Joseph Ludden

(October 25, 1753 – August 4, 1829) 

In December 1773, Joseph Ludden was a young twenty-year-old blacksmith living in Braintree, Massachusetts.

Sometime after the Boston Tea Party, he relocated to Maine. Not much else is known about Ludden’s early life or participation in the “destruction of the tea.” 

During the Revolution, Ludden served as a private in Captain George Roger’s company for four days. That company was detached from the 2nd Cumberland County regiment to help erect the fort at Falmouth, Maine in November 1775. From there, Ludden was recommended for promotion to Adjutant of the regiment on April 4, 1776. The appointment was commissioned on June 24, of that year. As of August 20, 1776, Ludden was billeted at Watertown, New York, 160 miles from home. Ludden enlisted again on July 7, 1779 and served with the Penobscot Expedition until his discharge on September 12, 1779. 

Following his discharge from the army, Joseph Ludden settled into life in Turner, Maine. In 1802, he was chosen to be a member of the school committee and in 1803, he ran for governor of Turner and received one vote. On May 28, 1804, Ludden was one of the petitioners in Turner to the Senate and House of Representatives in Boston to permit the formation of a Universalist Society in the town, as their “intention [was] to be peaceable citizens and not to molest other religious society (sic).” 

Joseph Ludden died in Canton, Maine on August 4, 1829. He is buried in Centerville Cemetery in Turner, Maine.