Lothrop Withington

Lothrop Withington (January 31, 1856 – May 7, 1915) was an American genealogist, historian, and book editor who was killed in the sinking of the RMS Lusitania.

Lothrop Withington
Portrait of Withington in a 1915 newspaper
Born	(1856-01-31)January 31, 1856 Newburyport, Massachusetts, U.S.
Died	May 7, 1915(1915-05-07) (aged 59) RMS Lusitania, Atlantic Ocean
Education	University of Paris
Occupations	Genealogist historian editor
Spouse	Caroline Augusta Lloyd ​ ​ (m. 1892)​
Relatives	Anne Withington (sister) Lothrop Withington Jr. (nephew) Paul Withington (nephew) Leonard Withington (grandfather)

Early life

Lothrop Withington was born on January 31, 1856,^{[citation needed]} in Newburyport, Massachusetts, to Elizabeth (née Little) and Nathan Noyes Withington.^{[1][citation needed]} His father wrote for the Newburyport Herald. His grandfather was Leonard Withington, a pastor. Withington graduated from the Putnam Free School in 1872.^[2] As a schoolboy, he learned printing and worked for the Newburyport Herald and the United States Government Publishing Office in Washington, D.C.^[2] At the age of 19, he went to France and attended lectures in the University of Paris.^[1]

Career

Following his time in France, he lived in London. In the late 1870s, he moved back to Newburyport and took up politics associated with the Greenback Party. In 1880, he returned to London. He took up history and genealogy. He wrote an edition of Holinshed and a work on the Elizabethan era.^[2] Withington was a genealogist and had an office in the Journal Building in Boston.^[1] He was involved with research and editing of publications on certain aspects of the American Revolutionary War but best known was his genealogical research that included the publication of immigrant ships' passenger lists and the like.^{[citation needed]}

Personal life

On October 14, 1892, in London, he married Caroline Augusta Lloyd, a sister of Henry Demarest Lloyd. They had no children.^{[1][citation needed]} He lived in Newburyport.^[1] In May 1915, he was returning to his work in the United Kingdom but lost his life on board the RMS Lusitania when it was attacked and sunk by German U-boat U-20.^{[1][citation needed]}

His sister was Anne Withington.^[2] His nephews were Harvard football and crew men Lothrop Withington Jr. and Paul Withington.^[3] His grandnephew (a brother's grandson) was Lothrop Withington Jr., the progenitor of goldfish swallowing.^{[citation needed]}