bullet holes through his > body. The bear proved to be a large one, weighing fourteen or fifteen > hundred pounds. > The party met with no further adventures except the loss of a number of > their cattle by drinking alkali water. At length they reached Fort Hall, > an old evacuated fort in Utah. By this time their ox teams had become so > weakened that Mr. Ludington and three other young men were persuaded to > start out on foot by an old Californian who was with the crowd and > had been across the plains before. He told them that by following the > Snake > river they would strike settlements in Washington territory in > five or six days and that they could get plenty of meat by hunting along > the > way. So they started with flour enough to last six or seven days but they > saw no white people for five weeks. The flour lasted about ten days and > the > rest of the time they lived on meat without salt. They cut their meat in > strips and dried it by the fire during the night. They made their camp > always with the Indians so as to keep on good terms with them and were > not molested by the savages, who, however, would have stolen > their guns and ammunition had they not prevented this by one of them > always remaining on the watch. The first settlement they found was at > Fort Walla Walla in Washington. The fort was occupied by troops and Mr. > Ludington and his companions secured work at driving government teams. > After remaining there for two weeks he received eighteen dollars in money, > and with this he took a boat down the Columbia river to Portland, Oregon, > where he arrived in September, 1859. He remained in and about Portland > until January, but as there was little work there and he got an > opportunity > to work his passage on a steamship bound for San Francisco he proceeded > to the Golden Gate. After two or three days he got a chance to work his > passage on a boat to Sacramento and thence made his way to Hangtown, > now Marysville, California, where he worked in the mines > until March, 1860. > Mr. Ludington then returned to San Francisco and thence went twelve > miles across the bay to Oakland, in which locality he got work on a farm > at twenty-five dollars per month, remaining there until February, 1861. > He then returned to San Francisco and took passage on a steamship for > New York, paying two hundred dollars for his ticket. The meals furnished > were extremely poor but Mr. Ludington managed to get into the good > graces of the steward, who on the second day came on deck to grind his > knives. Mr. Ludington offered to work the grindstone and while so doing > got into conversation with the steward. He told him that he would be > glad to help at anything about the cooking that would give him better > meals and when askedif he knew how to wash dishes said he had had > some experience in that work. >>From that time on to Panama he had splendid fare and helped about the > culinary department as opportunity offered. With the other travelers he > crossed the Panama by rail, a distance of sixty miles, to Acapulco in > South America, where they boarded a steamer bound for New York city, > arriving after a voyage of twenty-five days. > Mr. Ludington remained in New York two days and then took the train to > Iowa City, the terminus of the road, where he arrived with a capital of > but a dollar and a half. He then started on foot for home, reaching his > destination three days later with seventy-five cents in his pocket, but > with broad experiences and an intimate knowledge of the western mining > country in its pioneer times. > In April, 1861, Mr. Ludington rented land from Benjamin Green, which he > farmed that summer, and on the 9th of August, 1862, he enlisted in > CompanyC, Thirty-ninth Iowa Infantry, after selling his crop to Mr. Green > for five cents per bushel in the field. In September, 1862, the company > went from Adel to Des Moines and spent the time in camp and drill until > about the 1st of November, the barracks and camp being about twenty > rods east of the capitol building. Thence they were sent to Indianola, > where > they took the cars for Davenport and camped and drilled there > until about the 1st of December. The regiment was then put on boats and > started south, landing at Columbus, Kentucky, about the 12th of > December. Two days later they were ordered to Corinth, Mississippi, but > the rebels blocked their advance at Jackson, Tennessee. There they > joined two Indiana regiments and a day or two later started out after the > rebel cavalry commanded by General Forest. > After two or three days hard marching they overtook the enemy at a > place called Parkers Crossroads. They arrived at Corinth about the 6th > or 7th of January, where they were quartered in large Sibley tents, > having iron rods that passed up from the ground through the center of the > tent and on which kettles could be hung in which they could do their > cooking. The rebels having captured their provisions on taking the > railroad, the supplies of the men became very scarce. At that time every > colonel had a camp guard at his tent and Mr. Ludington was assigned to > duty there. He was particularly hungry one evening when he was summoned > by the colonel's darky cook to eat supper with his commander. When he was > relieved from guard duty he accepted the invitation and > made a very hearty meal. As his eyes wandered around the tent he saw a > quarter of a beef rolled up in a piece of canvass lying under the > colonel's > bunk. He says now that he feels that his subsequent action displayed > little gratitude for the meal he was then enjoying, but that night when > he was off duty he waked two or three of his mess and set them to > digging a hole right under the camp kettle that hung on a chain from the > center of the tent. Mr. Ludington then went back to the colonel's > headquarters, cut a.hole in his tent so he could reach under the bunk and > thus obtained the beef. When he returned he found his messmates had > finished the hole and wrapping the beef in paper they lowered it into > the hole, replaced the dirt upon it and covered it all over again with > ashes so that there was no trace of what had been hidden there. Early the > next morning the colonel had a detail looking over the camp for his beef > but > did not find it. For fear of discovery Mr. Ludington and his mates had to > use the beef at night. Such were some of the escapades in which the > soldiers indulged. > They remained in camp at Corinth until about the middle of April. when > they were ordered to Tuscumbia, Alabama. At Bear Creek, Alabama, > quite a battle was fought, after which they proceeded to Tuscumbia, > remaining there three or four days and then returning to Corinth, where > they continued until the 1st of November, 1863. Thence they marched to > Pulaski, Tennessee, where they guarded the railroad until the 1st of > March and then continued on to Athens, Alabama. From that point they > started with Sherman's march on the Atlanta campaign, stopping first on > the battlefield of Chickamauga and proceeding two days later to > Buzzards Roost, where occurred a very hotly contested engagement.. The > Union troops were victorious, however, and afterward proceeded to > Snake Creek Gap, where another battle occurred; then on to Resaca and to > Rome, Georgia, where they were in camp for two months. At that point Mr. > Ludington had quite an adventure when out with a foraging squad > about two miles from camp. He found a nice fat hog in a pen about five > rods from a house situated in a garden. He knew that he could not > capture the hog at that time, else the whole regiment would have an > interest in the porker, but when evening came on he told eight or ten of > the > boys about his find and they started for the pen, agreeing with a picket > to > give him part of the meat if he would let them pass. The boys were all > well > mounted and everything proceeded nicely for some time > but is was extremely dark and as Mr. Ludington was the only one who > knew anything about the location of the pen it fell to his lot to go in > and > kill the pig. He had done some of that kind of work before and managed to > reach the pen and stick his bayonet into the pig, killing him with a > single > stroke. The animal just gave one squeal but it was enoughto bring twenty > or > thirty rebels to the scene. Mr. Ludington's companions had the start of > him and, mounting their horses made their escape. Before Mr. Ludington > could leave the pen, however, the enemy were around him in every > direction. His only chance was to lie flat on his stomach in a cabbage > patch. The rebels kept up the hunt for him for what seemed to him a very > long time. At length they found his horse and again started on the search. > They stepped over and around him in the garden but owing to the > darkness of the night they at length gave up the search and he lost no > time > in getting out of the place. From Rome the regiment to which he belonged > proceeded to Altoona Pass, where they had a hard battle against > overwhelming numbers, the regiment losing heavily in killed, wounded > and prisoners. Later they proceeded with Sherman on the march to the > sea and on to Washington, where with his comrades Mr. Ludington was > honorably discharged June 5, 1865. > After returning from the war Mr. Ludington purchased forty acres of land > in Colfax township and later added a tract of eighty acres. He engaged in > farming for more than twenty years thereafter but in 1887 retired to > Adel, where he has since lived. A few years later he sold his farm in > Colfax township and bought one hundred and sixty acres in Nebraska. In > early manhood he married Sarepta Hooks, who was born in Ohio, February > 14, 1848. They became the parents of a daughter and son: Lottie, the > wife of Charles Fike, who is living on a farm near Jamaica, Iowa; and > John A., a merchant of Bemidji, Beltrami county, Minnesota. > Since 1866 Mr. Ludington has been a faithful and devoted member of > the Methodist church. His political allegiance has been given to the > republican party since its organization and for eighteen years he has > been constable, while for three years he has been delinquent tax > collector. He also served as deputy under Sheriff Payne and for two years > was deputy sheriff under J.N. Hanes. He belongs to the Grand Army post > and thus maintains pleasant relations with his old army comrades. His > has been in many respects and interesting and unusual history owing to > his experiences in the far west and in the south during the Civil War. He > relates many interesting tales of those days and also of pioneer life in > Iowa. He has witnessed almost the entire growth and development of > this county and is one of its honored pioneer settlers. > > Name of Deceased:LUDINGTON, ALFRED N. > Year:1932 > Certificate Number:079692 > County of Death:Ada, City:BOISE > Date of Death:06/08/1932, Date of Birth:07/10/1836 > > > ==== LUDDINGTON Mailing List ==== > Visit the new Luddington Message Board at > http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec?htx=board&r=rw&p=surnames.luddington > > ============================== > Jumpstart your genealogy with OneWorldTree. Search not only for > ancestors, but entire generations. Learn more: > http://www.ancestry.com/s13972/rd.ashx > >