Series II: Correspondence and journals, 1802-1888
Scope and Contents
This series consists primarily of correspondence between the members of Lewis Ludington's family: his wife, Polly, and children Laura, Delia, William Edgar, Robert, Charles, James, Lavinia, Emily and Amelia. The majority of the letters are to or from Charles Ludington. Topics include school, travel, and business matters of Charles Ludington's dry goods business in New York City, and of the family lumber business in Milwaukee.
Notable letters include a description of traveling through Detroit in the 1840's; a description of the Whig parade in New York on October 30, 1844; a letter regretting Henry Clay losing the election of 1844; various letters about Lavinia attending the Rutgers Female Institute; a letter describing the fire at Niblo's Garden in 1846; a description of the funeral of John Quincy Adams in 1848; a rapturous letter about seeing singer Jenny Lind in 1850; and a letter expressing outrage over Lincoln's assassination in 1865. There are a few letters from James Ludington in the 1860's on the topic of his sister Laura's husband Robert, who was an alcoholic. Most of the later family correspondence is between Charles and James, and deals primarily with business matters.
In addition to family correspondence, there is a folder of letters from George W. Chapman, agent for Lathrop, Ludington & Co., to Charles Ludington, regarding business and employment matters. There is also one folder of correspondence from various other non-family members, primarily concerning business matters. Correspondents include Robert Lathrop, Panama Canal promoter Frederick Kelley, and Congressmen Augustus Frank, George W. Patterson, and William Walter Phelps.
Two additional folders of correspondence have been organized by topic: "Civil War Correspondence" deals primarily with recruiting efforts in Carmel, New York, which Charles Ludington supported; and "Art Correspondence," which includes letters between Charles Ludington and various artists and art dealers, including Jervis McEntee, Sanford Gifford, and Jacob Wrey Mould.
This series also includes a journal kept by Charles Ludington from 1842 to 1847. It includes colorful descriptions of various events in New York City, such as the procession to celebrate completion of the Croton Aqueduct, and gives a real flavor of daily life during that time period. Charles made frequent visits to the family home in Carmel and also describes trips to and from the Wisconsin Territory, where his father had established a lumber business. A transcription of the journal is also included.