According to Wikipedia, Ludovic Colquhoun (1804 Virginia – 1882 San Antonio, TX) was a 19th century politician, Texas Senator and a merchant of San Antonio and Eagle Pass. He came to Texas in 1837 from New Orleans where he ventured in real estate, gaining vast holdings! His name is on several of L.D. Lafferty’s land transactions.
Colquhoun happened to be in San Antonio involved in a land-ownership court case with Samuel Maverick when the Mexican Army under Adrian Woll appeared in 1842. He was among those taken prisoner and marched to Mexico, being incarcerated at Perote Prison 1842-44. He was eventually released by request of Andrew Jackson. Bits of this story seem to be woven in the Abney story regarding L.D.’s own supposed capture and imprisonment.
It would appear that Ludovic Colquhoun was on the 1870 census at least three times — in San Antonio with Frances, in Atascosa and also in Eagle Pass. It may be that he was just counted three times due to his travels around Texas in his capacity as a surveyor and merchant.
Intersections
Colquhoun and Lafferty were linked by Henderson Lafferty at the time of the Pendencia attack. Henderson reportedly reaches out to fellow Masonic brother to find and help L.D. Likely they already knew each other, as both men frequented Eagle Pass. Both men had second families with women they were not married to. Colquhoun had a long term relationship in Eagle Pass with a formerly enslaved Aurelia Wilson (1836 SC – 1923 San Antonio, TX) while married to an English-born woman named Frances Ann Wilhelm. Aurelia bore Colquhoun at least 7 children who all were eventually highly educated and rose to some prominence in Texas. Aurelia’s great grandson, Matthew Wesley Plummer, was a Tuskegee Airman and a Judge in Harris County, TX.
Abney writes that Lafferty was imprisoned in Mexico — either Mier Expedition or those captured by Adrian Woll in San Antonio in September 1842. In studying the article The Bexar and Dawson Prisoners by E. W. Winkler as published in The Quarterly of the Texas State Historical Association, Vol. 13, No. 4 (Apr., 1910), pp 292-324 (33 pages), this writer finds no mention of anyone named Lafferty. However, there’s a Dawson-Eastland letter in this writer’s collection that introduces evidence of Captain Dawson living with Lafferty in LaGrange, Texas, at the time of this unfortunate episode.