It appears that Loveland, OH and Loveland, CO are both named for descendents of Thomas Loveland of Connecticut. The following information has been submitted by Barb Ragland.
These details come from Vol. II of the Loveland Genealogy. Rev. Leonard Loveland was b at Chatham, Mass, May 23, 1792, d at Brighton, Ill., April 26, 1868, m at Chatham, June 7, 1812, Elizabeth (Betsey) Eldridge, b at Chatham, Feb. 12, 1796, d at Brighton Sept. 29, 1838; m 2nd at Brighton, Feb. 2, 1840, Mrs. Betsey Griswold, nee French, b in VT, d at B., March 20, 1859. His children were Thankful, Leonard, Mercy, Daniel, William, Mary, Amanda and Timothy (birthdates and marriage info on the children are included in the source document). Rev. Leonard Loveland's daughter, Thankful Loveland Albro, wrote a letter Aug. 23, 1882 to one of the Loveland Genealogy's authors, J. B. Loveland. She said, in part, "My father, with a man by the name of Nickerson, moved to Ohio with their families 64 years ago. They entered land in the timber five miles from any settlement. I was but 4 years old then, but remember it well, and I am almost sure my father made the first clearing and built the first house (log) on the very spot where the town of Loveland, in Ohio, now stands. He lived there four years and then returned to Chatham." At comments made by Rev. J. Earp during the Golden Wedding anniversary of Thankful and Irus Albro, he said, "Her father had something of the spirit of adventure, and realizing somewhat of the grandeur of this great continent, was not content to be circumscribed by the lines of the old Bay State, and prophesying that destiny must eventually move the "Star of Empire Westward," in 1818 he moved with his family, Thankful being at that period four years of age, to what was then thought to be the dense forests of the west, and settled in Ohio, near what is now the town of Loveland.
The info on the naming of Loveland, CO comes from Funk & Wagnell's Encyclopedia. It appears that William A. H. Loveland was prominent in the development of Colorado. There are 6 1/2 pages written about him in Vol II of the Loveland Genealogy. Apparently he was still living when this was written. In the back of Vol. II there is an addendum 4 1/2 pages long which include clips from the Denver newspapers regarding his death 17 Dec 1894 and his accomplishments during his life. One article says, "the career of Mr. Loveland is inseparably united with the history of Colorado".
The encyclopedia says that the community was laid out in 1877, during the construction of the Colorado Central Railroad, and was named for William A. H. Loveland (1826-94), the railroad's president. In Volume II of the Loveland Family Genealogy, there is a long article about him. He served in the Mexican War, was a railroad builder and served as Lt. Governor of Colorado. He was living in Lakewood, CO when he died.
William Austin Hamilton Loveland was born 30 May 1826.
His father was Rev. Leonard Loveland, b 23 May 1792. for whom Loveland, OH is named.
His father was Timothy Loveland, b 22 Feb 1765.
His father was Joel Loveland, b abt 1734, d 28 Feb 1776.
His father was Lot Loveland, b 13, May 1703.
His father was Robert Loveland.b 1676 in Glastonbury, CT.
His father was Thomas Loveland, from whom most of the U. S. Lovelands descend.
Doug Murphy
Omaha, Nebraska, USA
Last modified: Sunday, 18-Apr-1999 23:58:58 MDT