The Ludlow Way

by

Laine Farley

Little did I know when this pretty bookmark caught my eye that it would lead me on such an interesting journey. Celluloid bookmarks are a favorite and this one looked unusual with its shape of a flower vase on top of a scimitar-like paper knife. It had the full complement of information for a May birth date—the flower, birthstone and astrological sign. I didn’t pay much attention to the business on the reverse since there weren’t any interesting graphics.

Once it arrived I searched the business name as I always do to see if I could verify the date or location. That’s when I learned that this little object carried a big story. First I searched on “daylight church 47th” to discover that the church was in Chicago. Just by adding the location, I immediately retrieved a biography of the owner, H. Durward Ludlow, from the book Chicago: Its History and Its Builders published in 1918. According to the biography beginning on p. 60, Mr. Ludlow was “an outstanding figure in undertaking circles in Chicago . . . whose establishment is the last word in connection with undertaking service.” There is a portrait of Mr. Ludlow who presents an elegant if determined countenance with the handlebar moustache and wire-rimmed glasses of the period and a neat white bow tie. Following an account of his early years, the article provides information to explain much of what appears on the bookmark:

In April, 1916, he occupied a building of his own at No. 558 East Forty-seventh street. He has the largest and most modern undertaking establishment in the middle west. . . . There is also a retiring parlor in which the minister may meet and interview the family and the extensive chapel has given rise to the name by which the establishment is known—the Daylight Church. It is splendidly lighted all around, is equipped with a pipe organ and comfortable pews and the seating capacity is three hundred.

Further details of his establishment are provided along with the interesting fact that he conducted the first “automobile funeral” in America. A search on “H. D. Ludlow” led me to “A Brief History of Hearses” which explained that Ludlow “commissioned a vehicle to be built out of the body of a horse-drawn hearse and the chassis of a bus” for the funeral of one Wilfrid A. Pruyn. The site “This Day in History” confirmed that this event occurred on January 15, 1909—eerie since I began my research exactly 101 years and one day later.  Another oddity is that the phone number on the bookmark is Oakland 1274—my phone has the same last four digits and I live in Oakland.

It’s possible to get a glimpse of Ludlow’s career, primarily through advertisements. In the Chicago Medical Recorder, 1905, he is listed as secretary of Ludlow and Pearce Undertaking which featured a “private ambulance” and was located at 659 47th Street in Chicago.

The Chicago Public Library has a collection called West [Near West] Side Community Collection 1857-1953 in which there is a listing for “H. D. Ludlow (undertaker): Picture of hearse, 1911” in Series II Business Establishments, 1873-1945, but alas it hasn’t been digitized. I can only imagine him standing proudly beside his funeral coach.

On September 13, 1918, a large ad in the Hyde Park Herald appeared with a photo of him, the tag line “now located in our new building” at 558 E. 47th and an ironically dim photo of the celebrated Daylight Church. Then on July 4, 1930 a more modest ad announced “New Sedan Ambulances, Fine New Chapel” and a location of 6110 Cottage Grove Avenue. These ads apparently continued on a regular basis throughout 1930-1931. Although Ludlow remained at this location for many years, he discontinued his ads, perhaps because he was well established. Oddly, ads appeared in 1935 in the University of Chicago Alumni Magazine and in railroading magazines in the 1940s. These publications are not open for viewing in Google, offering only a tantalizing snippet of what he was offering such as “HD LUDLOW FUNERAL DIRECTOR Fine Air-Cooled Chapel With Pipe Organ.”

The date of the bookmark is uncertain, but must be between about 1916 and 1930, probably closer to 1916 when he first opened his ambitious establishment at 558 E. 47th Street. Perhaps he invested in this rather elaborate bookmark/paper knife to promote his business and convey the sense of elegance he offered with his Daylight Church, pipe organ and retiring parlor. The subject matter of the bookmark seems to be an impractical choice, however. Did he commission a bookmark for every sign of the zodiac? If so, how would he have distributed these to his clients? And curiously, the bookmark design commemorates birth for a business that deals with death.

All of this led me to want to know more about Mr. Ludlow’s fortunes. He was fairly easy to track via the Census, appearing in 1900 shortly after his marriage to wife Grace as “Harry D. Ludlow” and living with Susie Reynolds listed as his mother. This was apparently a mistake (his mother’s name was Martha), corrected in the 1910 Census when she was identified as his mother-in-law. Susie lived with the couple who had no children in 1920 but was no longer there in 1930. In all Censuses, he was listed as an undertaker, and his World War I Draft Registration confirmed his address on 47th Street. and other details.

Later information is more elusive because publications are still in copyright. For example, the Chicago Genealogist, v. 30-31, p. 44 apparently has biographical information but all that is available in a Google snippet is “Durward H. Ludlow was the owner of Chicago's Ludlow Funeral Home from 1902 through 1957.” In the Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society, v. 45, 1952, p. 187-188, he was a speaker at a meeting of the Woodlawn Historical Society (the Chicago neighborhood where he lived) to talk about the Iroquois Theatre Fire of December 30, 1903 along with one of the survivors. According to the report, “The undertaker was HD Ludlow. He spent three days, almost without sleep or rest, in taking care of the dead.” Almost 600 people died in that tragedy.

Sadly, he lost his wife in 1942 as her obituary in the Chicago Tribune describes:

1942-09-04 Chicago Tribune (IL)
Mrs. Grace A. Ludlow. Edition: Chicago Tribune Mrs. Grace A. Ludlow, prominent in Woodlawn religious and fraternal organizations, died yesterday in Delnor hospital, St. Charles, after she had collapsed in the suburb while visiting friends. She was 60 years old. Services will be in Woodlawn Baptist church Sunday at 2:30 p.m. Surviving in her husband, H. D. Ludlow. Record #19420904ob011

I thought it would be easy to find his obituary since he was rather well-known in his community, but I had more trouble finding information about him, possibly because of the variations in his name. He lived almost another 20 years and died on February 15, 1960.  The Chicago Tribune obituary was short and factual:

1960-02-17 Chicago Tribune (IL)
Harry D. Ludlow Services for Harry D. Ludlow, 86, of 7510 Stony Island av., funeral director in Chicago for 58 years, will be held at 2 p.m. Friday in the chapel at 7509 Stony Island av. He died Monday in South Shore hospital. For 40 years, he operated the Ludlow funeral home at 6110 Cottage Grove av. A sister and two brothers survive. Record #19600217ob021

A more personal version appeared on February 18, 1960 in the Chicago Tribune’s Death Notices, presumably submitted by his family. He was described as “beloved husband of the late Grace; fond brother of Clarence E., J. Wyman, and Irmavieve L. Edwards.” His burial was at Mount Hope Cemetery and a long list of memberships followed, including the Society of Mayflower Descendants and the Chicago Funeral Directors Association. Still, it seemed to be a rather quiet and modest ending after such a grand beginning for a young man who dedicated himself to making the end of life a dignified ritual.

Bookmark specifications: Taurus
Dimensions: 1 3/8" x 5 3/4"
Material: Celluloid
Manufacturer: Unknown but made for The Ludlow Way Ambulance Service and Funeral Director
Date: About 1916
Acquired: eBay

Laine Farley is a digital librarian who misses being around the look, feel and smell of real books.  Her collection of over 3,000 bookmarks began with a serendipitous find while reviewing books donated to the library. Fortunately, her complementary collection of articles and books about bookmarks provides an excuse for her to get back to libraries and try her hand at writing about bookmarks. Contact Laine.