Gabriel Ludlow (1663-1736)
Shipowner, Merchant, Landowner & Clerk of the New York House of Assembly
He was born in England in the village of Castle Cary, Somerset. His grandfather was a brother of (1) Gabriel Ludlow, Receiver-General for the Duchy of Lancaster in the reign of Charles I (2) Roger Ludlow, three-time Lieutenant-Governor of Connecticut, Deputy-Governor of Massachusetts, and the founder of Fairfield and Norwalk in Connecticut; and, (3) Colonel George Ludlow, of Jamestown, Member of the Virginia Governor's Council. As a younger son, he emigrated to New York in 1694 where he became a prominent merchant, shipowner, longtime Clerk of the New York General Assembly (1699 to 1733) and Vestryman of Trinity Church. He lived on Maiden Lane, established business premises on Queen (Pearl) Street, and obtained a patent from King George II for the 4,000 acre Rockland-Tappan tract which became Orange County, New York, on the west bank of the Hudson River. In 1697, he married Sarah, daughter of the Rev. Joseph Hanmer, Chaplain to His Majesty's Forces in the Province of New York. They were the parents of twelve children of whom eight (listed) survived to adulthood.
