Editing Allen Ludden (section)

==Early years==
Ludden was born on October 5, 1917, in [[Mineral Point, Wisconsin]], the first child of Elmer and Leila M. (née Allen) Ellsworth. Elmer was a [[Nebraska]] native who worked as an ice dealer, while Leila was a Wisconsin native and housewife. Elmer Ellsworth died on January 6, 1919, at age 26, from the [[Spanish flu]].<ref>{{cite news| title=Elmer Dale Ellsworth (Obituary)| newspaper=Iowa County Democrat| date=January 9, 1919| location=Mineral Point| page=1}}</ref>

When Ludden was about five years old, his mother married Homer J. Ludden, an electrical engineer. Homer J. Ludden was the son of Franklin C. Ludden, a merchant and then the superintendent of the electric plant in Mineral Point, Wisconsin.<ref>{{cite web |title=1900 United States Federal Census |url=https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/7602/images/4119932_00871?usePUB=true&_phsrc=Qya42&_phstart=successSource&usePUBJs=true&pId=63366518 |website=ancestry.com |access-date=4 January 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=1910 United States Federal Census |url=https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/7884/images/4454845_01048?usePUB=true&usePUBJs=true&pId=158394815 |website=ancestry.com |access-date=4 January 2022}}</ref> Allen was given his adoptive father's name and became Allen Ellsworth Ludden. The family lived briefly in the Wisconsin cities of [[Janesville, Wisconsin|Janesville]], [[Elkhorn, Wisconsin|Elkhorn]], [[Antigo, Wisconsin|Antigo]], and [[Waupaca, Wisconsin|Waupaca]] before moving to Texas when Ludden was nine years old.<ref name="Obit">{{cite news| title=Ludden Finds 'Password' to Success| url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/19368387/allen_ludden_19171981/| newspaper=[[Green Bay Press Gazette]]| date=July 8, 1962| page=44| via=[[Newspapers.com]]| access-date=April 19, 2018}}{{Open access}}</ref> The Ludden family resided in Corpus Christi in 1940, appearing in the City Directory, where Allen is listed as a student, Homer an engineer, and Homer and Leila's son, Franklin C. Ludden, a mail clerk.<ref>{{cite web |title=Corpus Christi, Texas, City Directory, 1940 |url=https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/2469/images/4763642?usePUB=true&_phsrc=Qya72&_phstart=successSource&usePUBJs=true&pId=377925707 |website=ancestry.com |access-date=4 January 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=1940 United States Federal Census |url=https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/2442/images/m-t0627-04115-00140?pId=155670387 |website=ancestry.com |access-date=5 January 2022}}</ref>