Loring family.

The Lorings are a true Arizona pioneering family. George E. Loring came West in February of 1876. He had joined the Boston Colonist Party, a group of settlers formed to establish a colony in Arizona. Consisting of one-hundred men, the group left Boston by rail to Colorado, then headed south by mule team and foot, first arriving in present-day Flagstaff. The Boston Colonists were met by disappointing mining claims, a scarcity of water, and Mormon settlers who had already populated the rich land. The party was considered a bust.

This group of men moved south to Prescott where many stayed. George Loring continued on to Phoenix. Recognizing the city's potential, he opened one of the first general stores-- Loring's Bazaar on Washington Street. George's wife and young son George Jr. joined him in September, 1876. The family made Phoenix their home from where they conducted business for the next forty years.

George E. Loring, ever the entrepreneur, saw many needs in the growing city and developed a wide range of enterprises. At turns he became a general store owner, Indian curio store owner, a Wells Fargo agent, grocer, horse and dog breeder, real estate agent, watch repairman, photographer, haberdasher, dairy and general farmer, and a lumber business man. George was married twice and had seven children. In 1878, his first wife Margaret Ann Roby died of typhoid, soon after the birth of Madison, the couple's second child. He married Jennie Libby Clark in 1881. The couple had five children. George Loring died in February of 1932. He is buried in the family vault at Rosedale Cemetery located in the Pioneer and Military Memorial Park in Phoenix. The family's prominence is evident by the size and location of the Loring mausoleum.

From the description of The Loring family collection, 1804-ca. 1960 [manuscript]. (Scottsdale Public Library). WorldCat record id: 38072856