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Any photos not otherwise credited are from the personal collection of Frank Passic, Albion Historian.
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Morning Star, May 27, 2012, pg. 32 Please support our local Memorial Day parade on Monday. The tribute ceremony will be back at the cemetery this year as normal at the Veteran's Memorial Stage. It is good to have the new bridge completed. Each year at this time we feature one of Albion's Civil War veterans. Albion only had a handful of Civil War soldiers who served in the Battle of Gettysburg, as the rest belonged to units that served elsewhere. One of Albion's Gettysburg veterans was Frank Saxton Ludlow (1842-1918). If the name Ludlow sounds familiar, it should. Ludlow Road in nearby Parma Township (that's the gravel road behind Caster Concepts) was named after his family surname. The 1874 plat map of Jackson County shows Frank owning a large acreage of land in Section 4 bordering Springport Township along Crawford Road. Frank was born in Ludlowville, Tompkins County, New York, from whence several Albion area families had come. He was the son of West H. (1811-1870) and Ann (Saxton) (1821-1892) Ludlow. The family came here in the late 1840s and settled on their farm. In 1862 at the age of 19, Frank enlisted in the 16th Michigan Volunteers, Company K in nearby Springport. His obituary stated, "This regiment was assigned to the Army of the Potomac and Mr. Ludlow took part in several important engagements including the Battles of Antietam, Gettysburg, and the second Battle of Bull Run." Frank was in the service for three years as a private. In all the time he served, he was never wounded. He was discharged on May 5, 1865. Upon his return to the area, he purchased his parents farm which he still owned until his death. He moved to Albion in 1890 and lived at 1201 E. Michigan Avenue. Frank married Mary A. Gassett (1847-1907) on March 25, 1875. Their daughter (two others died infancy) was Ruth Bangham (1878-1967) who married both father and son (at different times, of course): Dr. Arthur Banghan, and then his son Harrison A. Bangham (1888-1941). Frank's wife must have been a good cook. The Albion Recorder reported on November 3, 1904: "The largest apple pie of the year was left at our desk Tuesday. It measures 15˝ inches around and is of symmetrical shape. It came from Frank Ludlow's farm northeast of Albion. We were unable to determine the species." Although he lived his later years in Albion where he was taken care of by his daughter. Frank was active in the local E. W. Hollingsworth Chapter No. 210 of the Grand Army of the Republic, and his name is included in the list on the large plaque in the GAR lot in Riverside Cemetery. Frank would spend his winters at his daughter's home in Miami, Florida, where he passed away on February 1, 1918 at the age of 76. He was interred in Block 90 in Riverside Cemetery. From our Historical Notebook we present a 1913 photo of Frank S. Ludlow.  Frank Saxton Ludlow (1842-1918) All text copyright, 2025 © all rights reserved Frank Passic
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