Cumberland County ME Archives Biographies.....Ladd, William  
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Author: Sprague's Journal of Maine History 

WIlliam Ladd, Sometime of Minot, Maine: THE APOSTLE OF PEACE
1778-1841 By George C. Wing, Jr.

Printed in Sprague's Journal of Maine History Vol. XI.
APRIL, MAY, JUNE No. 2 Courtesy of the Androscoggin Historical
Society


William Ladd Sometime of Minot, Maine THE APOSTLE OF PEACE
1778-1841 By George C. Wing, Jr. In these days of ardent hope
for world peace, when the minds of thoughtful men and women
are much concerned with a League of Nations, conferences
between nations for the re-duction of armaments and the
payment of national debts, when the Hague Tribunal is an
accomplished fact, it is pleas-ant and most satisfying to
recall William Ladd and his life in the Town of Minot, Maine,
and his efforts to prevent war and to obtain the
consummation of peace. William Ladd was born in Exeter, New
Hampshire, May 10, 1778, the oldest son of Eliphalet Ladd and
Abigail Hall Ladd. He fitted for college in the Academy at
Exeter, en-tered Harvard in 1793, and there graduated in 1798.
Eli-phalet Ladd moved to Portsmouth about 1795, and in that
city became an eminent and successful merchant. In 1797,
William Ladd sailed as a common sailor in one of his father's
vessels and visited London and other parts of Europe. At
twenty years of age he was in command of a ship. He fol-lowed
the sea until about 1800. His title Captain was thus earned
and deserved. When he was twenty-one years old he married in
England, Sophia Ann Augusta Stidolph of London. After leaving
the sea Capt. Ladd lived for a few months in Savannah,
Georgia, where he occupied himself as a merchant. From
Savannah, he moved to Florida, where on a cotton plan-tation
he undertook the abolition of negro slavery by the in-
troduction of free labor in the persons of European emigrants.
In this he was a failure and he lost most of his property. In
1806, the father, Eliphalet Ladd, died, and William returned





54 SPRAGUE'S JOURNAL OF MAINE HISTORY

to Portsmouth and to the sea, which he followed until the War
of 1812 made such an occupation undesirable. In June, 1814, as
he himself records in his Annals of Bakerstown, "William Ladd
moved from Portsmouth to Minot" and the hill-top where he made
his home and built his mansion house, dreamed of peace,
conceived the idea of a Con-gress of Nations, as set forth in
his Essay on a Congress of Nations, and justly earned the
title with which his memory is yet honored, "The Apostle of
Peace." The Cumberland County Registry of Deeds shows in 1813
that Capt. Ladd bought of James Jewett of New Durham, New
Hampshire, "The New Farm" in the town of Minot. For this he
paid $7,750. In addition to "The New Farm" he bought otter
lands until he possessed more than 600 acres. To house his
herds and crops he had six large barns. He employed many
hands and his farming operations were most extensive and
conducted on scientific lines. That his interest among his
neighbors was not confined to selfish ends alone is evidenced
by the fact that he was a stockholder in the first shoe
manufacturing company organized in Minot, now Auburn, January
2, 1835. On July



HOMESTEAD OF WILLIAM LADD Center Minot, Maine, 1896




Page 55

4, 1814, he delivered at Minot, an oration, in the closing
sen-tences of which occur these ringing words, "religion,
virtue and knowledge shall rule and the Empire of Peace shall
be established." In 1816, with Seth Chandler, he was sent as a
representative to the General Court and September 16 of that
year he attended the convention at Brunswick to form a
constitution if there should be five-ninths of the voters of
Maine in favor of a separation. In July 20, 1817, he joined
the Second Congregational Church of Minot, and in 1837 be was
licensed to preach the Gospel of Peace. In 1819, when Capt.
Ladd was forty-one years old, he saw the Reverend Jesse
Appleton, President of Bowdoin College. Hemenway, his
biographer, quotes William Ladd as saying: "I had the
privilege of witnessing some of the last hours of the Rev.
Jesse Appleton, D.D., President of Bowdoin College. In his
joyful anticipations of the growing improvement of the world,
and the enumeration of the benevolent societies of the day, he
gave a prominent place to Peace Societies; and this was almost
the first time I ever heard of them. The idea then passed
over my mind as the day-dream of benevolence; and so every one
views the subject, who does not examine it. It is probable
that the impressions made at this interview first turned my
attention to the subject, but it probably would soon have
escaped from me, had not the Solemn Review, which came soon
after into my possession, in a very singular way, riveted my
attention in such a manner as to make it the prin-cipal object
of my life to promote the cause of Peace on earth and good-
will to man." The origin of Peace Societies may be traced to
the publica-tion in 1809 of a tract entitled, "The Mediator's
Kingdom, not of this world, but Spiritual," by David Low
Dodge, a citizen and merchant of New York City. These
societies were an organized religious movement as a protest
against war as in-consistent with the teachings of the New
Testament. "In 1815, the following Peace Societies were
created in the United States: The New York Peace Society, the
first of its kind, organized as has been seen by Mr. David Low
Dodge in August; the Ohio Peace Society, founded on December
2nd; the Massachusetts Society founded December 26th, by the













56 SPRAGUE'S JOURNAL OF MAINE HISTORY



Reverend Noah Worcester, D.D., author of the tract entitled 'A
Solemn Review of the Custom of War,' which appears to have
converted Mr. Ladd to the ways of peace." William Ladd began
his first series of Essays on Peace and War, thirty-two in
number, in the Christian Mirror at Portland, Maine, July,
1823. In 1825, these essays were col-lected and published in
a volume. In 1825, he wrote a review of Commodore Porter's
"Journal of a Voyage in the Pacific Ocean in the United States
Frigate, Essex," in which he criticized the "War Trade" as
well as the "Slave Trade." This same year in these articles in
the Christian Mirror he disapproved the erection of the Bunker
Hill Monument on the ground that future generations will look
upon the column as a "monument of the barbarism and anti-
Christian spirit of our age." In 1827, appeared another volume
of essays begun in 1825, thirty-seven in all. July 4, 1825,
he addressed the Peace So-ciety of Oxford County at Sumner.
In December, 1825, he ad-dressed the Massachusetts Peace
Society and February, 1824, he spoke before the Peace Society
of Maine. Both of these ad-dresses were reprinted in London. 
July 4, 1826, he delivered an oration at Exeter, New
Hampshire, in which his favorite note of peace predominated.
The American Peace Society was formed in 1828. William Ladd
was its first president. Its first meeting was held in New
York City, May 8, 1828, and in that month and year Mr. Ladd
issued the first number of a "Harbinger of Peace." This paper
was issued monthly and had a circulation of about 1500
numbers. The "Calumet" took the place of the "Harbinger of
Peace" in 1831, and con-tinued four years. The latter
publication appeared every two months. The writing and
editorial work of these papers was done by William Ladd on the
Minot hill-top where he made hi's home and had his study. In
1830, he wrote a tract published by the Minot Peace Society,
"Reflections on War," and between 1829 and 1832 he wrote the
following books on peace for the improvement of young people:
"The Sword or Christmas Presents," "Howard and Napoleon
Contrasted," "The French



*Introduction "An Essay on a Congress of Nations," Carnegie
Endowment for In-ternational Peace, James Scott Brown, Page
IX.




WILLIAM LADD 57



Soldier," "History of Alexander the Great." In 1831, Mr. Ladd
published a dissertation on a Congress of Nations in the
Harbinger of Peace. This also appeared in pamphlet. This was
according to Hemenway, his biographer, the first work on a
Congress of Nations ever printed in America. In 1834 ap-
peared his "Solemn Appeal to Christians in Favor of Peace,"
and in 1835 he issued his work on "The Duty of Woman to
Promote the Cause of Peace." In 1836-7 he published in the
Christian Mirror twenty-two essays entitled "Obstacles and
Objections to the Cause of Peace." The essays afterward ap-
peared in book form. In 1837 the Constitution of the Ameri-
can Peace Society was revised and the stand taken that all war
is contrary to Gospel. This was in accordance with William
Ladd's idea and in the controversy which arose over the
amendment he was opposed by President Allen of Bow-doin
College. In 1837 appeared nine articles in the Christian
Mirror addressed to ministers in which he sought to awaken and
instruct them in their duty as to the Cause of Peace. In
November, 1837, occurred the death of Elijah Lovejoy at Al-
ton, Illinois, while defending his printing press against a
mob. Ladd took the ground that Lovejoy was not a martyr, that
he did anything but right in resorting to violence, that his
conscience would not permit him to say Lovejoy died like a
Christian and justified his stand by ample quotations from the
teachings and words of the Saviour. In 1839 occurred the so-
called Aroostook War. Ladd called attention to the fact that
the situation showed the want of a competent tribunal to
settle the disputes between Nations. In 1840 appeared the
prize essays on a Congress of Na-tions, together with a sixth
essay. The American Peace So-ciety offered a prize of $1000
for the best essay on a Congress of Nations. The committee,
Joseph Story, William Wirt and John C. Calhoun could not agree
as to the best effort. An-other committee, John Quincy Adams,
James Kent and Daniel Webster were selected and they could not
agree. The Peace Society then concluded to accept the
proposal of the first com-mittee to publish five of the best
essays. To these five, Mr. Ladd, at the request of-the Peace
Society, wrote and added a sixth essay, which was printed and
bound with the five prize

58 SPRAGUE'S JOURNAL OF MAINE HISTORY

essays. This volume was distributed among distinguished
persons in Europe and America. It is this essay which is
William Ladd's greatest claim for enduring fame. It was
written at his home in Minot. In it he gave a new idea to the
law of international relations which found expression in the
great Peace Congress at Brussels, Paris, London and the Hague.
In his Advertisement to his Essay on a Congress of Nations,
William Ladd says: "In reading over these Essays, I noted down
every thought worth preserving; and I present them here in a
body, with such reflections, additions and his-torical
facts as occurred to me during my labor; so that my claim to
originality, in this production, rests much on the
thought of separating the subject into two distinct parts,
viz: 1st. A congress of ambassadors from all those Christian 
and civilized nations who should choose to send them, for the
purpose of settling the principles of international law by
com-pact and agreement, of the nature of a mutual treaty, and
also of devising and promoting plans for the preservation of
peace, meliorating the condition of man. 2nd. A court of
nations, composed of the most able civilians in the world, to
arbitrate or judge such cases as should be brought before it,
by the mutual consent of two or more contending nations: thus
dividing entirely the diplomatic from the judicial func-tions,
which require such different, not to say opposite, char-acters
in the exercise of their functions. I consider the Con-gress
as the legislature, and the Court as the judiciary, in the
government of nations, leaving the functions of the executive
with public opinion, "the queen of the world." This division I
have never seen in any essay, or plan for a congress or diet
of independent nations, either ancient or modern; and I
believe it will obviate all the objections which have been
heretofore made to such a plan." In 1840 and 1841, Capt. Ladd
lectured on his favorite topic in Albany and Troy, New York,
Worcester, Massachusetts, Auburn, New York, Rochester, and
other places in western Massachusetts and New York. It is
recorded that in some in-stances he was unable to stand, but
addressed his audiences on his knees. In April, 1841, he left
New York for his home in Minot. He reached Portsmouth the 9th
of that month.







As he retired his wife said, "now let us kneel down and thank
God that you are safe returned." They knelt and prayed. On
lying down he felt the approach of death, but before help
could be called he passed beyond. He lies buried in Ports-
mouth, and on his tomb appears:



Born May 10, 1778 Died April 9, 1841 Blessed are the Peace
Makers for they shall be called the Children of God. Erected
by the American Peace Society





Such were the activities of William Ladd,the
Apostle of Peace, and during the years which he gave so much
to the cause of peace, he also found time to carry on his
large farm at Minot. He improved the general conduct of
agriculture in the neighborhood, he planted orchards, he moved
among his neighbors, respected and much liked. He contributed
to every good cause. He became an advocate of temperance. He
lectured to his fellow-townsmen on that subject. What he
preached he practised. No account of William Ladd would be
complete without mention of the rugged man who was his pastor
and friend, Elijah Jones, who became pastor of the church at
Minot in 1823, and there continued for more than fifty years. 
To this man must be attributed the Christian, if that term may
be used, touch of all of William Ladd's writ-ings, for it must
have been noted from the foregoing that William Ladd's
conception of Peace was of a religious origin. This is most
clearly seen in his treatment of the Lovejoy epi-sode. The
idea of a Christian Peace permeates his great es-say on a
Congress of Nations. The homestead of William Ladd at Center
Minot is now in the hands of strangers. The elegance of his
mansion house is no more. The white church in which he
worshiped yet graces the Minot hill-top, and nearby in the
churchyard sleeps Elijah Jones. But the idea that William
Ladd gave to the world in his great essay yet lives and grows
greater and more sublime as men of our day seek a World Peace
under its benign

60 SPRAGUE'S JOURNAL OF MAINE HISTORY



and simple doctrine, and as it becomes more and more evident
that the better ordering of the world lies in a Con-gress of
Nations and a World Court. Among Maine men who have a claim to
fame, none have a greater and sounder cause for
respectful memory than William Ladd of Minot, "The Apostle of
Peace."

Authorities The Apostle of Peace. Memoir of William Ladd by
John Hemenway with an introduction by Elihu Burritt, 1872.
Captain William Ladd -The Apostle of Peace, by John Witham
Penney-Collections and Proceedings of the Maine
Historical Society, April, 1899, Second Series, Vol. 10, Page
113. Prize Essays on a Congress of Nations, together with a
Sixth Essay. 1840. An Essay on a Congress of Nations by
William Ladd. Re-printed from the original edition of 1840
with an introduction by James Brown Scott-Carnegie Endowment
for Interna-tional Peace. 1916. An Oration pronounced at
Minot, Maine, on the Fourth day of July, 1814, by William
Ladd. Annals of Bakerstown, by William Ladd, Vol. 2 (First
Series). Collections of Maine Historical Society, Page 111.

GRAVE OF WILLIAM LADD Portsmouth, N.H-1897




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