1. Philip Ludwell emigrated to Virginia circa 1661, where his brother Thomas Ludwell was secretary of the colony, and fellow Bruton native William Berkeley served several terms as governor, first under the London Company, and then pursuant to royal commission after Virginia became a royal colony.
Philip Ludwell married Lucy Higginson Burwell, the daughter of Captain Robert Higginson and widow of Major Lewis Burwell I and later of William Bernard.
In 1667, Philip Ludwell became captain of the James City County militia.
Philip Ludwell patented large areas of land, and probably lived for a time with his brother Thomas at Rich Neck Plantation in James City County near Jamestown.
In 1676, both Philip Ludwell brothers remained among the strongest supporters of Virginia governor William Berkeley during Bacon's Rebellion, named after the leader, a nephew of Lady Berkeley, and whom she would denounce as a scheming and ungrateful malcontent.
Philip Ludwell led an unsuccessful raid upon Bacon's compound, before Bacon died of disease at what became known as Bacon's Castle.
Philip Ludwell accompanied Governor Berkeley during his temporary exile to the Eastern Shore, during which time the rebels burned the colonial capital at Jamestown, as well as plundered Berkeley's Green Spring Plantation, Philip Ludwell's plantation and goods, and those of his Burwell stepson and ward.
In 1680, the year of his second marriage, Philip Ludwell again became a member of the Governor's Council of State.
Not only was Lady Berkeley known as opinionated, Philip Ludwell's continued outspoken views put him at odds with Lt.
The conflict recurred later with Governor Francis Howard, so that Philip Ludwell was again suspended from the Governor's Council in 1688 but sailed to England with a petition for relief signed by several burgesses.
In 1684 and 1685, after Governor Howard arrived in Virginia, Philip Ludwell was hired to build and remodel the statehouse and secretary's office in Jamestown.
Around 1691, Philip Ludwell became Lord Fairfax's agent for the Northern Neck Proprietary.
Lady Berkeley's first husband Samuel Stephens had held a similar position as the 2nd governor of the Albemarle Sound colony, William Berkeley had been one of the Lords Proprietor until his death, and she had inherited land there, some of which Philip Ludwell sold to other proprietors in 1689.
Philip Ludwell soon appointed Thomas Jarvis as his deputy in North Carolina.
Philip Ludwell is buried at the family vault in the Stratford-atte-Bow church in Middlesex.