LORING Family Genealogy by Guest Blogger Charlie Wilkinson

LORING FAMILY

Deacon Thomas Loring, founder of the American family, was born at Axminster, Devonshire, England.  His ancestry is unknown. Thomas married, in England, Jane Newton; her grandson, Israel says “she was a woman of a lively spirit, . . . skilled in the practise of physic.” Her ancestry is also unknown.  

Thomas came to Hingham “December 23, 1634," and joined the church colony, which had come from Hingham, Norfolkshire, under the lead of an independent minister, Rev. Robert Peck. Admitted “freeman” or citizen of the colony March 3, 1635-6, he was already established on a home lot near what is now the corner of Town and Ship Streets. He became the proprietor of other lots at later times. He was a farmer. ‘As the fish that abounded along the shore furnished a large part of the food of the inhabitants, and were also “set” with the corn to enrich the soil, Deacon Loring and his neighbors, by permission of the town in 1637, built a weir to catch this floating wealth; and the stream is called today Weir River. He was an innkeeper, too, perhaps the first in the plantation, licensed by the General Court along with some from other towns in March, 1637.’

The church chose him one of its deacons and he was respected and influential in the town. From some cause fire robbed him of his dwelling, March 15, 1645-6, and he did not choose to rebuild. Instead, however, he bought property in the adjoining plantation of Hull and took a prominent place there; was constable (which then meant court officer, tax collector, etc., and demanded good business education as well as efficiency). He joined with some of his neighbors and others in taking stock in a new plantation, "Sickonke," afterward called Seakonk and Rehoboth; but he did not remove to the place or continue his ownership of land there. He bought "for a valuable consideration," May 30, 1660, of Thomas Chaffee "all that my house Housing orchard & two home lotts, lying in the town of Hull, Conteigning fower acres more or lesse as they were measured lying North East & South west John Loring on the South east William Chamberlaine on the North west the Towne streete on the South west & Ducke Lane on the North East wth my lott of meadow by Streights River & my two lotts at Sagamore hill and my two lotts at Strawbery hill as they stand recorded to be butted & bounded in the Towne booke of Hull aforesaid except one Cowes Gomon formerly sold to William Chamberlaine with all my right interest & priviledges in all the Islands belonging to the towne of Hull aforesaid except on the island called Peddocks Island." 

Deacon Loring died April 4, 1661, leaving no will. Administration was granted to his widow Jane and eldest son Thomas, and the required inventory was presented June 27, 1661. The document is presented verbatim et literatim in Loring Genealogy, p. 3 (https://archive.org/stream/loringgenealogy00pope#page/3/mode/2up) and illustrates the style of life among our pioneer ancestors in many particulars.

Jane died August 25, 1672. She left a will (see Loring Genealogy, p. 7) which gives insight into the fashions and conditions of the day.

Children:
 2. i. Thomas, bapt. at Axminster, Eng., Mar. 5, 1625-6.
 3. ii. John, bapt. at Axminster, Eng., Dec. 27, 1629.
    iii. Isaac, bapt. at Hingham, Jan. 20; d. Feb. 9, 1639-40.
    iv. Isaac, bapt. at Hingham, Jan. 9, 1641-2; d. Mar. 2, 1644.
4. v. Josiah, bapt. at Hingham, Jan. 9, 1641-2.
6. vi Benjamin, bapt at Hingham, Nov. 24, 1644.

Robert Charles Anderson’s New England, The Great Migration and The Great Migration Begins, 1620-1635 identifies a seventh son, Thomas who died at birth in Axminster, 27 Mar 1625.The numbering associated with the descendents of Deacon Thomas Loring corresponds to the numbering in the Loring Genealogy. Below we discuss two separate branches of the Loring family: 1) the lineage of Suzanne Loring Wilkinson, wife of Charles Wilkinson, fourth cousin of Heather Wilkinson Rojo; and 2) the lineage of the Lorings from Prides Crossing, MA.

Lineage from Thomas Loring, Jr, oldest son of Deacon Thomas Loring

This branch of the Loring family, beginning with Thomas Loring III (third generation), settled in Duxbury, home of many Mayflower passengers and their descendants.  The Lorings married many of these descendants, were active in town government, and in general were farmers.  Some of their wives were descended from sea captains and ship owners.

Generation 2:  #2. Thomas Loring, Jr was born in 1626 at Axminister, Devonshire, England, and married Hannah Jacob at Hingham in 1657.  Thomas served three terms as Selectman at Hull where he died in December 1678. His will begins on Page 9 of Loring Genealogy. Hannah, born about 1637, was the daughter of Nicholas Jacob, an original settler of ‘Hingham Plantation’, and Mary Gilman, whose cousin, ‘Thomas Lincoln, weaver’ came with the Jacobs and was an immigrant ancestor of Abraham Lincoln.  Hannah outlived Thomas and married second Capt. Steven French of Weymouth about 1692; she died in Hingham in 1720.  Thomas and Hannah had 4 sons and 3 daughters.

Generation 3: #6. Thomas Loring III, second son and third child of Thomas, Jr. was born at Hull in 1668, moved to Duxbury before 1702 where he bought some land and later was awarded more land grants by the town.  Thomas served terms as selectman and treasurer at Duxbury.  He also acquired a farm in Bridgewater and owned 3 ‘negro’ slaves.  He married Deborah Cushing in 1699 and together they had 4 sons and two daughters. He died in 1717. Deborah was the daughter of Hon. Lt. Col. John Cushing and Sarah Hawke.  John Cushing purchased the Vassal Estate in Scituate in 1657 and served 12 years as selectman and 7 years as Court Magistrate in that community.  Deborah’s Hawke grandparents were great-grandparents of John Hancock.  Deborah married second Col. Sylvester Richmond and moved with him to Little Compton, RI where she lived to the ripe age of 96.

Generation 4: #25. Thomas Loring IV, oldest child of Thomas III, was born in 1700 at Duxbury, and married Mary Southworth in 1724. Thomas and Mary had 5 sons, the oldest named Thomas, and 1 daughter.  Thomas and Mary both died in 1739. Thomas liberated his slave a week before he died.  Mary’s parents were Sarah Alden, granddaughter of John Alden, and Thomas Southworth, great-grandson of John Alden.

Generation 5: #62 Perez Loring, fourth son of Thomas IV, was born at Duxbury in 1729 and died in 1827 in his 99^th year.  He was a church deacon and served on the committee for raising troops.  In 1758 he married Sarah, daughter of Joseph and Tabiatha (Tobey) Freeman of Sandwich. Perez and Sarah had 6 sons - Braddock, Zadock, Freeman, Barak, Perez, and Levi -, and 4 daughters – Mary, Deborah, Belinda, and Sarah.

Generation 6: #155 Levi Loring, youngest child of Perez, was born at Duxbury in 1775 and died at the old place in 1864.  He was a hatter and farmer by trade and served as deacon of the Unitarian Church.  He married first Joanna Josselyn of Pembroke in 1802, by which he had 2 children that died in infancy.  Joanna died at age 24 shortly after the birth of her second child. In 1807, Levi married second Sarah (1776-1838), daughter of William and Betty (Stodder) Brooks.  Levi and Sarah had 2 sons and 2 daughters.

Generation 7: #311 Perez Loring, youngest child of Levi, was born at Duxbury in 1817, married Lucinda, daughter of Asa and Diana (Simmons) Chandler, in 1839, and died at Duxbury in 1899. Perez was an ice dealer, shoe caster, and peddler. Levi and Lucinda had 3 sons and 3 daughters.  Martha Delano, Lucinda’s paternal grandmother, was descended from Mayflower passengers John Alden and George Soule.  Diana Simmons was descended from Mayflower passenger and senior elder of the Plymouth colony, William Brewster.

Generation 8: #628 Edgar Francis Loring, oldest child of Perez and a twin, was born at Duxbury in 1840, and in 1860 married Lucy W., daughter of Elisha and Ann (Weston) Sampson. Perez served as a private in the Civil War and mustered out on disability at New Orleans in 1863.  He was a cranberry farmer and lobster peddler in Duxbury and died in 1905. Edgar and Lucy had 4 sons and 2 daughters.  Elisha Sampson was a ‘Master Mariner’ (sea captain) as were several of his forebears.  Elisha was descended directly from Mayflower passenger Henry Samson and also from passenger and Plymouth Governor William Bradford through his paternal grandmother Ruth Bradford.

Generation 9: #870 Albert Otis Loring, youngest child of Edgar, was born in Duxbury in 1879; married first Mary Hayward in 1905. They had one son Maynard in 1906 and Mary died due to complications of childbirth.  Albert married Mary’s cousin Sarah Maude, daughter of Alva P. and Sarah (Hayward) Poole of Brockton, in 1909 at Brockton.  They shortly moved to Beverly, where Albert took a job at United Shoe Machinery, then to Swampscott where Robert Poole Loring was born in 1913, and Marjorie Poole Loring (Aunt Marge) was born in 1917.  Albert died in 1946, and Sarah Maude in 1973 at age 89. 

Robert Poole Loring, born 1913

Generation 10: Robert Poole Loring, was born in 1913, married Katherine Clark in 1939, and died in 1970. He was an accountant, served many years as Treasurer of the Universalist Church of Swampscott, and was an avid salmon fisherman.  Katherine was an elementary and junior high music educator and also, for seventy years, a church organist and choir director.  She retired from her regular church position at age ninety, but kept playing professionally until a month before she died in 2008 at age ninety-seven.  Robert and Katherine had two daughters: Suzanne and Sandra.

Lineage from John Loring, second son of Deacon Thomas Loring.

This branch of the family accumulated sizable land holdings in Hull and produced leaders in town government.  The second Caleb (fourth generation) migrated to Boston and started a legacy of successful merchants and ship owners involved in domestic and foreign trade.  Generation 5 saw the start of Harvard undergraduate degrees and positions in state government.  Harvard law degrees and lucrative law practices began with Generation 6, in particular with Charles Greeley Loring.  Charles purchased land and created the first Loring ‘estate’ at Pride’s Crossing. Subsequent Lorings married into Boston aristocracy and they, and their spouses, were very active in cultural and civic institutions and worthy causes.  In this lineage, from Generation 3 through Generation 12 all but two were named Caleb.

Generation 2: John Loring, was born at Axminster, England in1630, married first in 1657, Mary, only child of Nathaniel and Sarah (Lane) Baker, who was baptized at Hingham in 1639, and died in 1679. John married second, in 1679, Mrs. Rachel Buckland, widow of Mr. Benjamin Buckland of Rehoboth, and daughter of Mr. John Wheatly, of Braintree; she died in 1713, aged seventy years. John had 11 children by his first wife and 4 by his second.  He resided in Hull; was town clerk seventeen years, selectman for nine terms, and representative in 1692. He died in 1714; his will begins on Page 14 of Loring Genealogy.  John’s son Israel became a minister and wrote a very affectionate obituary about his father, which is preserved in the archives of the Massachusetts Historical Society, and in the copy of that document in Mr. James Spear Loring's manuscript volume in the New England Historic Genealogical Society.


Generation 3: #17. Caleb Loring, youngest child of John, was born at Hull in 1689; married first in 1714, Elizabeth Baker, who died in 1715, aged twenty-three years. He married second in 1719, Susanna, daughter of Nicholas and Sarah Cocks. She died in 1728, "in her 30th year"; Caleb married third in1732, Rebecca, daughter of Captain Joseph and Elizabeth Lobdell, born in 1704; she survived him and administered his estate; she died in 1766.  Her tombstone is in King's Chapel burying ground. Her father was a son of Isaac Lobdell and his wife Martha, daughter of Samuel Ward, a pioneer at Hingham and Charlestown.  Captain Caleb Loring was a town officer, selectman, and a justice of the peace. He owned much land including a part of Nantasket Neck, and one African slave.  He died in 1756.  He had 1 child by his first wife, 3 by his second, and 9 by his third.  His first two were named Caleb and died in infancy.  

Generation 4: #50. Caleb Loring, sixth child of Caleb was born at Hull in 1736, married first Sarah, daughter of Joseph and Ruth (Baker) Bradford, born at Boston in 1736, a descendant of Robert Bradford, one of the founders of Boston; she died in 1769. He married second, in 1770, Margaret, daughter of Giles and Margaret Tidmarsh, born at Boston in 1734, who had married first Joshua, Caleb's brother. Caleb lived several years in Hingham, and then moved to Boston where he was a distiller of the firm of Loring & Snelling. He owned several vessels, two of which were captured by the British in the Revolutionary War. The Rising Sun was scuttled.  The Neptune was recaptured, lost, and recaptured again but claimed successfully by the last captor on a decision by the Admiralty Court confirmed by the Supreme Court. Caleb had 5 children by his first wife and 4 by his second. Caleb Loring, b. 1764

Caleb Loring b. 1764

Generation 5: #116. Caleb Loring, the second child of Caleb (the first was also named Caleb and died at two weeks) was born at Boston in 1764; married first, at Marblehead in 1789, Ann, daughter of Capt. Jonathan and Mary (Hichborn) Greely; she was born in 1769, and died in 1819. He married second, in 1821, Jane Tyler, daughter of Rev. John and Mary (Wheatly) Lothrop, of Boston, who was born in 1777 and died in 1850. Caleb was of the firm of Loring and Curtis, merchants. He became a member of the Boston Marine Society in 1797 and of the Massachusetts Humane Society in 1810. He employed about forty seamen annually in foreign trade. He was a State senator in 1828. He had 10 children and died in 1850.  His first and sixth children were named Caleb, but both died in infancy. There is a portrait of Caleb in Loring Genealogy opposite Page 96.  Caleb’s younger brother Joseph graduated from Harvard in 1786, was a surgeon on the ship Massachusetts in 1790, and settled in Lisbon as a merchant where he married and raised a family.

Charles Greeley Loring, b. 1794

Generation 6: #269. Charles Greeley Loring, third child and oldest son of Caleb surviving infancy, was born at Boston in 1794; married first, at Litchfield, CT, Anna Pierce Brace, of Litchfield, born in 1798, died at Boston in 1836.  He married second, in 1840, Mary Ann, daughter of Justice Samuel Putnam, born at Salem in 1804, died in 1846.  He married third, at Milton in 1850, Mrs. Cornelia (Amory) Goddard, daughter of Francis Amory, of Boston, and widow of George A. Goddard; she was one of the founders of the New England Hospital for Women, a leader in all improvements in the education of women, and in the work of the Sanitary Commission during the Civil War. She died in Florence, Italy, in 1875, and was buried there. Charles was a medal scholar at the Boston Latin School; was graduated at Harvard College in 1812; was fourth in his class, was a Phi Beta Kappa man; studied in the only law school then in the country, at Litchfield, Conn.; was admitted to the Suffolk bar in 1815, and was for a time in the office of Justice Charles Jackson, in Boston, then established his own office.

"From 1825 to 1855 the published reports show that no other man in Boston had so large a number of cases in court, and of the cases of no other was the proportion of cases so large which by the novelty of the questions they raised . . . may be considered as establishing new law or giving more scope to recognized law." (Theoph. Parsons.) 

He defended the fugitive slave, Thomas Sims, in 1851. In 1854 he gave up most of his law practice to become actuary of the Massachusetts Hospital Life Insurance Company. From 1835 to 1857 he was a Fellow of Harvard College; LL.D. in 1851; State senator in 1862. He was commander of the New England Guards in 1824 at the time of Lafayette's visit to Boston. He was a member of the Massachusetts Historical Society, the American Antiquarian Society, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the New England Historic Genealogical Society. He was a member of the West Church and for fifteen years superintendent of the Sunday School. 

He built a summer house at Beverly in the region now known as Pride's Crossings in 1846; had a fine farm and raised high-bred swine, cattle and poultry, with which he improved the stock of the neighboring farmers. He died there in1867.  He had 2 sons and 2 daughters by his first wife and a son by his third wife that died in infancy.  His daughter Jane married Asa Gray, distinguished botanist and professor at Harvard. His daughter Susan married Patrick Tracy Jackson and had four children, each with distinguished careers and/or activities.  His son Charles Greeley, Jr. achieved the rank of Maj. General during the Civil War.  Charles’ portrait is opposite P. 166  and Charles Jr.’s picture opposite Page 266 in Loring Genealogy.

Caleb William Loring, b. 1819

Generation 7: #565. Caleb William Loring, oldest child of Charles Greeley, born at Dorchester in 1819; married in 1845, Elizabeth S., daughter of Joseph Augustus and Louisa (Putnam) Peabody, born at Salem in 1822, died at Boston in 1869. Caleb was educated at the Boston Latin School and was graduated from Harvard College in 1839 and from the Law School in 1841. He was admitted to the bar in 1842. After some years in his father's office he opened one of his own. His law practice gradually gave way to trustees' business and to active concern in manufacturing. He was president of the Plymouth Cordage Company, founded in 1824 by Bourne Spooner and Caleb Loring. He lived in Boston and at Pride's Crossing where he built a summer home in 1852; after 1872 he lived there all the time.  He died at Camden, S. C, in 1897 and was buried in Mount Auburn Cemetery. He had four children: Katherine Peabody, William Caleb, Louisa Putnam, and Augustus Peabody.  Pictures of Caleb William and his daughters are opposite Pages 262 and 264 in Loring Genealogy.

Augustus Peabody Loring, b. 1857

Generation 8: #837. Augustus Peabody Loring, youngest child of Caleb William, born at Boston in 1857; married at Boston in 1884, Ellen, daughter of George and Eliza (Peabody) Gardner, born at Boston in 1860.

Following his older brother William Caleb by six years, he attended the schools of Fette, Dixwell and Noble; was graduated from Harvard University, A.B., in 1878; LL.B. cum laude in 1881. As did William, Augustus was shortly admitted to the bar and was a practicing attorney for many years.  Later their paths diverged.  In 1899 William was appointed a Justice of the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts.  In 1897 Augustus became the president of the Plymouth Cordage Company, and gave much of his time to the management of manufacturing, real estate and banking companies. He traveled to all parts of the country. He was in close contact with many laboring men, in whose welfare he has taken a profound interest. He presented the employees of the Cordage Company with a library in memory of his father, which was the beginning of many schemes of betterment carried out in that plant. Both brothers had large estates at Pride's Crossing and at Bartlett's Island, Me.   William and his spouse Susan Mason Lawrence were childless.  Augustus had two sons: Augustus Peabody, Jr. and Caleb and one daughter: Ellen Gardner.  Photographs of the two brothers are opposite pages 336 and 338 of Loring Genealogy.  Augustus died in 1938.

Generation 9: #837. Caleb Loring
, was born at Boston in 1888, attended Noble and Greenough School, graduated from Harvard in 1910, and went into business in his father’s office.  He served as a gunner’s mate in the US Naval Reserve in WWI.  Caleb married Suzanne Grantland Bailey at Griffen, GA in 1920.  They had five children: Caleb, Jr., David, Susan, George, and Joseph Peabody.  Caleb died at Boston in 1954
Generation 10:

Caleb Loring, Jr. b. 1921

Generation 10: #837. Caleb Loring, Jr. was born at Boston in 1921, married Rosemary Merrill, and with her had four children: Caleb 3^rd, David, Rosemary, and Keith. He outlived his wife of 60 years and died at Pride’s Crossing on Nov 14, 2013. His obituary was published in the Boston Globe on Dec. 8, 2103.  It listed 4 grandchildren including Dr. Caleb Loring 4^th, and 6 great-grandchildren – no Caleb 5th yet.

Sources:

1. Loring Genealogy, Charles Henry Pope assisted by Katherine Peabody Loring, Cambridge, MA, Murray and Emery Company, 1917, https://archive.org/stream/loringgenealogy00pope#page/n11/mode/2up

2. The Great Migration Begins: Immigrants to New England, 1620-1633, Volumes 1-3; The Great Migration: Immigrants to New England, 1634-1635, Volumes 1-6 . Boston: New England Historical and Genealogical Society, 1996-2011 Robert Charles Anderson, Boston, New England Historic Genealogical Society.

  3. US Federal Census,1850-1940

4. MA Vital Records

5. Caleb Loring, Jr Obituary, The Boston Globe, Dec. 8, 2013, http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/bostonglobe/obituary.aspx?pid=168376404

(photos from the Loring Genealogy, Boston Globe Obituary and from the author's personal collection)

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Copyright 2014, Charlie Wilkinson and Heather Wilkinson Rojo