John Lovering

John Lovering, Sr.'s birth & birthplace are not authoritatively known.Three sources list him as an immigrant, two state that he emigratedfrom Wales to the Massachusetts Bay Colony at Ipswich in 1654. Nothingis presently known about his parents or siblings & there is areasonable possibility that he was originally from Devonshire orCornwall & may be distantly related to William Lovering. However, thathas not been established as yet.

John, Sr. removed to Dover (Quamphegan [now Rollinsford]), NewHampshire by 1657 & became a freeman that year. He is first listed onthe tax rolls of 21 Jul 1657. He is also listed on the tax lists of 10Nov 1657, 12 Oct 1658 & 22 Nov 1659. He is listed on the Cocheco [adistict of Dover] tax lists for 1662, 7 Dec 1663 & 2 Dec 1666. The"widow (Esther) Lovering" was taxed in 1668.

John Lovering, Sr. was the earliest foreman of the sawmill atQuamphegan (Falls), owned by Thomas Broughton, brother-in-law of CaptJohn Wincoll. This sawmill was located at the falls & was a shortdistance downstream from where the present bridge crosses the river,over which travels the Portland Turnpike to South Berwick [now knownas State Route 4].
John married Esther/Hester _________ about 1660. Some have listed itas early as 1656, which seems improbable as he was not a freeman until1657. Esther's last name is unknown, but the evidence seems to ruleout Eaton. She was never married to Valentine Hill, therefore allreferences to her being his widow are without foundation, as well asthe assertion that John Lovering, Sr. had ever married Mary Eaton. Itwas the first marriage for both of them. Mary Eaton, the daughter ofGov Theophilus Eaton of Connecticut married Valentine Hill and had ason named Nathaniel, the last of March 1659/1660 & testified to thisin 1702, certifying that he was Valentine's & her son. Valentine Hilldied in Feb 1662. John & Esther had been married for some time, makingit improbable that Esther could have been the widow of Valentine.After John, Sr. died, Esther married second Ezekiel Knight; after shepassed away, THEN Ezekiel married Mary Eaton HIll. Much confusion hasbeen created by a surface reading of the various texts.

John Lovering, Sr. & his wife Esther had at least two children whichare adequately verified & may have had as many as five. All "children"born after 1668 are suspect. The two children for which there issufficient material to establish their relationship to John & Estherare: 1) Mary, who was born in 1661 & who married William Thompson, sonof William Thompson, on 4 Sep 1682 in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. EliasStileman performed the ceremony. They had at least two children:William & Elizabeth. 2) John Lovering, Jr. was born 16 May 1663 inDover, New Hampshire. All suggestions that he was born in Ardleigh,England or thar John, Sr. is related to the Suffolk & Essex County,England Loverings are totally without foundation. Two days later, on18 May 1663, John, Sr. purchased 50 acres, with a sawmill, at the footof Quamphegan Falls on the west side of the Newichawannock River [nowthe Salmon Falls River] in the town of Dover [now the town ofRollinsford], New Hampshire, from Andrew Wiggin of Quamscott [nowknown as Exeter, NH]. At the foot of the falls is where the tidalbasin ends & is now known as the Landing. John, Jr. sold his father'sproperty on 21 Jun 1700 to Capt Thomas Abbot. This sawmill was erectedas early as 1652 by Capt Thomas Wiggin & Simon Bradstreet.

John was chosen to serve as a grand juror at the the county court held28 Jun 1664 in Portsmouth. At a public meeting in Dover, which washeld on 17 Apr 1665, he was chosen to serve as a constable "for theyear ensuing". Over the course of time, John apparently becamedelinquent in turning over his collections to the town treasurer,along with a number of other constables. After failing to heed thewarning & order of the Dover selectman on 14 Jul 1666, they were fined20 shillings on 3 Aug 1666. On 10 Oct 1665, John Lovering, Sr. signeda petition to the General Court Of Massachusetts. The petitionerspledged their continuing faith & allegiance to the king by adhering tothe present government, established by royal charter. John must havehad the ability to sign his name, & signed it as "John Loveringe."Once again, at a public town meeting in Dover, John, Sr. was chosen toserve o on a grand jury on 8 Apr 1667.

John Lovering, Sr. drowned on 27 Jul 1668. His estate was inventoriedon 11 August 1668, valued at 232 pounds, 7 shillins and zero pence &brought into court on 30 Sep 1668. It was signed by (Capt) JohnWincoll, Roger Plaisted and Andrew Searle. His probate records mentiononly that he had an eldest son and an eldest daughter, which wouldsuggest other children. The will of John, Sr. granted 1/3 of hisestate to Hester (Esther), his wife, during her lifetime; 1/3 of hisestate to Hester, his wife, forever; and 1/3 of his estate to bedivided among his children, the eldest to get a double portion[apparently John, Jr., as he sold his father's property]. The Courtgranted administration of the estate to Hester Lovering & Capt RichardWaldren at the Court Of Associates held on 29 Sep 1668. Capt JohnWincoll [brother-in-law to Thomas Broughton] & Ezekiel Knight wereappointed guardians of the children until they be of age to choose forthemselves. Sometime between 1 Oct 1668 & 4 Apr 1672, Esther marriedEzekiel Knight second. She died BEFORE 29 Jun 1675, when Ezekiel wentback to court to be compensated from the estate for the maintenance ofthe children. At the same time, the Court appointed Cpt John Wincollguardian of the children & permitted him to dispose of the eldestdaughter either by putting her out or continuing of her with Mr.Knight, as may be best for the child's good.
(Robert H Lovering, Jr. 2002-08-13 14:25:42)

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John Lovering is believed to have sailed from Wales around 1654(probably more like 1645, as he is found on the tax list in NH in1650). Settled at Ipswich, MA; later removed to Dover, NH.(Compendium of American Genealogy, Volume 5, page 103)

John is found on the tax list of Cocheco (now Dover, NH) in 1650. Hewas also taxed there in 1663, the same year that he bought land atQuamphegan from Andrew Wiggin. Quamphegan was the name given to thefalls on the Newichawannock River (now called the Salmon Falls River)which emptied into the Piscataqua River in Newington, NH. Wigginconveyed the 50 acres to Lovering for the accomodation of a sawmill.(Elinor Kelley)

John drowned in the river on 27 Jul 1668. Administration of hisestate was granted to his widow and to Capt. Waldron in September1668. Guardianship of the children was granted to John Wincoll andEzekiel Knight. Esther married Ezekiel Knight as her second husband.She died in 1675 and her children were apprenticed by Knight.Although court records indicate that John and Esther had more than twochildren, only two are known by name.

INCORRECT FACTS:
(From E. Clark, My Legacy) Married Esther Eaton, widow of ValentineHill. John's father was William of Oldham, ENGLAND, 1620. William'schildren: John, George, Thomas (to America), Jonathan, Susannah,David, Elizabeth and Edward. (Virginia Basken)

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From Lovering message board on Ancestry.com 1 Jun 2003 (KathySteckelberg):

A number of Lovering researchers have presumed (based on unknownsources) that Esther/Hester (maiden name unknown), who married JohnLovering of Dover and then Ezekiel Knight and was dead by 29 June1675, was married first to Valentine Hill.

I thought it would be useful for the descendants of John Lovering ofDover to know that NEHGS has just published Robert Charles Anderson'sthird volume of "The Great Migration" 1634-1635 series. Valentine Hillis covered in the volume. The female married to both Valentine Hilland Ezekiel Knight was not Esther/Hester, but rather Mary Eaton,daughter of Theophilus Eaton (a governor of New Haven). She marriedValentine Hill by 1646. Valentine Hill died between 10 December 1660and 28 June 1661. Mary (Eaton) Hill married second, about 1680,Ezekiel Knight. She died on 24 April 1708.