Encyclopedia of Connecticut biography, genealogical-memorial ...

East Riding, of Yorkshire, England.
This family dates back to 1216, when
Walter de Lowthorpe was elected sheriff
of Yorkshire. In the natural evolution of
written language and the tendency to dis-
card unnecessary letters, the name has
come to be written Lathrop.
(I) The Rev. John Lathrop was a
member of the old English family
of that name, and was among those
who suffered arrest and imprisonment
for following their religious convic-
tions. His first wife died while he
was in prison. When pastor of a Congregational
church in London, he was
imprisoned with forty-three members of
his church (April 29, 1632), because they
practiced the teachings of the New Testa-
ment. He was released only on condi-
tion of leaving the country, and came to
America in 1634, shortly afterward establishing
a church at Scituate, Massachusetts
; was admitted freeman of Plymouth
Colony, 1636-37, and later removed to
Barnstable.
(II) Samuel Lothrop, son of Rev. John
Lothrop, was born in England, and came
to this country with his father in 1634;
Later he also removed to Barnstable,
thence to Pequot, now New London, Connecticut,
finally locating in Norwich. He
was twice married, first in Barnstable,
November 28, 1644, to Elizabeth Scudder,
who became the mother of Israel, their
sixth child.
(III) Israel Lathrop, as the name is
now spelled, son of Samuel Lothrop, was
born in October, 1659, and died March
28, 1733. He married, April 8, 1686, Rebecca
Bliss, daughter of Thomas and
Elizabeth Bliss, who died August 22,
1737. Israel Lathrop was a freeman in
I730.
(IV) John Lathrop, son of Israel La-
throp, was born in Norwich, October 2,
1690; married, April 7, 1715, Elizabeth
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
350
Abel, a daughter of Joshua and Mehitabel
(Smith) Abel, of Norwich. They settled
in that part of Norwich which has since
been set off as a township under the
name of Franklin. Both joined the
church in 1720.
(V) Zebulon Lathrop, son of John La-
throp, was born January 10, 1717, died in
Norwich, January 13, 1781. He married,
September 4, 1740, Lois, daughter of Dr.
Theophilus and Elizabeth (Hyde) Ro-
gers, of Norwich, where she was born,
July 22, 1721, and died September 21,
1777-
(VI) Zebulon (2) Lathrop, son of
Zebulon (1) Lathrop, was born November
29, 1744, and married Alice Edger-
ton, who died in Lebanon, February 3,
1794, aged forty-nine. He died there,
March 29, 18 14.
(VII) William Lathrop, son of Zebulon
(2) Lathrop, was born in 1779, and
died June 14, 1807. On March 22, 1803,
he married Amelia, daughter of Ammi
and Esther (Chapman) Paulk, of Tol-
land, who was born December 24, 1762,
and died October 28, 1810.
(VIII) Kelsey Lathrop, son of Wil-
liam Lathrop, was born in Tolland, Octo-
ber 17, 1803, settled in South Coventry,
and died September 4, 1867, by only about
two months surviving his wife, who died
July 7 in the same year. His wife was
Flora, daughter of Daniel and Elizabeth
(Holbrook) Cobb, of Tolland, the marriage
taking place March 20, 1826. This
line of sturdy pioneers leads us down to
Walter Herbert Lathrop, father of our
subject, of whom further.
(IX) Walter Herbert Lathrop, son of
Kelsey Lathrop, was born in South Cov-
entry, November 30, 1844, and died in
February, 1900. He was educated in the
common schools there, after which he
branched out for himself, going to New
York, there learning the trade of bank-