James Henry Ladson (1795–1868) was an American planter and businessman from

Charleston, South Carolina Charleston is the List of municipalities in South Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint of South Carolina's coastline on Charleston Harbor, an inlet of the Atla ...

. He was the owner of James H. Ladson & Co., a major Charleston firm that was active in the rice and cotton business, and owned over 200

slaves Slavery is the ownership of a person as property, especially in regards to their labour. Slavery typically involves compulsory work, with the slave's location of work and residence dictated by the party that holds them in bondage. Enslavemen ...

. He was also the Danish

Consul Consul (abbrev. ''cos.''; Latin plural ''consules'') was the title of one of the two chief magistrates of the Roman Republic, and subsequently also an important title under the Roman Empire. The title was used in other European city-states thro ...

in South Carolina, a director of the State Bank and held numerous other business, church and civic offices. James H. Ladson was a strong proponent of slavery and especially the use of religion to maintain discipline among the slaves. He and other members of the Charleston planter and merchant elite played a key role in launching the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

. Among Ladson's descendants is

Ursula von der Leyen Ursula Gertrud von der Leyen (; ; born 8 October 1958) is a German politician, serving as president of the European Commission since 2019. She served in the Cabinet of Germany, German federal government between 2005 and 2019, holding position ...

, who briefly lived under the alias Rose Ladson.

Life

He belonged to one of South Carolina's most prominent planter and merchant families, that had played a major role in the colonization of Carolina and the

slave trade Slave trade may refer to: * History of slavery - overview of slavery It may also refer to slave trades in specific countries, areas: * Al-Andalus slave trade * Atlantic slave trade ** Brazilian slave trade ** Bristol slave trade ** Danish sl ...

in the

Thirteen Colonies The Thirteen Colonies were the British colonies on the Atlantic coast of North America which broke away from the British Crown in the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783), and joined to form the United States of America. The Thirteen C ...

. He was the son of former Lieutenant Governor of South Carolina James Ladson and Judith Smith, and descended from many former British colonial governors. His maternal grandfather was the merchant banker, politician and slave trader Benjamin Smith. He was mainly of English and Scottish descent, and also had some French ancestors. The

Ladson family The Ladson family is an American family of English descent that belonged to the planter and merchant elite of Charleston, South Carolina from the late 17th century. The family were among the first handful of European settlers of the English colon ...

emigrated from

Northamptonshire Northamptonshire ( ; abbreviated Northants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It is bordered by Leicestershire, Rutland and Lincolnshire to the north, Cambridgeshire to the east, Bedfordshi ...

Barbados Barbados, officially the Republic of Barbados, is an island country in the Atlantic Ocean. It is part of the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies and the easternmost island of the Caribbean region. It lies on the boundary of the South American ...

and then to South Carolina as one of the first English settlers in 1679. His great-grandfather

Joseph Wragg Joseph Wragg (1698 – 1751) was a politician and slave trader in the Province of South Carolina. Born Chesterfield, Derbyshire, Wragg immigrated to the American colonies where he became a pioneer in the slave trade. During the 1730s, Wragg was t ...

was the largest slave trader in

British North America British North America comprised the colonial territories of the British Empire in North America from 1783 onwards. English colonisation of North America began in the 16th century in Newfoundland, then further south at Roanoke and Jamestown, ...

. Among his other ancestors were governors

John Yeamans Sir John Yeamans, 1st Baronet (bapt. 28 February 1611 – 1674) was an English colonial administrator and planter who served as Governor of Carolina from 1672 to 1674. Contemporary descriptions of Yeamans described him as "a pirate ashore." ...

, James Moore,

Robert Gibbes Robert Gibbes (January 9, 1644 – June 24, 1715) was a prominent English Landgrave and one of the first settlers of Charles Town (now Charleston) in 1670 and played a significant role in the early governance of South Carolina. He held mul ...

, Thomas Smith and Joseph Blake, and the first European settler of Carolina Henry Woodward. The

Gibbes Museum of Art The Gibbes Museum of Art, formerly known as the Gibbes Art Gallery, is an art museum in Charleston, South Carolina. Established as the Carolina Art Association in 1858, the museum moved into a new Beaux Arts building at 135 Meeting Street, in t ...

is named for his grandmother's family. He owned the La Grange and Fawn Hill plantations, which produced around 600,000 pounds of rice each year. He owned over 200

by 1850. His business partner William Cattell Bee was a cousin of Barnard Elliott Bee Jr. Ladson was a prominent community leader in the Charleston area. He was the Danish

in South Carolina from 1831. He was also a director of the State Bank and held various leadership roles in the Episcopal Church, e.g. as a member of the standing committee of the diocese. The ''

Charleston Mercury The ''Charleston Mercury'' was a secessionist newspaper in Charleston, South Carolina, founded by Henry L. Pinckney in 1819. He was its sole editor for fifteen years. It ceased publication with the Union Army occupation of Charleston in Febru ...

'' noted that he was "respected by all, and disesteemed by none." The '' Charleston Daily News'' described him as "an excellent specimen of the old Carolina gentleman, pure in character, and high-toned in his dealings, and was for many years the head of the house of James H. Ladson & Co., now represented by the firm of W.C. Bee & Co. This firm carried on an extensive and lucrative business as rice and cotton factors. He was also a bank director, and for most of his life a leading member of St. Michael's Episcopal Church of our city, where he stood foremost in Christian virtues and active benevolence." James H. Ladson was part of the oligarchy of elite planters and merchants who controlled Charleston, a city that played a major role in the history of slavery in the United States, and he and several of his family members were actively involved in launching the

. A proponent of "

states' rights In United States, American politics of the United States, political discourse, states' rights are political powers held for the state governments of the United States, state governments rather than the federal government of the United States, ...

," he was a vice-president of the Great Southern Rights and Southern Co-Operation Meeting in Charleston in 1851. He spent "a portion of the year" on his North Santee plantation, but otherwise lived in a town house in Charleston with 12 domestic slaves. His company's business address was 13 Southern Wharf. His sister

Sarah Reeve Ladson Sarah Reeve Ladson (1790-1866) was an American socialite, arts patron, and style icon. Born into a prominent Charleston family, she was an influential member of the South Carolinian planter class. She was regarded as one of the most fashionable ...

was a prominent socialite who was married to the Baltimore merchant, ship owner, East India importer and art collector Robert Gilmor, Jr. Sarah Reeve Ladson was regarded as one of the most fashionable American women of her time, and was the subject of several portraits and sculptures, including a famous portrait by

Thomas Sully Thomas Sully (June 19, 1783November 5, 1872) was an English-American portrait painter. He was born in England, became a naturalized American citizen in 1809, and lived most of his life in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, including in the Thomas Sull ...

. Art historian Maurie D. McInnis notes that "she visually made reference to the taste of the slave women around whom she had been raised" with the turban and bright colours.Maurie D. McInnis, ''The Politics of Taste in Antebellum Charleston'', p. 14, UNC Press Books, 2015, He was married to Eliza Ann Fraser, a daughter of the merchant and plantation owner Charles Fraser (1782–1860), who owned the Bellevue plantation near the Pocotaligo river and whose grandfather John Fraser had moved from Scotland to South Carolina around 1700. His father-in-law was a nephew of

John Rutledge John Rutledge Jr. (September 17, 1739 – June 21, 1800) was an American Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father, politician, and jurist who served as one of the original Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States ...

. His wife was also a niece of the painter Charles Fraser, who painted miniature portraits of him and his wife in 1826. Their son, Major William Henry Ladson (1829–1861), was a partner in his father's business J.H. Ladson & Co. and a Confederate officer who was killed during the

. The latter was the grandfather of Mary Ladson Robertson, who was the great-grandmother of

, who for a year lived under the name Rose Ladson in London to escape terrorists.

Ladson, South Carolina Ladson is a census-designated place (CDP) in Berkeley, Charleston and Dorchester counties in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The population was 13,790 at the 2010 census. It is named in honor of the Ladson family, one of the oldest planter and ...

, is named in honour of his family.

Views on slavery

In 1845, he described his views on the use of religion to maintain control over the slaves.
Proceedings of the Meeting in Charleston, S. C., May 13-15, 1845, on the Religious Instruction of the Negroes: Together with the Report of the Committee, and the Address to the Public. Pub. by Order of the Meeting
', pp. 52–55, B. Jenkins, 1845Dena J. Epstein, ''Sinful Tunes and Spirituals: Black Folk Music to the Civil War'', p. 204, University of Illinois Press, 2003, Ladson believed strongly in religious instruction to maintain discipline among the slaves and built his own chapel on the plantation that could accommodate around 100–110 slaves at a time. He stated:

Ancestry

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ladson, James H. 1795 births 1868 deaths People from Charleston, South Carolina American people of English descent American slave owners James H. 19th-century American planters 19th-century American merchants Rice merchants Consuls for Denmark in the United States