Anna Ludlow (née Wright, 1865 – 1955) was a Choctaw teacher and philanthropist.

Anna Ludlow

Life edit

She was born Anna Wright at Boggy Depot, the daughter of Rev. Allen Wright, Principal Chief of the Choctaw and Methodist minister, and his wife Harriet Newell Mitchell.[1] She was involved in the Methodist church from childhood.[2]

 
Anna Ludlow in about 1884

She attended Northfield Seminary for Young Ladies, Massachusetts, from 1880 – 1884.[3][4] She also graduated from Kirkwood Seminary, Missouri, in 1886,[5] winning the school's prize for vocal music in her final year.[6]

She taught at schools at Lehigh and Atoka and at the Tushkahoma National Female seminary, which had opened in 1892.[7] In 1897 she was teaching there alongside her sister Katherine.[8]

On 22 November 1893 she married Edwin Ludlow, superintendent of mines for the Choctaw Coal and Railway Company.[9][10] They had one son, who died in infancy.[11][12] They lived first at Hartshorne, and Edwin's work brought them to Coahuila, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, and New York.[13] When Edwin died in 1924, Anna lived with her brother Allen Wright. Edwin's obituary praised the contribution that Anna's 'delightful personality and open-handed hospitality' made to the company.[14]

A member of the First Presbyterian church, she 'was widely known for her interests and philanthropies in Presbyterian missions.' In her final years she donated land for the Old Boggy Depot memorial park.[15]

She died 11 July 1955 at McAlester, Oklahoma.

References edit

  1. ^ Hodge, Frederick Webb (1910). Handbook of American Indians North of Mexico. U.S. Government Printing Office.
  2. ^ "Territory Chief Daughter Buried at Boggy Depot". Indian Citizen. 1955-07-14. p. 1. Retrieved 2024-01-31.
  3. ^ "untitled". The Indian Journal. 1880-09-16. p. 5. Retrieved 2024-01-31.
  4. ^ "Localisms". The Indian Champion. 1884-06-28. p. 5. Retrieved 2024-01-31.
  5. ^ "Pioneer Area Woman Dies". The M'Alester News-Capital. 1955-07-11. p. 1. Retrieved 2024-01-31.
  6. ^ "Kirkwood Seminary (pt 2)". St. Louis Globe-Democrat. 1886-06-11. p. 8. Retrieved 2024-01-31.
  7. ^ "Tvshka Homma Female Institute Historical Marker". www.hmdb.org. Retrieved 2024-01-31.
  8. ^ laredoleach (2018-05-08). "The Missing Obituary and Choctaw First Lady Harriet Newell Wright". Choctaw Journeys into the Past. Retrieved 2024-01-31.
  9. ^ "Marriage of Anna Wright and Edwin Ludlow Nov 22, 1893". Indian Citizen. 1893-11-30. p. 5. Retrieved 2024-01-31.
  10. ^ Thoburn, Joseph Bradfield; Wright, Muriel Hazel (1929). Oklahoma: A History of the State and Its People. Lewis Historical Publishing Company.
  11. ^ "Anna Wright Ludlow gives birth to a boy". Indian Citizen. 1894-11-15. p. 5. Retrieved 2024-01-31.
  12. ^ "Pioneer Area Woman Dies". The M'Alester News-Capital. 1955-07-11. p. 1. Retrieved 2024-01-31.
  13. ^ "Picture of Late Mrs. Anna Ludlow Is Found; Was Daughter of Choctaw Leader a Century Ago". McAlester Democrat. 1955-08-11. p. 4. Retrieved 2024-01-31.
  14. ^ Mining and Metallurgy. The Institute. 1924.
  15. ^ "Boggy Depot State Park" (PDF).