Interesting portrait I just discovered: This is believed to be a portrait of Massachusetts native Joshua Loring Jr. (1744-1789), who was an officer and prison administrator in the British Army during the American Revolution. Through my mother's family, he is apparently a distant cousin of mine through his mother, Mary Curtis Loring. His father (Joshua Loring Sr.) was a commodore in the British Navy during the French and Indian War and was later an adviser to Massachusetts Royal Governor Sir Thomas Gage. Joshua Loring Jr.'s wife, the highly attractive Elizabeth Lloyd Loring, apparently had a close "friendship" with General Sir William Howe, who was the top British commander in America during the Revolutionary war's early stages. Some patriots at the time jokingly claimed that Elizabeth unknowingly helped them win the war because she kept Sir William so "busy" in Boston that he couldn't focus on his work! The Lorings were later forced to leave America after the patriots gained the upper hand in the war. They later resettled in England and several of the family descendants went on to distinguished careers as captains and admirals in the British Navy. This is definitely a family I would like to research further!