Special Features
The Ivy League Connection
The individuals listed below are shown in class order (earliest first)
* = Related by marriage
Harvard College (University)
Founded in 1636 by the General Court of Massachusetts, it is the oldest University in America. A year after his American arrival in 1637, Rev. John Harvard (1607-1638) bequeathed half his estate and his library to the college. In 1639 the University was named after him. The campus is located in Cambridge which is now, like nearby Watertown, a suburb of Boston. The school has figured prominently in the history of the American Hastings’ and related families such as: Adams, Bigelow, Coolidge, Fisher, Fiske, Goddard, Harrington, Judd, Russell, etc.
Deacon Walter Hastings (1631-1705): Oldest son of John Hastings, believed by some to be a brother/cousin of Thomas (unlikely). Deacon of the Cambridge church, he owned a house, circa 1683, on the present day campus of Harvard.
John Hastings (1656- ): Harvard Class of 1681. Son of Walter & Sarah (Mean) Hastings (see above) of Cambridge, Mass. Determined not to be a TH descendant.
Walter Hastings (1679-1699): Harvard Class of 1700. Younger brother of John (see above). Died while a student. Determined not to be a TH descendant.
Jonathan Hastings, Jr., Esq. of Cambridge, MA. Harvard Class of 1730. Married Elizabeth Cotton. Determined not to be a TH descendant.
* Rev. David Goddard (1707-1754): Harvard Class of 1731. Son of Hon. Edward & Susannah (Stone) Goddard of Watertown, Mass. Great(2)-Uncle of Susan Goddard, wife of William Hastings of Jamaica, Vt. Rev. Goddard became the Pastor of the Leicester Church.
Rev. Joseph Stacy Hastings (1745 – 1807): Harvard Class of 1762. He was an ordained minister who fled the country during the Revolution because of his Royalist leanings. He returned after the war and became a grocer in Boston. Determined not to be a TH descendant.
Rev. John Strickland (1741 – 1823): Harvard Class of 1762. Son of John & Tabitha (Hastings) Stickland. He was an ordained minister and served in Oakham, Mass., Warren, Maine, Hudson, N.H., Turner, Maine and Andover, Maine.
Jonathan Hastings (c1748-1831): Harvard Class of 1768. He was from Boston, Mass. This Jonathan is possibly the same one listed as the College Steward from 1775 to 1779 and owner of the “Gannet” property which has been incorporated into the present day campus. Link not yet established.
Walter Hastings, M.D. (c1750-1782): Harvard Class of 1771. He was from Chelmsford, Mass. Determined not to be a TH descendant.
Maj. John Hastings (c1754-1839): Class of 1772. He was from Cambridge, Mass. He joined the Army in 1775 and served (Jackson’s l6th Mass, 9th Mass, l4th Mass, etc.) throughout the war as a Captain. He war promoted (Brevet) to Major in 1783. Determined not to be a TH descendant.
Seth Hastings, Jr. (1762-1831): Harvard Class of 1782. Son of Seth & Hannah (Soden) Hastings of Mendon, Mass. He was a State Representative and later, a Congressman, from Mass.
* Daniel Marrett (1767-1836): Harvard Class of 1790. Husband of Dorcas Hastings, daughter of Maj Samuel & Lydia (Nelson) Hastings of Lincoln and Lexington, Mass. He was ordained in 1796 and became Pastor of the church in Standish, Maine, where they lived.
William Dix, M.D. (1772-1799): Harvard Class of 1792. Son of Dr. Elijah & Dorothy (Lynde) Dix of Worcester, Mass. and great-great grandson of William & Hepzibah (Hastings) Bond.
Rev. Wilkes Allen (1775-1845): Harvard Class of 1801. Son of Elnathan & Thankful (Hastings) Allen of Shrewsbury, Mass. He was ordained in 1803 and subsequently served as a Minister in Chelmsford.
* William Buckminster (1784-1865): Member of the Harvard Class of 1809 but left to fight in the “Great Rebellion.” Husband of Lydia Nelson Hastings (1818-? ), daughter of Jonathan & Nancy (Adams) Hastings of Brighton & Dedham, Mass. He was a lawyer, Justice of the Peace and proprietor/editor of the Boston Cultivator. His son, William J. Buckminster, also went to Harvard (Class of 1835).
Lt. Henry Elijah Dix (1793-1822): Harvard Class of 1813. Son of Dr. Elijah & Dorothy (Lynde) Dix of Worcester, Mass. and great-great grandson of William & Hepzibah (Hastings) Bond.
Thaddeus William Harris, M.D. (1795 – 1856): Harvard Class of 1815 and Harvard Medical School, 1820. Son of Rev. Thaddeus M. & Mary (Dix) Harris of Boston, Mass. He was the Librarian of Harvard, an author and lecturer and a co-founder of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society.
William Soden Hastings (1798-1831): Harvard Class of 1817. Son of Seth (see above). He followed his father’s legislative career.
Charles Theodore Russell (1815-? ): Harvard Class of 1837. Brother of Thomas H. (see below). He settled in Cambridge where he became Mayor of that city. He later served many years in the House and Senate of the Massachusetts State Legislature.
John Chenery Farmer (1815-?): Harvard Member of the Class of 1839. Son of John P. & Lydia Ball (Chenery) Farmer of Boston. Died in his second academic year.
Ambrose Wellington (1819- ?): Harvard Class of 1841. Brother of Edward (see below). He established his legal practice in Boston and lived in Auburndale, Newton, Mass.
* Rev. James Blodgett (1819-1845): Harvard Class of 1841. Husband of Abby Wellington, daughter of Peter & Hephzibah (Hastings) Wellington of East Lexington, Mass. He went on to attend the Cambridge Divinity School (1843) and was subsequently ordained by the Unitarian Congregational Society. James & Abby died young, both of “consumption.”
* Rev. John Farley Moors (c1820- ?): Harvard Class of 1842. Husband of Esther Westbrook Hastings, daughter of William & Mary (Dutton) Hastings of Warwick, Mass. He went on to attend the Cambridge Theological School (1845) and was subsequently ordained Pastor of the First Congregational (Unitarian) Church of Deerfield, Mass. They later settled in Greenfield where he ministered the Third Congregational Church.
* Henry Ware (c1821-? ): Harvard Class of 1843. Husband of Ellen Sophia Hastings, daughter of Oliver & Eliza (Bemis) Hastings of Cambridge, Mass.
Thomas Hastings Russell (1820 – 1911): Harvard Class of 1843. Son of Charles & Persis (Hastings) Russell of Princeton, Mass. Practiced law in Boston and spent many years as a member of the Massachusetts State Legislature (as did his brother, Charles T., see above).
* Rev. Rolla O. Page (1821-? ): Harvard Class of 1845. Husband of Cornelia Hastings (1826- ), daughter of Jonathan & Nancy (Adams) Hastings of Lincoln, Mass. He was a Professor of Mathematics & Natural Philosophy at Geneva College, New York, and later Rector of St. Paul’s church in Lewiston, NY.
John Adams Hastings (1824-1851): Harvard Class of 1846. Brother of Cornelia (see above). He was a school teacher.
Austin Jacobs Coolidge (1824- ?): Harvard Class of 1847 (BA) and 1850 (Law). Son of Josiah & Mary (Hastings) Coolidge of Watertown, Mass. He was a lawyer in Boston.
* John Andrew Henshaw (c1825- ): Class of 1847. Husband of Caroline Hastings, sister of Ellen S. (see above). He was a merchant in Boston and they made their home in Cambridge, Mass.
George Russell Hastings (1827-? ): Harvard Class of 1848. Son of Cyrus & Eliza (Bullard) Hastings of Boston. He was a first cousin of Charles T. Russell and his brother Thomas H. Russell (see above). He practiced law in Boston.
Elbridge Gerry Wellington (1826-1849): Member of the Harvard Class of 1851. Brother of Abby (see above). He left college for the healthy climate of California. He died there at the age of 23.
Edward Wellington (1831-1852): Member of the Harvard Class of c1853. Son of Maj. Benjamin Oliver & Polly (Hastings) Wellington of East Lexington, Mass. Brother of Ambrose (see above). Died by accidental drowning while a student.
William Wirt Warren (1834 – 1880): Harvard Class of 1854 (BA) and 1856 (LLB). Son of William & Abigail Lymand (Banister) Warren of Brighton, Mass. Brother of Webster F. (see below). A life-long resident of Brighton, he was the Town Clerk circa 1866 and had a law office in Boston. He was a Delegate to the Democratic National Convention in 1868; a member of the Mass. State Senate in 1870 and was elected as a Democrat to the 45th U.S. Congress (March 4, 1875-March 3, 1877).
Louis Arnold (1833 -? ): Harvard Class of 1855. Son of Joseph & Mary Ann (Hastings) Arnold of Roxbury, Mass. He was an Architect and Civil Engineer.
* Rev. Edward Payson Thwing (1830- ?); Harvard Class of 1855. Husband of Susan Maria Waite, daughter of Edward & Mary Hastings (Mills) Waite of Portland, Maine. He was ordained at the St. Lawrence street Church, Portland, and later served as the head of the Hancock Street Church, Quincy, Mass.
Joseph Wilcox Hastings, M.D. (1835 – 1895): Harvard Class of 1856. Son of Ozial Wilcox & Ruth Sarah (Stevens) Hastings. Served as a Regimental Surgeon for the 2lst & 23rd Mass. Regiments.
George Willis Warren (c1838-? ): Harvard Class of 1860. Son of Gearge Washington & Harriet Atwood (Willis) Warren of Boston. After Harvard, he attended the Andover Theological Institution.
Webster Franklin Warren (1841- ?): Harvard Class of c1865 (LLB). Brother of William W. (see above).
William Frederick Bennett (1847-? ): Harvard Class of 1869. Son of Elias Dexter & Almira (Wellington) Bennett of Brighton, Mass.
Dr. Frank Austin Gooch (1852 – 1929). Harvard Class of 1872 (BA) and 1877 (Ph.D). Son of Joshua Goodale & Sarah Gates (Coolidge) Gooch, and grandson of Josiah & Mary (Hastings) Coolidge (see above).
Gov. William Eustis Russell (1857 -1896): Harvard Class of 1877) (Charles7, Persis6, Samuel5, Samuel4, Nathaniel3, Samuel2, Thomas Hastings1) Born in Boston, Mass.. He an attorney and the youngest ever Governor of Massachusetts.
* George Arthur Plimpton (1855 – aft. 1917); Harvard Law School Class of 1877. Husband of Fanny Hastings, daughter of Brig. General Russell & Emily (Platt) Hastings of Worcester Co., Mass.
Prof. Albert Bushnell Hart (1854- 1943): Harvard Class of 1880. Son of Albert G. & Mary Crosby (Bushnell) Hart of Pennsylvania and Ohio. He was a classmate and life-long friend of Theodore Roosevelt and Professor of Government at Harvard for many years where he co-authored the first Harvard Guide to American History.
Joseph Austin Coolidge (1859- ?): Harvard Class of 1882 (BA, cum laude) and MA, 1883. Cousin of Dr. Frank Gooch and nephew of Austin Coolidge (see above). Grandson of Josiah & Mary (Hastings) Coolidge.
Daniel Gott Hastings, M.D. (1860 – 1942): Harvard Class of 1888 (Medical School). He was the son of Francis Henry & Amelia (Gott) Hastings of Rochester, NY. Settled in Rochester where he became a “house officer” at Rochester City Hospital and then moved into private practice.
Robert Worthington Hastings, M.D. (1866 – 1922): Harvard Class of 1893 (MA). He received his BA (1888) and MD (1893) from Amherst College. He was the son of Dr. Joseph (see above).
John Mason Hastings, M.D. (1869 – 1915): He was from Bangor, Maine and completed his undergraduate studies at Bowdoin College. He graduated from Harvard Medical School in 1895. Link not yet established.
Rev. Thomas Robinson Harris (1842 – 1909): From Cambridge, Mass., he took a break from Harvard to serve during the Civil War and returned circa 1866 to resume his studies which culminated in a Doctorate of Divinity.
George Bulkley Hastings (1875 – 1942): Believed to be a grandson of Bulkley Adams & Cynthia (Dix) Hastings of Suffolk Co., Mass. He graduated in the Harvard Class of 1897 and went on to become an attorney in Boston.
Joseph Arthur Coolidge (1888-? ): Harvard Class of 1910 (BS). Son of Joseph Austin & Anna (McClure) Coolidge and great-grandson of Josiah & Mary (Hastings) Coolidge. Settled in Cambridge and became a Professor at Northeastern College.
George Everett Hastings (1878 – ?): Harvard Class of 1917 (MA) and 1918 (PhD). Previously he attended Princeton, BA, 1904, and MA, 1912. Son of Francis Luellen & Matilda Ann (Fulmer) Hastings of Fredericktown, PA. During his career he was a Professor of English at the Univ. of Utah, Univ. of Arkansas and Univ. of Texas. Member of Phi Betta Kappa academic society. Settled in Fayetteville, AK. Link not yet established.
1st Lt. Walcott Brown Hastings (1893-1918): Son of Arthur & Alice Walcott (Brown) Hastings of Niagara Falls, N.Y. He attended Harvard for two years before joining the U.S. Army. The following year he was killed on the battlefield in France.
Rev. Waitstill Hastings Sharp (1902 – 1983): Harvard Law School, class of 1926. Son of Dallas L. & Grace (Hastings) Sharp of Wellesley, Mass.
Cedric Munroe Hastings (1903 – 1977): Harvard Class of 1925. Son of Henry Payson & Lucy B. (McAlpine) Hastings of Framingham, Mass.
Laurens Hastings (c1903 – ?): Harvard Law Class of 1928. First position out of Law School appears to be as Special Assistant to the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Idaho (remarkably before he had passed any state bar exam). Link not yet established.
Dana Munroe Hastings (1931-2012): Harvard (A.B., Cum Laude), Class of 1953. Son of Cedric (above) & Virginia F. (Rice) Hastings of Mass.
Wilmot Reed Hastings (1935 – ): Harvard Class of 1957 (BA, magna cum laude) and LLB (law degree) 1961, magna cum laude. He also attended the University of Paris, 1957-58. Son of Abner Horace & Florence L. (Hylan) Hastings. Served as the Editor of the Harvard Law Review and in 1968 he became Deputy Attorney General of Massachusetts. In 1969 he became Executive Assistant to the Under Secretary of State and the next year he became General Counsel of Health, Education and Welfare. He returned to private law practice in 1973 and is now a partner in the firm of Bingham, Dana & Gould of Boston.
Laura Spelman Rockefeller (1936-2015): Harvard (M.A., Government). Daughter of Laurence S. & Mary (French) Rockefeller of New York.
Yale University
Charles Sheldon Hastings (1848-1932): Graduated from Yale in 1878 with a Ph.D in Physics.
Frank Spencer Witherbee (1852 – 1917): Born and raised in New York and graduated from Yale in 1874.
Eliakim Hastings Moore (1862 – 1932): Son of David Hastings & Julia (Carpenter) Moore. Graduated from Yale in 1885 with a Ph.D in Mathematics. He was a professor at Northwestern, Yale and the Univ. of Chicago.
Franklin Williams Hastings, Jr. (1869 – aft. 1910): Son of Franklin W. & Margaretta (Smiley) Hastings of Bradford, Penn. Graduated from Yale in 1893 and went on to practice law in New Jersey.
James Robert Judd, M.D. (1876-1947): Yale, Class of 1897. Son of Albert F. & Agnes Hall (Boyd) Judd of Hawaii.
Wells Southworth Hastings (1878 – 1923): Son of George & Harriet (Southworth) Hastings of New York. Graduated from Yale in 1902 and went on to enjoy a successful business career while authoring well regarded mystery novels such as The Man in the Brown Derby.
Prof. Austin Foster Dawes (1879 – 1962): Son of Frank & Harriet (Foster) Dawes of Connecticut. He graduated from Tufts and went on to receive a Masters from Yale. During his long career he was the State Forester for Connecticut and Vermont as well as being on the history faculty at the University of Vermont.
Francis Judd Cooke (1910 – 1995): Son of George P. & Sophie (Judd) Cooke of Hawaii. Graduated from Yale in 1933 with a degree in music and went on to study at the University of Ediburgh where he graduated with First Class Honours in 1938. He lecutured music at the New England Conservatory, Yale and Wellesley College.
Mary Billings French (1910-1997): Vassar College, Class of 1931. Daughter of John & Mary Montagu (Billings) French of New York and Vermont.
Rev. Canon Robert Shaw Sturgis Whitman (1915 – 2010): Son of Dr. Armitage & Mary (Sturgis) Whitman of Manhattan. He attended Harvard briefly and eventually graduated from Yale’s Berkley Divinity School. Before settling down as rector of the Episcopal Church in Lenox, Mass., he served as Chaplain for the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Va. He also authored the book Beyond Words.
George Hastings Chittenden (1917 – 2000): Son of Horace W. & Katherine (Hastings) Chittenden of New York and Connecticut. Graduated from Yale in 1939, served as a captain in the Army Air Corp. during W.W. II and went on to a successful banking career on Wall Street.
Princeton University
George Everett Hastings (1878 – ?): He attended Princeton (BA), 1904, and MA, 1912. He went on to study at Harvard, Class of 1917 (MA) and in 1918 (PhD). Son of Francis Luellen & Matilda Ann (Fulmer) Hastings of Fredericktown, PA. During his career he was a Professor of English at the Univ. of Utah, Univ. of Arkansas and Univ. of Texas. Member of Phi Betta Kappa academic society. Settled in Fayetteville, AK. Link not yet established.
Courtland Hastings (1906 – 1977): Son of Frank Coolidge & Minnie (Gates) Hastings of Mass. and N.Y. He graduated in the Class of 1929.
Prof. Philip K. Hastings (1922 – 2012): Son of Rowland & Eunice (Leach) Hastings, he graduated from Williams College in 1941 and then went into the Navy and served during W.W. II. He subsequently attended Princeton where he received his Ph.D in 1951. He returned to Williams College as a Professor and became a noted expert on public opinion research and statistical analysis.
Charles Everett Hastings (c1923 – 1996): Princeton Class of 1945. He was a career C.I.A. officer. Link not yet established.
Charles Derosear Hastings, M.D. (1931 – 2005): Princeton Class of 1953. Link not yet established.
Robert H. Hastings (1937 – 2002): Princeton Class of 1960 and brother of Charles D. above. Link not yet established.
Dartmouth College
James Orton (c1767-c1840): Dartmouth, Class of 1787. Son of Thomas & Anna (Dix) Orton and great-great grandson of William & Hepzibah (Hastings) Bond.
Edward Stearns Cutter (1822 – aft. 1898): Dartmouth, Class of 1844. Son of Daniel & Sally (Jones) Cutter of New Hampshire.
Jeffery Paul Hastings (1958) graduated from Dartmouth (Tufts) with an M.B.A. He was a world class athlete and competed at the Winter Olympics in Sarajevo in 1984. He is also a four time U.S. ski jumping champion. Link not yet established.
**Other Universities of particular relevance to the family include: Amherst College, Bowdoin, Brown, Cornell, Hamilton College (NY), Johns Hopkins, M.I.T., Stanford, University of Iowa and Williams College.