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LOFTIN
GENEALOGY
LINE

The
LOFTIN
Family
Tree


Philip
Daniel
Loftin

(1978 - 20??)

Curtis
Dean
Loftin

(1953 - 20??)

Sam
William
Loftin

(1918 - 1979)

Alonzo
Lester
Loftin

(1876 - 1937)

William Alexander
Loftin

(1851 - 1939)

James
Franklin
Loftin

(1827 - 1864)

Thomas
Loftin

(1798 - 185?)

James
Loftin

(1768 - 1836)

John
Loftin

(1740 - 1793)

Cornelius
Loftin III

(1714 - 1785)

Cornelius
Loftin II

(1675 - 1735)

Cornelius
Loftin I

(1648 - 1735)

Leonard
"Laughton"
Loftin

(1610 - 1678)

_______
 

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Leonard Loftin/Laughton (b. Bet. 1610 - 1616)
"The Immigrant"

 

Born: Bet. 1610 - 1616, Kent, ENGLAND
Died:  Aft. 1678, VA
 

It has been suggested that Leonard Loftin/Laughton's father was Ludwig/Ludwick Laughton.

 

Leonard Loftin/Laughton appears to have born between 1610 and 1616 in possibly Kent, ENGLAND.  The actual date of his birth is not known.  He is the earliest recorded Loftin living in the United States.  The original spelling of the name may have been Laughton.  It has also been suggested that Leonard had a brother, Robert Loftin, who was born about 1615 in England and died about 1695 in Maryland.

Leonard was transported to the Colony of Virginia before 1636 by Mrs. Elizabeth Parker (Packer).  He was indentured for his transportation.  According to Cavaliers and Pioneers: Abstracts of Virginia Land Patents and Grants 1623 - 1800 (Richmond 1934) by Nell Nugent, Citation 360, Page 343, Elizabeth Parker (Packer) a widow received 500 acres in the County of Henrico between the Curles and Varian as, bounded on the South by the main river (James River) and on the East by the Four Mile Creek.  This was due to the right of her late husband, Sergeant William Sharp, who appears by Certificate of Henrico Court, dated April 25, 1636 for the transportation of nine servants and two negroes.  The following is a list of those persons: Leonard Laughton, Richard Vase, John Thomas, Lewis Jones, William Cooke, Peter Whadsey, Edward Jones, Jon Ward, William Wooley and two negroes.  The patent for the land was signed by Governor John West on July 12, 1636.

During the time in which indentured servants served, their social status in the colony was not much better than that of a slave.  Poor people in England who longed to improve their economical situation entered into a written agreement with families with money.  The agreement assured free passage to the colonies with a commitment to serve a period of from 5 to 7 years.  No pay was given for their services, however, they received clothing, board and room.  At the end of the indenture, their employer was to provide them with two suits of clothing, two hoes and an axe.  With these meager items and a grant of 50 acres of land from the Colonial government, they could take part in the government as members of the colonial life.  Most of these indentured servants to Virginia were boys and young men.  Three out of four were between the ages of fifteen and twenty-four. 

It was in this area of Virginia that Leonard (1616) worked out his obligation of debt to Mrs. Parker, presumably on a tobacco plantation. 

In Cavaliers and Pioneers, Patent Book 6, there is an account for George Worsnam (Warsom), son of George Worsnam, of "200 acres granted to William Clark on 06 May 1636 who sold to Leonard Laughton 29 Oct 1638".

From the Cavaliers and Pioneers information, it is appears that Leonard Laughton had completed his indenture by October 1638.  A check of land patents and land records has not revealed any other land transactions for Leonard Laughton.  Either the records have been lost or Leonard sold his lands to get married and have enough money to begin farming and raise a family.  He could have become what we know today as a "share cropper" - where a landowner allows a tenant to use the land in return for a share of the crop produced on the land.  If we assume the average age of marriages for former servants as thirty years and these events occurred about 1640, then it might be assumed that Leonard was born in England between 1610 - 1616.  The 1610 - 1616 dates for Leonard's birth have also been suggested due to the average age of indentured servants arriving in the American colonies. 

Some genealogists claim that Leonard married Elizabeth (Unknown) about 1640.

 

In Virginia, 60 percent of the eldest sons received the name of their grandparents.

 

Leonard and his wife had several children, but the list varies.  The suggested list of children is as follows:

 
 
Children of Leonard Loftin
Name Date of Birth Date of Death Spouse
Thomas Loftin 05 Apr 1645
Henrico Co, VA
13 Apr 1704  
Leonard/Dorman Loftin 1647 - 1654 1687  
Cornelius Loftin Bet. 1648 - 1657
Henrico Co, VA
Abt. 1735  
John Loftin Abt. 1650   Jane King
William Loftin Abt. 1658 13 Apr 1704
buried in Baltimore at
St. Georges Church Cemetery
Elizabeth Innes
 
 

The one son that most genealogist agree on is Cornelius Loftin (b. Abt. 1648).

 
 
 
VIRGINIA MAGAZINE OF HISTORY & BIOGRAPHY, Vol. 5, p. 343
EARLY VIRGINIA IMMIGRANTS 1623 - 1666, p. 199
 
 

He came from Kent, ENGLAND, to the Colony of Virginia on 12 Jul 1636.

Leonard sailed from Kent, ENGLAND, aboard the ship WEST, along with eight other whites (Richard Vase, John Thomas, Lewis Jones, William Cooke, Peter Whadsey, Edward Jones, Jon Ward, William Wooley) and two negroes, to work a plantation located on the Charles River in Henrico County, Virginia, owned by Mrs. Elizabeth Parker, a widow on 500 acres in the County of Henrico.  As with so many other Englishmen, of the time, he had agreed to work off his debt of passage, on one of the plantations owned by wealthy or favored English gentry.

 

 

It's possible that "WEST" may not have been the name of the ship, but merely the Governor (John West) of the Virginia Colony where Leonard was heading.

 
 
Robert Williamson's RootsWeb Site
 
 

The first permanent colony in America was Jamestown, Va., 1607, on the northeast shore of the James River. Disease, starvation, and Indians depleted the ranks of this first settlement and the 1609-10 years were described as the "starving time" with the population of 500 shrinking to about 60. The government under Sir Thomas Dale in 1611-16 relocated the seat of government eighty miles northward along the James at Henrico, located on a narrow necked peninsula jutting out from the north side of the river.

 
     
 

It was in this area of Virginia, Leonard (1616), worked out his obligation of debt to Mrs. Parker, presumably on a tobacco plantation. He managed to acquire acreage in Henrico, Virginia based upon the following information from Cavaliers and Pioneers, abstracts of Virginia, Patents and Grants, 1623-1800, Patent Book 5, page 504 by Nell Nugent.

"John Wilson, 100 acres, Henrico County, north side of Appomattox River, 6th of June, 1666. Part of 1100 acres purchased of William Clarke, which was granted by patent 6th of May, 1638 and by him soulde (sold) to Leonard Laughton record of said deed at James City."

In 1642 Leonard sold out in Virginia and headed for Pennsylvania. From all indications, Leonard traveled by boat down the Charles River along Chesapeake Bay and up the Susquehanna River into Pennsylvania where he and wife Elizabeth raised a family which included four boys named John, Leonard, Cornelius and William.

 
     
 

John Loftin, his oldest son, died shortly after his marriage to a Jane King. There is a will on record in Rappa County, Va. by a Jane King, who states she has two sons, the oldest named John Loftin, the other, named Robert King. These boys were minors when she made her will on the 24th day of January, 1684. Because she made a John Mills executor of her will and gave him custody of the boys.

 
     
 

The second oldest son was Leonard, born 1654, who moved to Chowan County, North Carolina, around the Albemarle Bay in 1688.

 
     
 

The third eldest son was Cornelius, born in 1657, and the fourth son was William, born in 1658. There are considerable records in Maryland and Virginia on the descendants of Cornelius and William. Cornelius raised his family in and around James County, Virginia while William raised his family in Baltimore County, Maryland. Land records by William were filed in 1697, 1698 and 1699.

 
     
     
 
 
 
 
Sources
 
The Loftin Chronicles courtesy of Ron Loftin
5 Windsor Drive, Conroe, Texas  77304
 
Thanks to Ann Parker for the information on  Leonard Loftin (1610 - 1678).
You can contact Ann at
aharwellp@hotmail.com
                                       
                                       
If you have photos or additional information about the Loftin family, please contact me.