Thomas Loring

Thomas Loring was an early settler of Hingham and Hull, Massachusetts. He was present at some of the key moments in the earliest history of Hingham, Massachusetts. But later "[t]he large Loring families were prominent in the town [of Hull], and remained into the 20th century." As early as 1893 he was recognized as "the progenitor of the families bearing this surname by birth in eastern Mass., and prob. throughout New Eng." His descendants include individuals on both sides of the American Revolution, the US Civil War, and today live across North America, Spain, England and Australia.

"Deacon Thomas Loring was born in Axminster, Devonshire, England. ... "Thomas Loring married, in England, Jane Newton; her grandson ... says "she was a woman of a lively spirit ... skilled in the practise of physick"....

"Mr. Loring came here (New England) ... "December 23, 1634," and joined the church colony at Hingham .... Admitted "freeman" or citizen of the colony March 3, 1635-6, he was already established on a home lot near what is now [1917] 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 neighbours, 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 other towns in March, 1637. ... "The church chose him one of its deacons ....

Hingham "... reached full maturity when on 12 March 1637/8 Thomas Loring was 'allowed to sell wine & strong water'" as part of his role as innkeeper. "Our first solid evidence that the church had been formed is the list of freemen of 3 March 1635/6 , where we find a grouping of eleven men who were known to be residents of Hingham: [including]...Thomas Loring...[MBCR 1:371] . The church was founded, then, no later than 3 March 1635/6..."

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