Book Description

"The second child of Thomas Motley and Anna Lothrop [daughter of Rev. John Lothrop and Elizabeth Checkley] was John Lothrop Motley, born in Dorchester, now part of Boston, 15th April 1814. ... [He] married on the 2nd March 1837. His wife was Mary, daughter of Mr. Park Benjamin."--P. 9. Their early married life " was passed partly in Boston, but principally at a cottage built for them by Mr. Thomas Motley on his estate of Riverdale near Boston."--P. 19. John Lothrop Motley began his government service as Secretary of Legation at St. Petersburg. He was later appointed by President Abraham Lincoln to serve as United States Minister to the Court of Austria in 1861. His career also included service in England and the Netherlands. His diplomatic contacts were numerous. Mary Motley died in 1874. John Lothrop Motley died at the home of " ... his daughter, Mrs. Sheridan, at Kingston Russell House, Dorsetshire"--P. 301 on 29 May, 1877. "My father's descendants, his grandchildren and great grandchildren are all English."--Pref. as stated by Susan St. John Mildmay, daughter of John Lothrop and Mary Benjamin Motley. Descendants and relatives lived in Massachusetts, England and elsewhere.