The Coopers of Long Hill

Document A.100 · will register copy · transcription: partial

Will and codicil of Stephen Ludlow of Dearborn Co., Indiana — county Will Record, book pp. 224–225 ff.; made 4 October 1854, probated 2 April 1855. A large estate, divided among a wife and seven children.

repository
Dearborn County, Indiana — county Will Record
identifier
Book pp. 224-225 ff.; five image spreads
date
1854-10-04

What is transcribed: Clauses 1st-6th, 8th and the appointment, across five spreads. Four clauses and the codicil are incomplete.

People named

As writtenRoleIdentified asWhat this document says
Stephen Ludlow testator Stephen D Ludlow 1778–1855
residence: Dearborn Co., Indiana
death: between 4 Oct 1854 and 2 Apr 1855
Lee Ann B. Ludlow spouse
child LeeAnn Beall 1808–1879
child Brower Ludlow 1839–1909
child Ruth (Bell) Ludlow 1842–1920
child Omer T Ludlow 1847–1921
child George T Ludlow 1850
child Oliver Perry Ludlow Sr 1814–1903
Ruth Bell Ludlow child
Brower Ludlow child
Oliver P. Ludlow child
Omer Young executor
Elijah Sparks mentioned
George Weaver mentioned
Richard Southgate mentioned

What this document records

A large and modern estate

This is not a farm will. The widow takes 40 acres including all the buildings, a carriage, livestock, furniture and $8,000 of interest-bearing paper — with the estate to make good any loss in its collection. A daughter takes 330 shares of the Indianapolis & Cincinnati Rail Road Company plus $3,500 in notes. A son takes a "Dairy Farm" bought jointly with two partners from Richard Southgate of Newport, Kentucky. A mid-century Indiana estate held substantially in securities, not land.

The family fund

Clause 8 creates a "Family Fund." Its income goes to the widow so long as Brower, Ruth, Edward S., Omer T. and George S. are in their minority, for the family's support and education; each child takes a one-fifth share on reaching 21. That clause dates five children at once — all five were under 21 in October 1854.

Seven children named

The will names Oliver P., George T., Omer T., Brower, Ruth Bell, Edward S. and George S. George T. and George S. appear as separate names in different clauses — recorded as read; the entry does not decide whether that is two sons or one clerk's slip.

Transcription and notes

Provenance, what is and is not transcribed, the securities-heavy estate, and the Family Fund clause that dates five children at once are all in the source: and coverage: headers and are not repeated here.

Data from the document (clauses transcribed):

I, Stephen Ludlow of Dearborn County, Indiana, do hereby make my Last Will & Testament, revoking all former wills by me made. First — debts and funeral expenses paid out of my personal estate. Second — to my beloved wife, Lee Ann B. Ludlow: 40 acres off the west end of the farm where I now live (a parallelogram including all the buildings), to her heirs and assigns forever; plus my two-horse wagon & harness, two-horse carriage & harness, two of my horses & four of my cows (her selection), one sow & pigs, all household & kitchen furniture (except as otherwise disposed), all farming utensils, and $8,000 of interest-bearing paper to be selected by her and transferred by my executor (my estate to make good any loss in its collection). Third — to George T. & Omer T. Ludlow [sons], as tenants in common, & to their heirs & assigns forever [land]. Fourth — to my son Brower Ludlow, my "Dairy Farm" so called = all the land I hold under the purchase made by me, Elijah Sparks & George Weaver, from Richard Southgate, late of Newport, Kentucky. Fifth — to my daughter Ruth Bell Ludlow, 330 shares of the Capital Stock of the Indianapolis & Cincinnati Rail Road Company + $3,500 in solvent interest-bearing notes/bonds (to her or her Guardian). Sixth — I empower my Executors to sell, whenever they think fit, all my real estate not herein specially divided. Eighth — the "Family Fund" income to be paid to Leann B. Ludlow so long as Brower, Ruth, Edward S., Omer T., and George S. are in their minority, for the family's support + education; each child, on reaching 21, to receive a one-fifth share of the Fund. Lastly — I appoint my beloved wife Leann B. Ludlow, my son Oliver P. Ludlow, and my esteemed friend Omer Young to be the Executors of this my last Will. — Stephen Ludlow [seal] Witnessed this 4th of October 1854 by Philip [L.D.] Spooner + Benjamin F. Spooner; proved by them before the Clerk of the Court of Common Pleas, Dearborn County, Indiana, 2 April 1855 (recorded by clerk Cornelius O'Brien). A codicil reworks daughter Ruth Bell's "Dairy Farm" bequest into a life estate (free of her husband's control) with remainder to her children.

Note (not on the document): Stephen Ludlow [p.883]'s estate was provided to his wife Lee Ann B. (Beall) [p.1512] + his 5 minor children by her — George T. [p.1517], Omer T. [p.1516], Brower [p.1513], Ruth Bell [p.1514], Edward S. [p.1515] (the "Family Fund," one-fifth each). The "Lastly" clause names "my son Oliver P. Ludlow" as an executor = primary-source confirmation that Oliver Perry Ludlow Sr. [p.1519] (1814–1903) is Stephen's son (independent of his death cert [F.205]) — and the son Stephen trusted to administer the estate. (The same-named Oliver Cooper Ludlow [p.1036], once thought a son here, is not in the will — correctly, as he proved to be the son of a different Stephen, Stephen Decatur Ludlow [p.1520] of Shelby Co.; see [L.144].) Friend-executor "Omer Young" is likely the namesake of son Omer T. [p.1516]. "John" [p.1033] is not in the will either.

Cross-references