Robert Lottridge

Spelled inconsistently, Robert Lottridge was a resident and innkeeper in Albany during the middle decades of the eighteenth century. We seek defining information on his origins and path to Albany. We have not discounted a connection to the William Loveridge family of greater Albany County. Occasionally, this mainline innkeeper and businessman was referred to as "Richard" Lottridge.

He probably was born during about 1720 and was of English ancestry. He was a member and "staunch supporter" of St. Peter's Anglican church.

At least by 1745, he was married to Elizabeth Hopkins. At least three of their children were christened at St. Peter's between 1749 and 1757.

In 1748 and during the 1750s, his inn was the site of a number of dinners and meetings for official functions including hosting the Albany Congress in 1754. Earlier, he had been involved in business at Oswego and beyond. During the 1750s, he (or a younger Robert) had Indian business with William Johnson.

In July 1758, letters of administration on his estate were issued to his neighbor, Staats Van Santvoort. His widow remarried in 1760. He probably was the father of Albany trader and Patriot Thomas Lottridge, a loyalist namesake, and other offspring as well.

Sources: The life of Robert Lottridge is CAP biography number 453. This sketch is derived chiefly from family and community-based resources.