George Duncan Ludlow (1734-1808)

He was born on Long Island, New York. He studied law and by focusing on commercial cases was able to retire to an estate on Long Island by 1769. He was then appointed Judge of the Court of Common Pleas and Judge of the Supreme Court of Judicature while also serving as Master of the Rolls. In 1780, when he was passed over in favor of William Smith for the office of Chief Justice of the Province of New York, he resigned from the bench. By way of consolation, the Governor appointed him Chief Superintendent of the Police for Long Island. During the Revolution, he sided with the Loyalists and in 1781 he abandoned his estate at Hempstead Plains and left for England. He later, "estimated the price of his loyalty at £6,500 in real and personal estate."

He joined his brother Gabriel in the newly created Province of New Brunswick in Canada where he was granted large tracts of land in compensation for his losses in New York. In 1784, he was named Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the Province of New Brunswick. As a Member of the King's Council he, "participated in all decisions regarding legislation and justice". He was a slaveowner and in 1800 he controversially upheld slavery in New Brunswick despite the absence of any British statute that legalized it. In 1758, he married his cousin, Frances, daughter of Thomas and Mary (Ketcham) Duncan. They lived on his 1,500-acre estate "Spring Hill" just north of Fredericton and had three children.