Lothrop Withington (January 31, 1856 – May 7, 1915) was an American

genealogist Genealogy () is the study of families, family history, and the tracing of their Lineage (anthropology), lineages. Genealogists use oral interviews, historical records, genetic analysis, and other records to obtain information about a family ...

historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human species; as well as the ...

, and

book editor A book is a structured presentation of recorded information, primarily verbal and graphical, through a medium. Originally physical, electronic books and audiobooks are now existent. Physical books are objects that contain printed material, mo ...

who was killed in the sinking of the

RMS Lusitania RMS ''Lusitania'' was a United Kingdom, British ocean liner launched by the Cunard Line in 1906. The Royal Mail Ship, the world's largest passenger ship until the completion of her sister three months later, in 1907 regained for Britain the ...

Early life

Lothrop Withington was born on January 31, 1856, in

Newburyport, Massachusetts Newburyport is a coastal city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States, northeast of Boston. The population was 18,289 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. A historic seaport with a vibrant tourism industry, Newburyport includes p ...

, to Elizabeth (née Little) and Nathan Noyes Withington. His father wrote for the ''Newburyport Herald''. His grandfather was Leonard Withington, a pastor. Withington graduated from the Putnam Free School in 1872. As a schoolboy, he learned printing and worked for the ''Newburyport Herald'' and the

United States Government Publishing Office The United States Government Publishing Office (USGPO or GPO), formerly the United States Government Printing Office, is an agency of the legislative branch of the United States federal government. The office produces and distributes informati ...

in Washington, D.C. At the age of 19, he went to France and attended lectures in the

University of Paris The University of Paris (), known Metonymy, metonymically as the Sorbonne (), was the leading university in Paris, France, from 1150 to 1970, except for 1793–1806 during the French Revolution. Emerging around 1150 as a corporation associated wit ...

Career

Following his time in France, he lived in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. In the late 1870s, he moved back to Newburyport and took up politics associated with the

Greenback Party The Greenback Party (known successively as the Independent Party, the National Independent Party and the Greenback Labor Party) was an Political parties in the United States, American political party with an Competition law, anti-monopoly ideolog ...

. In 1880, he returned to London. He took up history and genealogy. He wrote an edition of

Holinshed Raphael Holinshed (; before 24 April 1582) was an English chronicler, who was most famous for his work on ''The Chronicles of England, Scotlande, and Irelande'', commonly known as ''Holinshed's Chronicles''. It was the "first complete printed h ...

and a work on the

Elizabethan era The Elizabethan era is the epoch in the Tudor period of the history of England during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I (1558–1603). Historians often depict it as the golden age in English history. The Roman symbol of Britannia (a female ...

. Withington was a genealogist and had an office in the Journal Building in

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

. He was involved with research and editing of publications on certain aspects of the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

but best known was his genealogical research that included the publication of

immigrant Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not usual residents or where they do not possess nationality in order to settle as permanent residents. Commuters, tourists, and other short- ...

ships' passenger lists and the like.

Personal life

On October 14, 1892, in London, he married Caroline Augusta Lloyd, a sister of

Henry Demarest Lloyd Henry Demarest Lloyd (May 1, 1847 – September 28, 1903) was an American journalist and political activist who was a prominent muckraker during the Progressive Era. He is best known for his exposés of Standard Oil which were written before Ida ...

. They had no children. He lived in Newburyport. In May 1915, he was returning to his work in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

but lost his life on board the when it was attacked and sunk by German

U-boat U-boats are Submarine#Military, naval submarines operated by Germany, including during the World War I, First and Second World Wars. The term is an Anglicization#Loanwords, anglicized form of the German word , a shortening of (), though the G ...

. His sister was Anne Withington. His nephews were Harvard football and crew men Lothrop Withington Jr. and

Paul Withington Paul Withington (January 25, 1888 – April 2, 1966) was an American football player and coach. He was the head coach at the University of Wisconsin–Madison for a season in 1916 and at Columbia University for part of one season in 1924. In 190 ...

. His grandnephew (a brother's grandson) was Lothrop Withington Jr., the progenitor of

goldfish swallowing The act of swallowing live goldfish was a fad first popularized by students at American colleges in the late 1930s. History 20th century The origin of this practice is unclear. A 1963 letter to ''The New York Times'' claimed that it was started b ...

References

External links

The Lusitania Resource
- Mr. Lothrop Withington

- Blog entry regarding Lothrop Withington and his connection with the New England Historic Genealogical Society, Boston, Massachusetts {{DEFAULTSORT:Withington, Lothrop 1856 births 1915 deaths American genealogists American book editors Deaths on the RMS Lusitania University of Paris alumni Writers from Newburyport, Massachusetts Writers from London Historians from London Massachusetts Greenbacks Historians from Massachusetts