Judith Smith Ladson

Judith Smith Ladson (May 1766 – September 4, 1820) was an American heiress and socialite. A member of the colonial planter class, she was the daughter of the slave trader Benjamin Smith and the wife of the politician James Ladson, who later served as Lieutenant Governor of South Carolina. Through her marriage, she was a member of the Ladson family, one of Charleston's most prominent families.

Judith Smith Ladson
Portrait of Ladson by Samuel Morse
Born1766
Charleston, Province of South Carolina, British Empire
DiedSeptember 4, 1820
Charleston, South Carolina
United States
Resting placeSt. Philip's Episcopal Church Cemetery
Spouse(s)James Ladson
Children11 (including James and Sarah)
Parent(s)Benjamin Smith
Mary Wragg
RelativesJoseph Wragg (grandfather)

Biography

Ladson was born in Charleston in 1766 to Benjamin Smith and Mary Wragg. Her father was a prominent planter, slave trader, and merchant who served as Speaker of the South Carolina Royal Assembly.[1] Her mother was a daughter of English slave trader Joseph Wragg and Huguenot heiress Judith DuBose. Ladson was a great-great granddaughter of Thomas Smith and Joseph Blake, who both served as Colonial Governors of the Province of South Carolina.[2] Through her father, she was a descendant of Sir George Smith and Sir Nicholas Smith. Ladson was a first cousin of Benjamin Smith, who served as Governor of North Carolina.[3] Her family, one of the wealthiest families in Charleston, were leading figures in the British colonization of the Americas and the slave trade in British North America.

Portrait of Ladson as a child by John Wollaston

She spent her childhood at a mid-17th century townhouse on Broad Street, her family's primary residence.[4] She also spent time at her father's two plantations, the Accabee Plantation in the St. Andrew Parish on the Ashley River, and a two-thousand acre plantation in the St. James Parish near Goose Creek.

The Benjamin Smith House (49 Broad Street), Ladson's childhood home.

On October 1, 1778 she married James Ladson, a planter and military officer who served in the American Revolutionary War.[1][5] Prior to their marriage, a settlement was made between Ladson's father and fiancée, setting her dowry at £100,000, which would come in to the possession of her husband upon her marriage.[6] The settlement also conferred that half of the dowry would be inherited by the couple's children, should Ladson's husband die before her.[6]

They had eleven children, including James H. Ladson and Sarah Reeve Ladson.[6][7] Her husband was elected Lieutenant Governor of South Carolina in 1792.[8][9]

A prominent society figure, Ladson was painted by portraitists John Wollaston and Samuel Morse, the later whose portrait is on display at the Gibbes Museum of Art.[10][11]

She died on September 5, 1820 and was buried in the cemetery at St. Philip's Episcopal Church.

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References
  1. Laurens, Henry (May 6, 1981). "The Papers of Henry Laurens". Univ of South Carolina Press – via Google Books.
  2. Biographical directory of the South Carolina Senate, 1776–1985, vol. 2, p. 881, University of South Carolina Press, 1986, ISBN 9780872494800
  3. Alan D. Watson, General Benjamin Smith: A Biography of the North Carolina Governor, p. 5, McFarland, 2014, ISBN 9780786485284
  4. Historic American Buildings Survey (Library of Congress)
  5. Salley, Alexander Samuel (July 6, 1976). "Marriage Notices in the South-Carolina and American General Gazette from May 30, 1766, to February 28, 1781, and in Its Successor the Royal Gazette (1781-1782)". Genealogical Publishing Com – via Google Books.
  6. Appeals, South Carolina Court of; Richardson, J. S. G. (July 6, 1853). "Reports of Cases in Chancery: Argued and Determined in the Court of Appeals of South Carolina, 1831-1832. 1831-1832". McCarter – via Google Books.
  7. "The National Cyclopaedia of American Biography". J.T. White. July 6, 1909 – via Google Books.
  8. Baltimore, Colonial Dames of America Chapter I. (July 6, 1910). "Ancestral Records and Portraits: A Compilation from the Archives of Chapter I, the Colonial Dames of America". Grafton Press – via Google Books.
  9. Moss, Bobby Gilmer (July 6, 2009). "Roster of South Carolina Patriots in the American Revolution. Volume II, K-Z". Genealogical Publishing Com – via Google Books.
  10. "Judith Smith (Mrs. James Ladson) - John Wollaston". Google Arts & Culture.
  11. "Mrs. James Ladson (Judith Smith) - Morse, Samuel F. B."
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