Low Master Research

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Low Master Research

Research file for the Low line of Harriet Phillips Low (1834-1918), wife of Capt. Richard Blackmer Holbrook. It runs from Harriet back through her father's father's line to Thomas Low, maltster of Chebacco in Ipswich, Massachusetts, who was there by 1641. Each person has a section numbered by Ahnentafel number counted from Harriet: Harriet is 1, her father is 2 and her mother 3, and a person's father is twice their number and their mother twice plus one. Each section gives:

vital facts;
how the link to the parents is supported;
the records of the life in date order;
anecdotes and quotations;
spouses and notable siblings or children;
open questions;
sources.

Last revised: 6 October 2026 (first edition).

Relation to the earlier file. This file supersedes the Low male-line parts of Low_Line_Research.md (1-2 October 2026). Its findings come in two groups.

New in this edition, from FamilySearch records and images, FamilySearch Full-Text Search, and archive.org texts read for this pass:
- Deer Isle town records;
- Hancock County deeds, probate files and court records;
- census returns;
- Massachusetts and Washington death records;
- the full Records and Files of the Quarterly Courts of Essex County;
- Crowell's History of Essex;
- the Washington Territory legislative journals.
Carried forward from the earlier file, with its citations.

The wives' ancestral lines (Boreman, Lamb, Wise, Tompson, Varney, Proctor, Cogswell, Lord, Fuller, Emerson, and the Thompson, Foster and Kneeland lines of Rebecca Thompson) are summarized here with their ratings. Their full generation-by-generation treatment stays in Low_Line_Research.md. Harriet's mother's side (Tyler and Ginn) is in Tyler_Ginn_Line_Research.md.

Ratings. Used where they matter, not on every line.

How we know it:
- [D] Documented: a primary record, or a published transcript, index or abstract of one.
- [C] Compiled: a secondary genealogy, local history, typescript or online tree.
- [I] Inferred: our own reasoning, with the reason given.
- [T] Tradition: family lore, including Mollie's typescript where no record supports it.
How sure we are, for links and disputed points: Proven, Probable, Possible, Disproven.

Abbreviations

FS: FamilySearch.
- Record IDs look like 1:1:M6J5-L3N.
- Image IDs look like 3:1:3Q9M-CSR4-832T-N. All open at https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/ followed by the ID.
- Family Tree person IDs look like KNHT-Q3D.
EQC: Records and Files of the Quarterly Courts of Essex County, Massachusetts, vols. 1-8 (Salem, 1911-1921).
PREC: The Probate Records of Essex County, vol. 3 (1920).
Ipswich VR, Boxford VR: the printed vital records to 1850.
Hosmer: George L. Hosmer, An Historical Sketch of the Town of Deer Isle, Maine (1886).
Crowell: Robert Crowell, History of the Town of Essex from 1634 to 1868 (1868).
Waters: T. F. Waters, Ipswich in the Massachusetts Bay Colony, 2 vols. (1905, 1917).
Perley: Sidney Perley, The History of Boxford (1880) and The Dwellings of Boxford (1893).
Merriam: Ancestors of the John Lowe Family Circle (1901).
Quest: William G. Low, A Genealogical Quest (1908) and No. 2 (1909).
DIF: the typescript "Genealogical history of Deer Isle families," filmed by FamilySearch and read through Full-Text Search. Its compiler is not named on the pages read. On the Low pages the compiler calls Thomas T. Low "my grandfather."
Mollie: Mollie Frances (Holbrook) Pfeiffer's family typescript (1930s), Books 4-5, pp. 67-85.
FaG: Find a Grave.

About the FamilySearch transcripts. Many quotations below come from FamilySearch Full-Text Search, which gives a machine transcription beside each image. These were read from that transcription and checked for sense, not letter by letter against the image. Obvious machine misreadings are corrected in brackets. Before any of them is quoted in finished writing, the image should be checked.

What this pass found

All three weak links between Harriet and Major Nathan's father are now closed by records.
- Harriet is Capt. Nathan's daughter. Proven.
  - The Deer Isle town record gives "Harriet Phillips" born 12 June 1834 to Nathan Low and Hannah R.
  - The 1850 census has Harriet, 16, in Nathan and Hannah's household.
  - Her 1918 Washington death certificate names her father "Capt. Lowe."
  - An 1887 power of attorney, signed by her and Capt. R. B. Holbrook, calls her "one of the daughters and heirs at law" of Hannah R. Low of Deer Isle.
- Capt. Nathan is Major Nathan's son. Proven.
  - The Deer Isle record gives Nathan, born 24 March 1805, to Nathan Low.
  - A Hancock County deed of 1838 is made by "Nathan Low Jun." with his wife Hannah R.
  - In October 1859 "Nathan Low Jr" was appointed administrator of the estate of Nathan Low, yeoman, late of Deer Isle.
- Major Nathan is the son of Nathan Low of Boxford. Now Proven by several independent records.
  - Nathan Sr.'s will of 31 March 1803 gives "my son Nathan Low two dollars in addition to what I have already given him."
  - A Low family Bible kept on Deer Isle records the marriage of Nathan Low and Lucy Lord and their children. It is annotated "His son Nathan Jr. was Major."
  - Major Nathan's first two daughters were registered at Deer Isle and baptized at East Boxford.
  - The 1850 census gives him as born in Massachusetts, aged 84.
The man who died on 17 September 1874 was Capt. Nathan. His widow's petition in the Hancock County probate says that Nathan Low "died on the 17th day of September A.D. 1874 intestate." Hosmer also says Nathan Low, Jr., was master of the vessel and died of the exposure a few days later. The Portland paper's "B. F. Law" remains unexplained (section 2).
Harriet's birth year is 1834, not 1839. The town record, the 1850 census (16), the 1870 census (36), the 1900 census ("June 1834") and the death certificate ("84 years 5 months 14 days") all agree.
Harriet's first marriage is found. Crowell H. Sylvester and Harriet P. Low were married at Deer Isle on 12 December 1852. She was 18, not 16 as Mollie says.
- He was a widower, as Mollie says: he had married Irena Arey at Vinalhaven in November 1848.
- The divorce bill was contested in the territorial Council in January 1860. The Council had the written testimony read, called for oral testimony, summoned a witness, and sent the bill to a committee of the whole before passing it.
- In mid-1860 she was "H P Sylvester," 24, in Thurston County.
Capt. Nathan's marriage date is 16 September 1832 (Maine vital records index, Deer Isle), not Mollie's 4 October 1832.
All ten of Capt. Nathan's children are now identified from Deer Isle birth records, the 1850 and 1860 censuses, and later records. Mollie's list of ten is correct.
Major Nathan's second wife, Hannah Hardy, was alive in 1850. She was aged 43 in his household. This undercuts Hosmer's "died in a few years after her marriage" and Mollie's story that she drowned herself. The story is not disproved, but she lived at least thirteen years into the marriage.
The immigrant's will names "my Sonne Thomas Low," so the first link is Documented. The will also provides for the widow's maintenance to be sent "to Boston or Charls Towne," which is probably the root of Mollie's statement that Susannah died at Charlestown.
The Essex court records give a fuller picture of the two Thomas Lows. Highlights:
- juries, depositions, and the malt trade;
- a 1669 case in which their servant John Chub killed a neighbour's horse, and a witness said Thomas Low, jr., had run at the horse with a pitchfork;
- a 1668 petition signed by Thomas and Martha Low for neighbours accused of slandering the magistrates;
- Thomas Low's oath as a freeman in 1682.
Two family heirlooms are reported in print:
- a 1579 Geneva Bible inscribed "Susana Low her Book 1677, May 19" (Crowell, 1868);
- an 1802 Philadelphia Bible bought by Lucy (Lord) Low Choate and later kept on Deer Isle (DIF).

How the weak links stand now

Link	In Low_Line_Research.md	New evidence	Now
Thomas (128) > Deacon Thomas (64)	Probable: compiled accounts and "Thomas, jr."	Thomas Sr.'s will, 20/30 Apr 1677: "Item I Giue & bequeath vnto my Sonne Thomas Low Thirty pownds," and to "my Grandchild Thomas Low five pownds" (PREC 3:175-176) [D]	Proven
Nathan (8) > Major Nathan (4)	Probable: Boxford "Nathan, jr." marriage	Will of Nathan Low of Boxford, 1803, names son Nathan, already provided for [D]. Lucy (Lord) Low's family Bible on Deer Isle, with "His son Nathan Jr. was Major" [C, transcript of a family record]. Two children recorded at Deer Isle and baptized at East Boxford [D]. 1850 census: born Mass., 84 [D]	Proven
Major Nathan (4) > Capt. Nathan (2)	Probable: Hosmer's list of sons	Deer Isle birth record, 24 Mar 1805, son of Nathan [D]. 1838 deed of "Nathan Low Jun." [D]. 1859 letters of administration on his father's estate to "Nathan Low Jr" [D]	Proven
Capt. Nathan (2) > Harriet (1)	Probable: rests on Mollie	Deer Isle birth record [D]; 1850 census [D]; 1887 power of attorney as heir of Hannah R. Low [D]; 1918 death certificate, father "Capt. Lowe" [D]	Proven
Mary (Foster) Thompson's father	Possible	Not resolved. The DIF typescript adds Thomas Thompson's children with Deer Isle birth dates, and a Roxbury baptism of a son Thomas on 11 Jan 1767	Possible (unchanged)

The tree

Ahnentafel numbers from Harriet (1). The rating in brackets is for the link between that person and the child above; a person's own parentage is rated in the line below or in their section. Sources are in the sections below; this outline is for orientation.

1. Harriet Phillips Low. b. 12 Jun 1834, Deer Isle, Maine; m. (1) 12 Dec 1852, Deer Isle, Crowell H. Sylvester (divorced by act of 17 Jan 1860); m. (2) 24 Dec 1860, Steilacoom, Washington Territory, Capt. Richard Blackmer Holbrook; d. 26 Nov 1918, Seattle; bur. Coupeville, Island Co., Wash.
- 2. Capt. Nathan Low (Nathan Jr.) [Proven]. b. 24 Mar 1805, Deer Isle; m. 16 Sep 1832, Deer Isle; d. 17 Sep 1874, Deer Isle.
  - 4. Major Nathan Low [Proven]. b. 18 Oct 1765, Ipswich (Chebacco), Mass.; bp. 3 Nov 1765; m. (1) 23 Oct 1792, Boxford, Mass.; m. (2) 30 Jan 1837, Deer Isle, Hannah Hardy; d. 13 May 1859, Deer Isle; bur. Forest Hill Cemetery, Deer Isle.
    - 8. Nathan Low [Proven]. b. 1 Oct 1742, Chebacco; m. 17 Jan 1765, Ipswich; d. 24 Jul 1804, Boxford; bur. Harmony Cemetery, East Boxford.
      - 16. Caleb Low [Proven]. b. c. 1707, Chebacco; m. 8 Jan 1732/3, Chebacco; d. 17 Jul 1777.
        
        32. Sgt. David Low [Probable: his will, as abstracted by Merriam, names a son Caleb]. b. 14 Aug 1667, Ipswich; m. 28 Dec 1699, Chebacco; d. 2 Jun 1746.
        
        64. Deacon Thomas Low [Proven]. b. c. 1631/2 (perhaps bp. Groton, Suffolk, 8 May 1631); m. 4 Jul 1660; d. 12 Apr 1712, Chebacco, aged 80.
        
        128. Thomas Low [Proven as father of 64]. b. c. 1605; at Ipswich by 1641; d. 8 Sep 1677, Ipswich.
        
        129. Margaret Tod [Probable]. m. Polstead, Suffolk, 22 Jun 1630; d. before c. 1636 (by inference). Thomas's second wife was Susannah (d. 19 Aug 1684, aged about 86).
        
        65. Martha Boreman [Proven]. b. c. 1641; d. 22 Jan 1720, in her 79th year. Daughter of Thomas Boreman (130) and Margaret (131).
        
        33. Mary Lamb [Proven as David's wife when Caleb was born]. b. c. 1680/2, Roxbury; d. 3 Mar 1735. Daughter of Caleb Lamb (66) and Mary Wise (67) [Probable].
      - 17. Abigail Varney [Proven]. b. 14 Oct 1713, Chebacco; d. 1800 (probably the widow recorded 30 Dec 1800, aged 86). Daughter of Thomas Varney (34) and Abigail Cogswell (35).
    - 9. Lucy Lord [Proven]. b. 25 Aug 1746 (Bible; Choate Genealogy), bp. 30 Aug 1747; m. (2) 1808 Capt. Ebenezer Lord; m. (3) 1817 Josiah Choate; d. 10 Sep 1833, Boxford, aged 87. Daughter of James Lord Jr. (18) and Mary Fuller (19).
  - 5. Rebecca Thompson [Proven: Major Nathan's wife from 1792 until her death in 1836]. b. 12 May 1772, Deer Isle; d. 1836, Deer Isle. Daughter of Thomas Thompson (10) and Mary Foster (11) [Probable]; Mary Foster's own father is Possible only.
- 3. Hannah Read Tyler [Proven]. b. 12 Dec 1809, Dixmont, Maine; d. 9 Apr 1886, Beverly, Mass.; bur. Deer Isle. Daughter of Rowland Tyler (6) and Sally Ginn (7); see Tyler_Ginn_Line_Research.md.

Part One: The Low line, generation by generation

1. Harriet Phillips Low (1834 - 1918)

Vital facts

Born 12 June 1834, Deer Isle, Hancock County, Maine. [D]
- Deer Isle town record, in "Maine, Births and Christenings": "Harriet Philips Low," parents Nathan Low and Hannah R. (FS 1:1:F4HP-12N). A second indexing reads "Harriet Phillips," parents "Nathan J. Low" and Hannah R. (1:1:F4WQ-HFJ); "Nathan J." is probably the clerk's "Nathan Jr." [I].
- Also indexed in "Maine, Vital Records, 1670-1921" (1:1:Q283-21FR).
Name. Mollie says she was named for her aunt Louisa Tyler's husband, Dr. John Phillips (Mollie p. 81) [T].
Married (1) 12 December 1852, Deer Isle, Crowell H. Sylvester (FS 1:1:Q28Q-S6WL, "Maine, Vital Records, 1670-1921") [D]. She was 18.
Divorced by private act of the Washington territorial legislature, "Passed January 17th, 1860" (Acts, 1859-60, Private Laws p. 476) [D]. Also indexed in "Washington, County Divorce Records, 1852-1950" (FS 1:1:6CYG-2C6S) [D].
Married (2) 24 December 1860, Steilacoom, Pierce County, Washington Territory, Capt. Richard Blackmer Holbrook (1821-1894) [D, from the Holbrook files].
Died 26 November 1918, Seattle, at 560 Mercer Street, widowed, aged "84 years 5 months 14 days." [D]
- Washington death certificate no. 3584 names her father "Capt. Lowe" (FS 1:1:N3G3-FJC).
- "Washington, Deaths and Burials" gives birth 12 June 1834, Maine, and father "Lowe," born Maine (1:1:HVXM-ZGPZ).
- King County death register (1:1:6FCM-HMWH).
- Mollie's chart gives 17 Nov 1918; the certificate's 26 Nov stands.
Buried 29 November 1918, Coupeville, Island County [D]; Sunnyside Cemetery per Find a Grave (FS index 1:1:QVVN-4RG8) [C].

Link to Capt. Nathan Low and Hannah Read Tyler: Proven. The evidence:

the Deer Isle birth record [D];
the 1850 census [D];
the 1887 power of attorney [D];
the 1918 death certificate [D];
her daughter Mollie's marriage record of 1898, which gives her mother as "Harriet P. Lowe" [D];
Mollie's typescript [T].

Life

1850, Deer Isle, dwelling 141: Nathan Low 45, Hannah H. [R.] 40, Harriet H. 16, Daniel W. 14, Loiza 12, Henry C. 9, Roland C. 7, Lucetta 5, Joseph E. 3, Laura 1, Charlotte A. 2 months (FS 1:1:M6J5-L3N) [D]. She was the eldest of the ten.
1852, married Crowell H. Sylvester at Deer Isle [D].
- Who he was. Crowell Hatch Sylvester, born at Deer Isle 20 Dec 1825, son of Crowell Hatch Sylvester (1785-1863) and Hannah W. Saunders, and a younger brother of Edmund Sylvester (1821-1887), founder of Olympia [C, FS tree KC9X-WTZ; Blankenship 1914].
- "Widower": Probable. He had married Irena Arey at Vinalhaven, intention 11 Sept 1848, marriage 26 Nov 1848 (FS 1:1:F4D4-4MV and F4D4-DPT) [D]. She died in 1850 (FS tree; not checked against a record) [C].
- Not him. The "Crowell H. Sylvester" who married Susannah Dodge at Deer Isle in September 1854 was his widowed father, whose wife Hannah had died in 1853 [I, from the FS tree dates].
About 1856, went with Crowell to Washington Territory, where his brother Edmund lived [T, Mollie p. 82].
- Mollie: "After a few sorrowful and disappointing years in Olympia, her marriage was annulled in the legislature, and she found herself alone in a new and wild land, earning her living with her sewing-machine. A certain inborn pride had kept her from letting her family know what had befallen her, until her second marriage."
The divorce bill, January 1860. House Bill No. 45, "An act to dissolve the bonds of matrimony heretofore existing between Crowell H. Sylvester and Harriet P. Sylvester." [D: Washington Territory House Journal (1860), pp. 105-122, 207; Council Journal (1859-60), pp. 99-146]
- House. Introduced "upon leave" by Mr. Weed in the first week of January 1860. A motion to suspend the rules for a third reading failed 14 to 11 for want of two-thirds, and a motion to send it to a select committee also failed. It later passed.
- Council: first readings. Read and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, which reported it back "for the further consideration of the Council." It was laid on the table at least twice.
- Council: the testimony. When it was taken up, a call of the house tied 4 to 4. Then: "Mr. Clark moved that the testimony accompanying the bill under consideration be read for the information of the Council. Which was carried, and the clerk proceeded to read." Further reading was dispensed with. "Mr. Burbank moved that oral testimony be called for. Which was carried." The Sergeant-at-Arms was directed to procure the attendance of "the Hon. G. K. Willard."
- Council: committee of the whole. On 13 January 1860 a motion "that the lobby of the Council be cleared for the investigation of the bill and examination of witnesses" was lost. The Council went into committee of the whole, which reported the bill back "without recommendation."
- Passage. On a later day, on motion of Mr. Clark, it was "taken up, read a third time, passed." It was enrolled on 23 January and signed by the Speaker on 24 January 1860. The session laws date it 17 January 1860.
- What survives. The "testimony accompanying the bill" is not printed. The territorial bill files may hold it (see Records to obtain).
- The same session passed several other private divorce acts, among them one for Sidney S. Ford Jr. and Josephine Ford.
1860 census, Thurston County, page 28: "H P Sylvester," female, 24, born Maine, the only person indexed on the record (FS 1:1:MC6W-8JX) [D]. Mollie says she had taken back her maiden name by the time of the courtship [T].
Courtship and second marriage, December 1860 [T, Mollie pp. 82-84]:
- Capt. Coupe of Whidbey Island told Capt. Holbrook "he knew just the girl for him to marry."
- She refused Holbrook twice, rode her mare to the home of her friend Mrs. Ford near Fort Steilacoom, and was married there "that Sunday evening, Christmas Eve, 1860." 24 December 1860 was a Monday.
- "The lonely young bride had only a brown dress, (alpaca?) which she tried to make more bride-like by touching the cuffs and neck with swan's down."
- A young man named Howell "had ridden hard to reach Steilacoom, and getting there too late, leaned against a door-jamb in a half-fainting condition and watched the end of the ceremony."
To Whidbey Island by sailing vessel, then "a canoe and six Indians to paddle all the last part of the journey." In a storm she tied her husband's bandana over her head. At the head of Penn's Cove the neighbour Mrs. Libbey greeted them: "Why, I thought you were an Indian woman, Mr. Holbrooks, I thought you had brought home an Indian woman after all!" [T, Mollie p. 84]
First spring. She drove the horses while he broke the land, "a fifty acre field" [T].
Children [D for the births recorded; T for the order]:
- Nathan Gideon, died in infancy;
- Horace Greeley, born 3 Jan 1863;
- Josephine, died about four years old;
- Mollie Frances, born 4 Dec 1870 (Washington birth record, FS 1:1:Q237-3NCT, names her mother Harriet Phillips Low);
- Richard Blackmer Jr., born Sept 1872.
1870 census, Whidbey Island: Richard Holbrook 48, Massachusetts; Harriet Holbrook 36, Maine; Horace 7, W.T. (FS 1:1:M6MB-RRM) [D].
1880 census, Island County, indexed as "Harriet Holebrook" (FS 1:1:MXT6-X94; not opened in this pass).
14 January 1887, power of attorney. Harriet and R. B. Holbrook, "both of Coveland, Island County Washington Territory," appointed "Daniel W. Low of Beverly ... Massachusetts" to sell "any and all right title and interest that the said Harriet P. Holbrook as one of the daughters and heirs at law" had in Maine real estate of "the late Hannah R. Low, late of Deer Isle ... at the time of her decease, on April 8th 1886."
- Witnesses J. C. Power and Joseph B. Libbey; acknowledged before Joseph O. Libbey, notary, Island County.
- Recorded in the Penobscot County Registry 26 May 1887 (Penobscot Deeds, book page 402; FS image 3:1:3QS7-L9XJ-B5LV) [D].
15 June 1898, her daughter Mollie married Emil C. Pfeiffer at Boston. The record names Mollie's parents as Richard B. Holbrook and Harriet P. Lowe (FS 1:1:N44N-CDD) [D].
1900 census, Seattle Ward 3: "H P Holbrook," mother-in-law, in the household of E. C. Pfeiffer, born June 1834, Maine, widowed, both parents born Maine (FS 1:1:MMPN-ZH6) [D]. The index gives 3 children born and 3 living; she had borne five, so the index or the enumerator is wrong [I].
Died at Seattle in 1918. The certificate gives her residence as 560 Mercer St. Whose house that was is not stated; the family account says her son Richard's.
Her life on the island, as Mollie remembered it [T, Mollie pp. 85-86]:
- "Harriet Holbrook was known, all her long life, the kindest of neighbors, and the most indulgent of mothers."
- A dying child told her: "Aunty Holbrook, you have such kind hands."
- She taught Indian women "to knit and sew and cook and to care for their children." She wrote epitaphs for Indian neighbours. She told a grieving chief that his wife Mary had gone to "a happier land," which Mollie renders in Chinook Jargon.
- Mollie also records, "as a historian," the slipper.
- Mollie's account of her childhood: "When she was eight years old she nursed her mother through the birth of one of her children, caring for younger children and the baby, doing the housework and even the washing" (p. 82).

Spouses

Crowell Hatch Sylvester (1825-1899). After the divorce he stayed in Thurston County.
- 1870, Olympia, aged 45 (FS 1:1:M6M1-ZHR) [D].
- Bureau of Land Management tract book entries, 1864-1869 [D index].
- Married Edith L. Hall at Olympia, 5 May 1879 [C, FS tree].
- 1880, Thurston County, with Edith and children [D, 1:1:MXTX-PX4].
- Died at Olympia 4 Aug 1899; buried Forest Memorial Gardens [C, FaG].
Capt. Richard Blackmer Holbrook (1821-1894). See the Holbrook files.

Open questions

Her obituary (Seattle and Island County papers, late November 1918).
The informant and cause of death on the certificate image.
The territorial bill file for H.B. No. 45, with the "testimony accompanying the bill."
The Pierce County record of the 1860 marriage.
Who "the Hon. G. K. Willard" was and what he knew.
The 1880 and 1910 census entries.

Sources: the FS records cited; Washington Territory House and Council Journals 1859-60 (archive.org); Acts of 1859-60, Private Laws p. 476; Penobscot Deeds (power of attorney, 1887); Mollie pp. 67-69, 81-86.

2. Capt. Nathan Low (Nathan Low Jr.) (1805 - 1874)

Vital facts

Born 24 March 1805, Deer Isle [D].
- Deer Isle town record, "Maine, Births and Christenings," father Nathan Low (FS 1:1:F4W7-QT5). The record is on the town clerk's alphabetical births page with the other children of Nathan and Rebekah: Lucy, Mary, Rebekah and Thomas Thompson (FS image 3:1:3QS7-99L1-Q94M-T, film 004255379, image 206, pages 410-411).
- Also in "Maine, Church Records, 1734-1907," born 1805, father Nathan Low (FS 1:1:QG5F-H744).
- Census ages fit: 45 (1850), 55 (1860), 67 (1870).
Name. Recorded as "Nathan Low Jr." or "Nathan Low Jun." (deeds 1838, probate 1832 and 1859), and as "Nathan J. Low" in one indexing of his children's births [D]. FS Family Tree calls him "Nathan J Low" (KNHT-Q3D). No evidence for a middle name "J." has been found; "Jun." is the likely reading [I].
Married 16 September 1832, Deer Isle, Hannah Tyler ("Maine, Vital Records, 1670-1921," FS 1:1:Q283-LQHY) [D]. Mollie's chart gives 4 October 1832; her typescript also once typed Feb. 25, 1835, which is her brother Frederick's wedding date.
Died 17 September 1874, Deer Isle [D]. His widow's petition for administration says that "said deceased died on the 17th day of September A.D. 1874 intestate, seized and possessed of estate in said County."
- The petition is signed "Hannah R Low," dated Deer Isle, November 1875 (Hancock County Probate, estate case files; FS image 3:1:S3HT-63Y9-RKP).
Burial: probably Forest Hill Cemetery, Deer Isle, where his parents, his brother William and his son Daniel lie. A Find a Grave entry "Natha Lowe," born 1805, Forest Hill Cemetery, with no photograph, is probably his (FS index 1:1:Q29Y-CJDF) [Possible].

Link to Major Nathan Low and Rebecca Thompson: Proven. The evidence:

the birth record, father Nathan, on the page of Nathan and Rebekah's children [D];
"Nathan Low Jun." in the 1838 deed [D];
letters of administration of 26 Oct 1859 on the estate of "Nathan Low late of Deer Isle ... Yeoman" to "Nathan Low Jr of Deer Isle" [D];
Hosmer's list of Major Nathan's sons [C];
the DIF Low pages [C].

Life

Selectman, 1828 and 1829: Possible. Hosmer lists "Nathan Low" as selectman of Deer Isle in 1828 and 1829 (pp. 241-242) without saying which Nathan. Mollie gives the office to Nathan (7) for "1829 and 30" [T].
1832, administrator. Appointed administrator of the estate of John Howard of Deer Isle at the Castine probate court, first Wednesday of March 1832 [D, Hancock estate case file, FS image 3:1:S3HY-D1X3-4PP].
- John Howard's widow Susan and son Thomas Howard declined the trust and asked "that Nathan Low Jun of said Deer Isle may be appointed."
- Hosmer says John Howard Jr.'s first wife was a daughter of Thomas Thompson and the mother of Capt. Thomas Howard, which would make Thomas Howard Nathan's first cousin [I].
1832, married Hannah Read Tyler, a schoolteacher from Dixmont. Mollie: she "was engaged to teach school at Deer Isle," and "some of his wife's relatives thought him a brusque and crude man ... that their Aunt Hannah had married beneath her position and family" [T, Mollie p. 81].
2 August 1838, deeds. "Nathan Low Jun. of Deer Isle ... Gent.," with "my wife Hannah R Low relinquishing her right of dower," sold Hiram Pond of Boston, merchant, two small lots on the Reach road "about fifty rods easterly of James Tylers house" and by land of the heirs of John Thompson, for $300 and $200. Witness Jona. E. Webb; recorded March 1839 [D, Hancock Deeds 1837-1839, FS image 3:1:3Q9M-CSR4-832T-N].
1850 census, Deer Isle, dwelling 141, with Hannah and ten children [D].
1854, received 31 votes for representative to the legislature (Hosmer, town-meeting abstracts) [C].
26 October 1859, appointed administrator of his father's estate. His public notice is signed "Nathan Low Jr." [D, Hancock Probate Records 1855-1876, record p. 117; FS image 3:1:3QS7-L9WC-8LL8].
1859, the town voted $50 for "the road from near the house of William E. Knight to Nathan Low's house" (Hosmer, 1859 town meeting) [C]. After the Major's death in May 1859 this is presumably Capt. Nathan's house [I].
1860 census, Deer Isle, page 65: Nathan 55, Hannah R. 50, Henry C. 19, Rowland T. 17, "Lauraetta P." [Lucetta] 15, Joseph E. 13, Laura E. 11, Charlotte A. 10, Mary E. 9 (FS 1:1:MDHJ-3DM) [D].
1864, "Nathan Low" was on the town committee to plan a permanent bridge at the old mill site (Hosmer) [C].
1870 census, Deer Isle, dwelling 34: Nathan 67, Hannah R. 60, Joseph E. 23, Anna M. 21 (Joseph's wife), Carrie 5, Frederick Howard 22, Charlotte A. Howard 19, Lottie S. Howard [age as indexed, 12] (FS 1:1:M6DN-VYJ) [D].
The last voyage, September 1874. The schooner Paragon of Deer Isle was run down by the steamer Lewiston off Seguin about 10 p.m. on Thursday 10 September 1874 [D, newspapers in Part Two].
- Hosmer, p. 144 [C]: "Nathan Low, Jr., who died a few years ago in consequence of the vessel of which he was then master having been run into by a steamer on the route from Portland easterly. Captain Low was thrown into the water, and being then nearly seventy years of age, the exposure caused his death shortly after. He was brought home, but lived only a few days."
- Mollie, p. 81 [T]: "being in the water many hours after the vessel was run into by a steamboat bound for Portland. His son Daniel was with him. He was brought home but lived only four days. He was over 70 years old at that time. Why he and the crew were left by the steamer in the water, I do not know."
- Who was master: unresolved.
  - The Portland Daily Press named the owner and master "B. F. Law" and said the steamer rescued "the captain and his father and brother - the entire crew." That wording fits a son of Capt. Nathan as master, with his father and a brother aboard [I].
  - Hosmer and the Daily Kennebec Journal ("Capt. Lowe, master of schooner Paragon") make Nathan the master.
  - The Ellsworth American says "an old man and two boys."
  - No B. F. Low has been found in the family.
Died a week after the collision. The Kennebec Journal: "He leaves a wife and three children." He in fact left a widow and nine living children (Henry had died in 1861); perhaps three were still at home [I].
Estate. His widow petitioned for administration in November 1875 [D]. No inventory was found in the case file images read.

Character [T, Mollie p. 81]: "like his father, was a large man, genial, generous, kind and likable, with the Low joviality ... his children adored him."

Spouse: 3. Hannah Read Tyler (see below).

Children (all born at Deer Isle; birth dates from the Deer Isle town records, FS "Maine, Births and Christenings" [D], unless stated otherwise):

Harriet Phillips, b. 12 Jun 1834 (1).
Daniel Webster, b. 28 Apr 1836.
- A sea captain. In 1864 the town paid him $100 "as a compensation for having put ... a substitute into the army for three years" (Hosmer) [C].
- Of Beverly, Mass., in 1887, when he was attorney for his sister Harriet and guardian of his brother Joseph's children [D].
- Died at sea 26 Jul 1896 ("Maine, Vital Records," FS 1:1:KC8R-BDS; father Nathan Low, mother Tyler) [D]. Memorial at Forest Hill Cemetery, Deer Isle, as "Capt Daniel Webster Low" [C, FaG].
- Married Evelyn Webster per Mollie [T].
- Mollie says Major Nathan named his eldest son for Daniel Webster. The records show it was Capt. Nathan who named his eldest son Daniel Webster, in 1836 [D].
Sarah Louisa, b. 15 Apr 1838.
- Mollie's "Louise Tyler Low, m. George Nichols, 8 children" [T].
- Married in Massachusetts; the bride's parents are given as Nathan and Hannah Low (FS indexes 1:1:NWBB-3CH, FC8X-KJ3, FH3N-9MM; dates not read) [D].
- Died 1917 in Minnesota as "Mrs. Sarah L. Nichols," father Nathan Low, mother Hannah Tyler (FS 1:1:ZWK2-4C6Z, FDSF-NM1) [D].
Henry Clay, b. 8 Jan 1841. Unmarried (Mollie). Death indexed 1861, Deer Isle ("Maine, Vital Records," father Nathan) [D]; FS tree has 1862 [C].
Rowland Tyler, b. 17 Jan 1843 (one indexing reads 1844).
- "Capt. Roland Lowe." Married Eva St. Clair Howard (24 Sep 1852 - 3 Feb 1903, Forest Hill Cemetery) [C, FaG].
- In January 1887 he petitioned, "son and heir of Hannah R. Low," for the sale of his mother's Deer Isle real estate [D].
- Died 1923. Two indexes: New York City Municipal Deaths, "Roland Tyler Lowe," parents Nathan Lowe and Hannah Tyler (FS 1:1:2W54-XZD); and "Maine, Vital Records," Deer Isle, 1923 [D]. Probably died in New York and was buried at Deer Isle [I].
Lucetta Tyler, b. 7 Mar 1846. Mollie's "Etta Low had 1 daughter m. Woodbury" [T]. Probably the "Lucetta T. Low Nason" who died 29 Oct 1876 and is buried at Forest Hill Cemetery, although that Find a Grave entry gives her birth as 1855 [C, FaG; identity Probable].
Joseph Elkins, b. 30 May 1847.
- Married Anna M. by 1870 [D, census].
- Died 1885 [C, FS tree].
- His minor children Henry H., Charles S., Frederic H., Augustus R., Frank S., Grace D., Lucy S. and Joseph E. Lowe, of Beverly, inherited one-eighth of their grandmother Hannah's estate [D].
Laura Eastman (Laura E.), b. c. 1849.
- Married her cousin John W. Phillips (Mollie: Capt. John Winthrop Phillips, son of Dr. John Phillips and Louisa Tyler) [T for the cousinship].
- Married in Massachusetts (FS 1:1:HS1W-DK3Z, FHVH-FLV) [D].
- Died 23 Jun 1918, Danvers, Mass., aged 69, as Laura E. Phillips, wife of John W. Phillips, parents Nathan Low and Hannah Tyler (Mass. death, cert. 191; FS 1:1:23TS-7RP) [D].
Charlotte Adams (Charlotte A.), b. c. Mar 1850 (2 months old at the 1850 census). Married Frederick Howard; both in her parents' household in 1870 [D]. Died 1928 [C, FS tree].
Mary Ellen, b. c. 1851.
- Married Joseph M. Partridge in Massachusetts in 1872 (FS index "Massachusetts Marriages, 1841-1915") [D].
- A news item copied into the DIF typescript [C]: "Mrs. Joseph Patridge, of St. Paul, Minn., died of consumption on Dec. 6, 1900. She was the youngest sister of Capt. Roland Lowe and leaves a husband and nine children. She has 4 sisters living."

Open questions

His grave and gravestone.
The Paragon's enrollment (Castine or Belfast customs district) and owners.
Whether a son was master in 1874.
The full Hancock estate file, including any inventory or division.
His 1840 census entry (two Nathan Lows are indexed at Deer Isle, FS 1:1:XHY5-6MP and XHY5-6MK).

3. Hannah Read Tyler (1809 - 1886)

Born 12 Dec 1809, Dixmont, Maine [C, Brigham, Tyler Genealogy 1:221; the death record gives birthplace Dixmont].
Married 16 Sep 1832, Deer Isle, Nathan Low Jr. [D].
Died 9 Apr 1886, Beverly, Mass., aged 76, widowed, burial Deer Isle. [D]
- Mass. deaths vol. 373 p. 178; FS 1:1:NWCP-3J7. The record names her parents "Roland Tyler" and "Hannah Ginn"; "Hannah" for Sally is an informant's error [I].
- The 1887 power of attorney gives 8 April 1886; Find a Grave, indexed as "Hannah R. Hardy Lowe," gives 7 April 1886 at Forest Hill Cemetery [C]. "Hardy" there is an error; Hannah Hardy was her father-in-law's second wife [I].
Her estate. On 17 January 1887 her son Rowland T. Low petitioned the Hancock County probate court [D, FS image 3:1:S3HT-6612-2H; recorded vol. 34 p. 8, March 1887].
- The petition says Daniel W. Low of Beverly was guardian of the eight minor children of Joseph E. Low, heirs to "one eighth part of said Hannah R Lows estate in said Deer Isle."
- It asked for leave to sell the land "to pay the debts of the deceased Hannah R Low," there being "no personal estate in said Deer Isle."
- One-eighth shares mean eight living lines of heirs in 1887: Harriet, Daniel W., Sarah L., Rowland T., Joseph E.'s children, Laura E., Charlotte A. and Mary E. Henry C. and Lucetta had died [I].
- The power of attorney was recorded in Penobscot County, which suggests she also owned land there, perhaps Tyler land at Dixmont [I].
Her ancestry is in Tyler_Ginn_Line_Research.md.

4. Major Nathan Low (1765 - 1859)

Vital facts

Born 18 October 1765, Ipswich (Chebacco). Boxford VR p. 59: "Nathan, s. Nathan and Lucy, at Ipswich, Oct. 18, 1765" [D]. Baptized 3 November 1765 (Ipswich VR 1:254) [D]. The Low family Bible: "Nathan Low, Jr. b. 18 Oct. 1765" [C, DIF transcript].
Married (1) 23 October 1792, Boxford, Rebecca Thompson "of Dear Isle," with the intention also recorded (Boxford VR p. 171) [D].
- The Deer Isle record, as quoted in DIF series 2, has "Nathan Low of Boxford & Rebekah Thompson of D. I. pub. Oct 1 1792" [C].
- The FS tree gives 22 Oct.
Married (2) 30 January 1837, Deer Isle, Hannah Hardy, daughter of Jonathan Hardy: "Maj. Nathan Low and Hannah Hardy, both of this town" (Deer Isle marriages by Rev. Jonathan Adams, Bangor Historical Magazine 5) [D transcript].
Died 13 May 1859, Deer Isle [C, FaG and FS tree]; the year is in "Maine, Vital Records" (FS 1:1:Q283-L3FN) [D]. Hosmer: "He died in 1859, at the age of ninety-four years" (p. 144), and "1859, Major Nathan Low, aged 94" in his list of aged persons (p. 219) [C].
Buried Forest Hill Cemetery, Deer Isle: "Maj Nathan Low," born 18 Oct 1765, died 13 May 1859 [C, FaG, FS index 1:1:Q29Y-CJ6X].

Link to Nathan Low and Lucy Lord: Proven. The evidence:

Boxford records his birth at Ipswich as son of Nathan and Lucy [D].
Boxford records "Nathan, jr." marrying "Rebecca Thompson of Dear Isle" in 1792 [D].
His daughters Lucy (b. 15 Aug 1793) and Mary (b. 30 Jun 1795) were registered at Deer Isle and baptized at the First Church, East Boxford, on 18 Aug 1793 and 30 Aug 1795 as daughters of "Nathan Low Jr." [D; DIF, quoting both].
His father's will of 1803 names "my son Nathan Low," already given his portion [D].
The family Bible, bought by his mother Lucy and later kept on Deer Isle, records his parents' marriage and his birth, and is annotated "His son Nathan Jr. was Major" [C, transcript of a family record].
The 1850 census gives him as born in Massachusetts, aged 84 [D].

Hosmer's statement that he "came here from the county of Worcester" conflicts with all of this and is probably an error [I].

Life

Early years. He spent them in Boxford, where the family moved in 1767 [C, Perley].
Move to Deer Isle. He married in 1792. His first two children were baptized at Boxford in 1793 and 1795, but their births were also entered in the Deer Isle register. The third, Rebekah, was born 11 June 1797, presumably at Deer Isle. So he moved between 1795 and 1797 [I].
7 July 1803, deed. "Nathan Low of Deer Isle ... Gentleman," with "Rebekah Low" releasing dower, sold Ignatius Haskell of Deer Isle 40 acres on "Egemoggin Reach, so called" for $130. The bounds run "by land of the sd Nathan," by land of Thomas Thompson, John Closson, Robert Line and Joshua Staples. Acknowledged 1 Nov 1803 before Joseph Tyler, J.P.; recorded 13 Aug 1804 [D, Hancock Deeds 1804-1805; FS image 3:1:3Q9M-CS3J-2CTC].
- This is the land Hosmer describes: "he became owner of the land laid out to Joshua Staples; he afterward was owner of one of the lots laid out to Mr. Thomas Thompson near Thompson's Cove" (p. 143) [C].
1809, sued for debt. Hancock County Court of Common Pleas, 1809: "Samuel G. Towne & Pearl Spofford both of Deer Isle ... Merchants & Copartners in trade, plaintiffs V. Nathan Low of said Deer Isle yeoman defendant." The claim was for a note of hand of 27 Oct 1808 for $34.36. "The defendant although solemnly called to come into Court does not appear but makes default." Judgment $36.58 and costs $17.87; execution issued 24 Nov 1809. The same merchants sued his father-in-law Thomas Thompson, yeoman, at the same term on two notes [D, Court of Common Pleas records May-Nov 1809; FS image 3:1:3QS7-89MZ-4D2H]. This was during the hard years of the Embargo and its successor acts [I].
10 June 1815, named one of sixteen men "to assist the tithingmen of the town to enforce the due observance of the Sabbath, and suppression of intemperance," with his brother-in-law William Foster (Hosmer pp. 236-237) [C].
Occupations and offices. Tanner and farmer, major of militia, selectman (Hosmer pp. 143-144) [C]. No commission record has been found.
1837, married Hannah Hardy, who was "some forty years younger than himself" (Hosmer) [C].
1850 census, Deer Isle, dwelling 152, household 153: Nathan Low 84, born Massachusetts; Hannah Low 43, born Maine (FS 1:1:M6J5-L7R) [D].
- This shows his second wife alive thirteen years after the marriage. Hosmer's "she died in a few years after her marriage" is wrong at least as to time [D vs C].
- Mollie: "these springs the Major's second wife drowned herself" [T]. Not disproved; no death record for her found.
Estate. Administered by his son "Nathan Low Jr," whose letters are dated 26 Oct 1859. The notices were to be posted at Deer Isle and published three weeks in the Ellsworth American [D]. No will was found.

Description and anecdotes

Hosmer, p. 144 [C]: "He was a large, portly man, and as an officer in the militia must have made a fine appearance. I have been told by one who had seen both that he very much resembled the father of Daniel Webster."
Hosmer, p. 144: "A brother of his in Massachusetts lived to be about one hundred years old." None of the brothers found lived nearly that long (Solomon d. 1861 at 79; Jeremiah d. 1863) [I, unverified].
Hosmer, p. 144: "He acquired considerable property and settled his sons upon farms of which he was owner." Mollie agrees: "Major Low gave each of his three sons a farm" [T].
Mollie, pp. 79-80, on the homestead at Thompson's Cove, which she saw as a girl [T]:
- "Trees surrounded the open place, excepting on the water side. From there was a view of the Reach."
- "Along this shore had been found a beautiful black marble veined with green, from which buildings in Boston had been erected."
- She saw "remains of cellars of Major Low's house and that he had given to his son Nathan (7) in which Harriet Low (8) had been born; and the old high gate-post set up by Major Low."
- Harriet remembered "the dear little cottage her father and mother had lived in near her grandfather, a canary-colored cottage."
- "On the place were the famous Durham Springs."
- "As the Major grew older his granddaughter lived with him, until her own marriage, and kept house for him, and spoke of him always with the greatest affection." The granddaughter is evidently Harriet [I].
Mollie, p. 80, on Capt. Nathan's later farm: "an elevated place, ... up to which one walked through a meadow and past great beech-trees. Here the two brothers William and Nathan lived in a double house" [T].

Children (with Rebecca Thompson; Deer Isle town records unless stated):

Lucy, b. 15 Aug 1793, bp. East Boxford 18 Aug 1793 [D]; d. 1867 [C, FS tree].
Mary, b. 30 Jun 1795, bp. East Boxford 30 Aug 1795 [D]; d. 1833 [C].
Rebekah, b. 11 Jun 1797 [D].
Jane, b. 1801 [C, FS tree only]. DIF: "One of the above girls md. -- Elkins" [C]. Capt. Nathan named a son Joseph Elkins in 1847 [D].
Thomas Thompson, b. 8 Oct 1802 (town record) [D]; Find a Grave gives 28 Oct 1801. Married Abigail. In 1853 he received 32 votes for representative (Hosmer). Died 17 Oct 1881, aged 80 (Bible note; FaG) [C]. The DIF compiler's grandfather.
Nathan, b. 24 Mar 1805 (2).
Susanna, b. 17 Jun 1807 [D].
William, b. c. 1810. Married 9 Mar 1835 Mary Eaton (b. 28 Jun 1810, d. 1 Oct 1872). Died 20 Feb 1888, aged 78. Both buried at Forest Hill Cemetery, "at the Reach" [C, DIF series 2 and FaG]. "The sole surviving son" in 1886 (Hosmer).
Hosmer: "None of the daughters remained here."

Open questions

His Hancock estate file (inventory and division).
His militia commission (Massachusetts militia records for the District of Maine before 1820; Maine adjutant general after 1820).
Hannah (Hardy) Low's death.
Census entries 1800-1840.
The Durham Springs and Thompson's Cove homestead on a map.

5. Rebecca Thompson (1772 - 1836)

Born 12 May 1772, Deer Isle (DIF Thompson pages, citing Deer Isle records) [C].
Married 23 Oct 1792, Boxford [D]. Died 1836 (Hosmer p. 144) [C].
Link to Thomas Thompson and Mary Foster: Probable. The evidence:
- Hosmer lists "the wives of Major Nathan Low" first among Thomas Thompson's daughters (p. 47) [C];
- DIF gives her birth among Thomas and Mary's children [C];
- the Boxford record calls her "of Dear Isle" [D];
- Nathan Low's 1803 deed bounds his land on Thomas Thompson's [D].
Her parents.
- Thomas Thompson (c. 1744 - c. 1824) married Mary Foster at Roxbury on 28 Oct 1765 (Roxbury VR 2:153, 394) [D] and settled at Thompson's Cove.
- DIF adds:
  - a Roxbury baptism of a son Thomas, 11 Jan 1767 (First Religious Society);
  - the 1790 census household: 3 sons under 16 and 5 females;
  - the tax lists: "taxed for a poll in 1817 and for R. and P. only after that to 1826";
  - Deer Isle records: "Thomas Thompson deceased 26 March (year torn)" and "Widow Mary Thompson Deceased March -- 1837."
- Hosmer gives Mary's death as 1836, aged 91.
Her siblings, with Deer Isle birth dates (DIF) [C]:
- Jane, 30 Jun 1768;
- Mary, 22 Jun 1770 (m. Joseph Sellers, published 23 Feb 1799);
- Martha, 16 Oct 1774;
- Adam, 26 Apr 1776;
- Elizabeth, 5 Nov 1781 (published 1800 to Nathaniel Kennison);
- Thomas, 11 Apr 1784;
- Abigail May, 20 Aug 1786 (m. 1805 John Howard Jr.);
- John, 26 Mar 1789.
Mary Foster's own parentage is still unproven; see Low_Line_Research.md, Part Two.

8. Nathan Low (1742 - 1804)

Vital facts

Born 1 October 1742, Chebacco: "Nathan, s. Caleb and Abigail, Oct. 1, 1742" (Ipswich VR 1:254) [D]. The family Bible gives "Nathan Low, Senior, b. 1 Oct. 1741" [C, DIF transcript]; the town record stands.
Married 17 January 1765, Ipswich, Lucy Lord ("Lucy, and Nathan Low, Jan. 17, 1765. c. R. 7," Ipswich VR 2:282, 291) [D]. The Bible agrees. The FS tree's 25 Oct 1764 is probably the intention [I].
Died 24 July 1804, Boxford, "a. 62 y." (Boxford VR p. 249, from the gravestone in Harmony Cemetery) [D].

Link to Caleb Low and Abigail Varney: Proven. The evidence:

the birth record [D];
Caleb's will of 17 June 1773 names son Nathan [C, abstract of the probate on WikiTree; image not seen].

Life

Ipswich property. Mollie says he and Lucy owned property on High Street, east side, in Ipswich, bought of William Kimball and later sold to a Lord [T].
1767, moved from Ipswich to Boxford and hired the Hale farm (Dwellings of Boxford p. 47) [C].
The Low mansion. John Hale "built the late ancient Low mansion about 1750, and a few years later erected the saw-mill." By the laying out of the "Janes Road" in 1772 the mill was "Hale's new mill." "About the same time it came into the possession of Nathan Low (father of Gen. Solomon Low), and was kept in the family until the death of Major William Low (son of Gen. Low) in 1870" (Perley, History of Boxford, p. 198) [C]. Perley also names "Lowe's ... mill-pond" among Boxford's ponds.
19 April 1775. "Low, Nathan, Boxford. Private, Capt. Jacob Gould's co. of militia, Col. Samuel Johnson's regt., which marched on the alarm of April 19, 1775; service, 4 days" (Massachusetts Soldiers and Sailors 9:1030) [D].
Later Revolutionary service: Probable. Perley lists Nathan Low among Boxford men "stationed at New York for two months," and among those "stationed for two months at Winter Hill" (pp. 229-230) [C]. No other Nathan Low of Boxford was of age [I].
31 March 1803, his will. "I Nathan Low, of Boxford in the county of Essex and Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Yeoman, considering the uncertainty of this mortal life ..." [D, Essex Probate record book 1803-1806, image 324 of 884; FS image 3:1:3Q9M-C9YT-8S15]. The bequests:
- to his wife Lucy: the use of one third of the real estate for life; "two cows and two sheep"; "my chaise and sleigh to her own use and disposal, together with the privilege of using a horse for all necessary purposes"; and all the household furniture "except my desk and a low chest";
- to "my son Nathan Low two dollars in addition to what I have already given him, as his full portion of my estate";
- to James, $50; to Daniel, $100; to William, $100; to Jeremiah, $2 "in addition to what I have given him";
- to Solomon, all the real estate and buildings, subject to his mother's dower, and the personal estate;
- to Joseph, "that part of the Back Pasture ... lying westerly of a valley, where stones are laid for the purpose of making a wall," and $300 in three instalments;
- a clause about his pew or share in the meeting house of the First Parish is partly lost in the transcription.
- Executors: Solomon Low and Moses Dorman. Witnesses: "Jacob Lofty" (as transcribed; the name needs checking against the image), Daniel Bodwell, Samuel Haseltine.
- Notes.
  - The will is entered among probate business of 6 August 1804. A FamilySearch user note gives "Entered in Probate 6 August 1806."
  - Son Caleb (b. 24 Dec 1767) is not named.
  - The original probate file and inventory have not been seen.
Death and burial. Died 24 July 1804; buried in Harmony Cemetery, East Boxford, beside Lucy (Mollie; Boxford VR) [D/C].
- Family tradition, as written in the DIF note on the Bible: "Old Nathan fought in Revolutionary war and killed by falling off apple tree. His son Nathan Jr. was Major." The informant is given as Emma Damon Eaton [T].

Mollie's claims for him that fail

"With his grandfather in the expedition against Quebec when a very young lad, under Capt. John Smith of Rowley Village." His grandfather Sgt. David Low died in 1746, when Nathan was three [D]. Disproven.
"Also in the French and Indian War with Capt. Gideon Parker." Not found [T].

Children (Boxford VR pp. 59-60 [D]; the Bible list in DIF agrees except for Caleb's year):

Nathan, b. at Ipswich 18 Oct 1765 (4);
Caleb, b. 24 Dec 1767 (the Bible says 1770);
James, b. 17 Jun 1770;
Daniel, b. 20 Oct 1772. Living 1803; the FS tree's death in 1772 is wrong;
William, b. 2 Jun 1775 ("Capt. William Low," d. 1822, FS tree);
Jeremiah, b. 6 Apr 1777, died young;
Jeremiah, b. 6 Aug 1779;
Solomon, b. 9 Apr 1782;
Joseph L., b. 28 Dec 1784; m. Sally Wood 2 May 1805;
a daughter, b. 19 Oct 1786, with a gravestone in Harmony Cemetery.

Gen. Solomon Lowe (1782-1861), the son who inherited the homestead [C, Perley]:

General of the Second Brigade, Second Division, Massachusetts militia, from September 1820 to April 1840.
Representative for Boxford 1823, 1827, 1828 and 1841.
He gave the bell of the East Parish meeting house.
Married four times. "The remains of Gen. Lowe lie in his tomb in Harmony Cemetery. The tomb has attracted many visitors, because of the pictures of himself and his four wives, which are engraved on marble tablets, and placed upon the face of the tomb" (Perley p. 359).
His son Major William Lowe "died in 1870, from injuries caused by a bull which attacked him in his cowyard"; the buildings burned 21 June 1874 (Dwellings p. 48).

Open questions

The Essex probate file (docket number, inventory, division).
Gravestone photographs in Harmony Cemetery.
Whether his New York and Winter Hill service is in the Massachusetts muster rolls under another spelling.

9. Lucy Lord (1746 - 1833)

Born 25 Aug 1746 (Bible; The Choates in America) [C]. Baptized 30 Aug 1747 (Ipswich VR 1:245) [D]. The year conflict is unresolved.
Link to James Lord Jr. and Mary Fuller: Proven (baptism record) [D].
Married:
- (1) 17 Jan 1765, Nathan Low.
- (2) 25 Apr 1808, Capt. Ebenezer Lord of Ipswich (Boxford VR p. 171; Ipswich intention 9 Apr 1808) [D]. He died 2 May 1810 (Ipswich VR); the Bible says 21 May 1810.
- (3) 28 Nov 1817, Josiah Choate. He died 30 Mar 1822, aged 75 (Bible) [C].
Died 10 Sept 1833, aged 87, Boxford; buried beside her first husband (Boxford VR p. 249) [D].
Her Bible [C, DIF Low Family pp. (1)-(2)]:
- A Philadelphia Bible of 1802 published by Mathew Carey, "big book," inscribed at the end of the New Testament: "This book was purchased Anno Domino 2 April 1801 By Lucy Choate." The compiler noted that the edition dates from 1802, so the date is wrong; she was in fact Lucy Choate only from 1817.
- Marriages: Nathan Low and Lucy Lord, 17 Jan 1765; Eben Lord and Lucy Low, 25 Apr 1808.
- Deaths: Eben Lord, 1810; Josiah Choate, 30 Mar 1822, aged 75; Daniel Lord, 11 Jul 1819, in his 77th year; "Miss Mary Lord, d. 28 Jan 1826 in 94th year of age (called an old maid)."
- Births: Nathan Low Senior, Lucy Lord, and their ten children.
- Later Deer Isle entries for Thomas T. Low's family, including "Nathan Augustus Low, d. 20 Mar. 1872."
- It was then in the hands of Thomas T. Low's descendants on Deer Isle.
- Who Daniel and Mary Lord were is not known; they were probably Lucy's kin [I].
Mollie's Tappan claim. Mollie says Lucy "had one daughter who married a Tappan." Disproven as stated: the Tappan bride, Nancy, was Josiah Choate's daughter by his first wife (Choates in America) [C].

16. Caleb Low (c. 1707 - 1777)

Born about 1707, Chebacco. Not in the printed births; age "abt. 70" at death [D].
Married 8 Jan 1732/3, Chebacco, Abigail Varney (Ipswich VR 2:289, 436) [D]. They were second cousins through Joseph Wise and Mary Tompson of Roxbury [C/I, Low_Line_Research.md].
Died 17 Jul 1777: "lethargy, a. abt. 70" (Ipswich VR 2:624) [D].
Link to Sgt. David Low: Probable. David's will of 14 March 1745 names a son Caleb (Merriam p. 18) [C, abstract]. No birth record.
Will of 17 Jun 1773 [C, WikiTree abstract of Essex Probate, Old Series vols. 351-352; image not seen]. It names:
- wife Abigail;
- sons Thomas, Caleb, Nathan, William and Jeremiah;
- "Thomas Varney, brother";
- daughters Katharine Sutton, Abigail (wife of Joseph Low) and Mary Bradley.
Children (Ipswich VR 1:251-255) [D]: Catherine (bp. 1733/4), Abigail (1735, d. 1736), Abigail (1737), Caleb (bp. 1739), Nathan (1742), Thomas (1744), Mary (1747), William (1751, d. 1752), William (1754), Jeremiah (1756).
Mollie [T]:
- "A part of his life was spent in Danvers." Not tested.
- His son Thomas married Dorothy Choate, and their children "were all born in the old slant-roof house" later replaced by Josiah Low's square house.
Abigail's death. Rev. John Cleaveland's Chebacco death records, printed by Crowell, have "Dec. 30 [1800]. Widow Catherine Low, aged 86" (Crowell pp. 465-467) [C]. The Ipswich VR enters the same death as "[Catharine, c. R. 4.], wid. Caleb, Dec. 30, 1800, a. 86 y." The age fits Abigail (b. 1713); the name does not. Unresolved.
Not his sons. Mollie's "Major Caleb Low," aide to Washington, and "Captain David Low" were first cousins of his son Nathan, not brothers (Low_Line_Research.md) [D].
- Crowell (p. 226) repeats that Major Caleb Low of Danvers "was present at the execution of Andre" and prints an order to him signed by Washington, from Hanson's History of Danvers. His service in Col. Wade's regiment July-October 1780 is documented; being an aide is not [C].

32. Sergeant David Low (1667 - 1746)

Vital facts

Born 14 Aug 1667: "David, s. Thomas, jr., Aug. 14, 1667" (Ipswich VR 1:252) [D].
Married 28 Dec 1699, Chebacco, Mary Lamb (VR 2:289) [D]. She died 3 Mar 1735 (VR 2:624) [D].
Died 2 June 1746: "David, Sergt., June 2, 1746" (VR 2:624) [D].
Link to Deacon Thomas: Proven (birth record) [D].

Life

1690, the Phips expedition against Quebec. Waters lists "David Low" among the Ipswich soldiers in it (vol. 1, p. 312) [C]. When the General Court granted "Ipswich-Canada" (now Winchendon) to the soldiers and their heirs in 1735, the claim list reads "David Low, Ipswich. Own," meaning he claimed by his own service, not a father's or uncle's (Marvin, History of Winchendon (1868), proprietors' list; Waters 1:310-311) [D transcript]. In the first division of 4 Nov 1736 "David Low" drew lot "N. D. No. 8" (Marvin) [D transcript].
- On 5 Oct 1736 he deeded to his son David land "granted to a certain number of men, which formerly went in an expedition to Canada under Sir William Phipps, of which I, David Lowe, was one" (Merriam p. 18) [C].
Sergeant, presumably of the Chebacco militia company. The source of the title is not found beyond the death record.
The house. Wm. G. Low, quoted by Mollie (p. 78): "David Low (3) built a house, still standing, of which I have a photograph. Mr. Rufus Choate says it was built about 1705 of wood from the farm and that said David had the trade of a carpenter and doubtless took part in building it." [C/T]. The house's identity and survival should be checked with the Essex historical commission inventory.
Will, 14 March 1745, proved 16 June 1746. It names sons David, Jeremiah, Caleb, Stephen and Joshua, and daughters Mary Lufkin, Martha Crafts, Abigail and Eunice (Merriam p. 18) [C, abstract].
His son Lt. Stephen Low was killed at Ticonderoga, 8 July 1758 (VR 2:625) [D]. He was second lieutenant of Capt. Stephen Whipple's company. Chaplain John Cleaveland's journal, printed by Crowell (pp. 176-183), says "Lieut. Stephen Low (both of Chebacco) was slain, as we suppose; the last that was seen of him, he was sitting down, with a heavy wound" [C].
King George's War. "David Low juner was Imprest into his Majesties Service In march, 1748" (Ipswich impressment list, Waters vol. 2, about pp. 165-171) [D transcript].

Mary Lamb (33) was a daughter of Caleb Lamb and Mary Wise of Roxbury, and a niece of Rev. John Wise, the Chebacco pastor. An elder sister Mary died in 1679, and her own birth is not recorded. Probable (Low_Line_Research.md).

64. Deacon Thomas Low (c. 1631/2 - 1712)

Vital facts

Born about 1631/2: "aged about thirty-seven years" in June 1669 (EQC 4:156) [D] and 80 at death [D]. Perhaps the Thomas, son of Thomas and Margaret Lowe, baptized at Groton, Suffolk, 8 May 1631 (Quest No. 2) [C, Possible].
- Conflict: in June 1676 he deposed as "Thomas Low, jr., aged about thirty-six years" (EQC 6:159) [D]. The 1669 age fits the death age.
Married 4 July 1660 Martha Boreman: "Thomas, and Martha Borman, July 4, 1660. ct. r." (Ipswich VR 2:292) [D]. Martha was "aged twenty-eight years" in March 1669 (EQC 4:125) [D] and died 22 Jan 1720 "in her 79th y." (VR 2:625) [D].
Died 12 April 1712, aged 80 (gravestone, VR 2:625) [D].

Link to Thomas Low (128): Proven. His father's 1677 will gives "my Sonne Thomas Low" £30 and "my Grandchild Thomas Low" £5 (PREC 3:176) [D]. In the records of the 1660s-70s he is "Thomas Low, jr." while his father lives, and "Thomas Low, sr." after 1677 [D].

Life, from the Essex court records and Crowell

1668, Salem court, November. "Thomas Low, jr.," "Martha (her mark) Low," Thomas Varny, "Goodman (his mark) Procktor" and other Chebacco neighbours petitioned "in behalf of their beloved neighbors, Thomas Wels and his wife," who had been fined for "slanderous, reproachful and threatening speeches" against the court and magistrates (EQC 4:76) [D]. They wrote: "We are much greeued and troubled that such things should bee laied to theire charge ... we neuer found nor understood ainy thing in their speeches or behauior but that which was good and Christian like, and euer sence last Apriell they haue liued amonghst us and very conversant in our famelie."
1669, the killing of Reynold Foster's horse. Ipswich court, March 1669 (EQC 4:124-126, 156-157) [D].
- John Chub, servant of Thomas Low, jr., was charged with killing Goodman Reynold Foster's horse.
- A maid "living at Goodman Lowes" said she heard nothing until her master had gone out to work; "Martha Low testified the same." Martha Low, aged 28, deposed that Chub had said that "if he could save himself by telling two or three lies and turn it to anybody else, he was bound in conscience to do so."
- Neighbours testified that "Goodman Low came to work at a seasonable time the morning the horse was killed, when the sun was a half hour high." Abigail Story deposed "that Goodwife Lowe said to her uncle that their horse had bitten his horse." John Burnum, jr., "deposed that he saw Thomas Low, jr., run at Renall Foster's horse with a pitchfork."
- Chub was sentenced "to pay 5li. to said Foster and 5li. to the county or else to be whipped. Also to pay Thomas Low 10s."
- "John Chub engaged to serve Thomas Low until he be satisfied for his engagement to the court for defraying his fines and court charges."
- At Salem in June the court "Ordered that Jno. Chub, now residing with Renold Foster, be returned to Thomas Loe, jr., to serve him four months."
1669, other business. "Thomas Loe, aged about thirty-seven years," deposed about the brothers Knowlton spoiling 2,000 planks they had undertaken to cut for Thomas Wells (EQC 4:156). He served a writ "as deputy for Robert Lord, marshal of Ipswich" (EQC 4:171) [D].
1670, character witnesses. "Thomas Low, jr., and wife Martha deposed that they had known Thomas Brag ever since he was born and looked upon him as one of 'the quietest young men in all oure ende: one of few words and Therfor the mos apt for to be abused by any one.' They had lived near him for ten years and never knew him to strike any one" (EQC 4:243) [D].
1671, malt. A writ was served "by attachment of malt in the hands of Capt. Appleton and Goodman Low" (EQC 4:334) [D]. Which Thomas is meant is not stated [I].
1676, deposition about living near Mr. William Cogswell's (EQC 6:159); trial juror at Ipswich, Sept 1676 (EQC 6:196) [D].
1677/8, the separate parish. The Chebacco inhabitants chose William Cogswell, John Andrews, Thomas Low and William Goodhue "a committee to confer with the Selectmen" about their petition to have preaching in Chebacco (Crowell p. 74) [C].
1679, with William Story, Sr., appraised the damage to timber cut on the Cogswell farm, rented by Samuel Pippin (EQC 7:203-204, 259) [D].
- 1679 was also the year of the Chebacco women's meeting-house raising, led by Abigail (Proctor) Varney, grandmother of the Abigail Varney who later married his grandson Caleb (EQC 7:245; Low_Line_Research.md).
1682: rated 16s. 7d. in the Ipswich rate (EQC 8:310). At Ipswich court, 26 Sept 1682, "Thomas Low took the freeman's oath" (EQC 8:377) [D].
1683, deacon. When the Chebacco church was organized and John Wise ordained (1683), "the church chose John Burnham, and Thomas Low, deacons" (Crowell p. 93) [C]. He was deacon until his death and "for several years parish clerk" (Crowell p. 119) [C].
- A newspaper retelling preserved in Mollie's typescript ("The Chebacco Women Came Riding," undated clipping) says "the deacons, John Burnham and Thomas Low, held the pew in front of the pulpit" [C/T].
1685, bought of the town "two acres with a town way through it, bounded by his own land southerly, by the Common northeast, Goodman Reginald Foster's southeast, and Robert Kinsman's southwest" (Waters 1:335-337; Waters adds that this "may have been in Chebacco") [C].
1692, "Tho. Low sen'r" signed the Ipswich petition for John and Elizabeth Proctor (Salem Witchcraft Papers no. 107) [D]. The first signer was Rev. John Wise, the Chebacco pastor, whose niece Mary Lamb married his son David in 1699 [D].
1702, the first Chebacco school-house was to stand "on the right hand of the way as you go from the Meeting-house to Dea. Thomas Low's, upon a handsome, rising, dry piece of ground, right opposite to Mr. Adam Cogswell's barn" (parish records, Crowell p. 110) [C].
17 June 1708, his will. "I Thomas Low, of Ipswich, in the county of Essex, in the Massachusetts Bay, Maltster" (Crowell p. 120; Goldthwaite p. 120) [C]. He calls himself "ancient, crazey & infirm in body." To Martha:
- the use of "the new end" of the house, which he had built a few years before;
- "two hundred weight of pork yearly, with ten barrels of Winter apples, and all the Summer fruit she needed, two barrels of cider, six bushels of malt, three of Indian corn, and one of wheat ... fourteen pounds of wool and twelve of flax, wood for one fire, the milk of two cows, and a horse to ride at her pleasure" (Crowell's summary).
Crowell's picture of the malt-house. Crowell (pp. 120-122) gives an imagined "visit" to the house in 1712. He places the widow in the new end and son Samuel in the old, carrying on the malting. He describes the kiln, the hair-cloth floor, and a horse turning the mill. The scene is Crowell's own reconstruction from the will, written as a temperance lesson, and is not a record [C].

Children (will and VR): Thomas (1661-1697/8), Martha (m. Dodge), Joanna (m. Dodge), Sarah, Abigail (m. Goodhue), Jonathan, Samuel, David (32), Nathaniel (d. 1695), John (d. 1695) [D/C].

King Philip's War: Possible. In the list of grantees of Narragansett Township No. 1 (now Buxton, Maine), granted in 1733 to soldiers of the 1675-76 war and their heirs, is "Low, Thomas," with claimant "Jon[athan]. Low" (Bodge, Soldiers in King Philip's War, 3rd ed., p. 415) [D transcript]. Jonathan was Deacon Thomas's son, so the soldier was probably Deacon Thomas or his eldest son Thomas (b. 1661) [I].

128. Thomas Low (c. 1605 - 1677), the immigrant

Vital facts

Born about 1605. In 1660 at Ipswich court "Thomas Low, sr., aged about fifty-five years, and Sarah Low, aged about twenty-three years," deposed about John Lee's hogs (EQC 2:200) [D].
Married (1), probably Margaret Tod, at Polstead, Suffolk, 22 June 1630 [C, Probable].
Married (2) Susannah, named in his will. She died 19 Aug 1684, aged about 86 (Merriam, "at Watertown") [C].
Died 8 Sept 1677, Ipswich (VR 2:625) [D].

English origin: Probable for Polstead and Boxford; the Ambrose is Disproven as far as the evidence goes. The Suffolk entries, from V. B. Redstone's searches printed in Quest No. 2 (1909) [C, transcripts]:

Polstead: "Thos. Lowe & Margaret Tod married 22 June 1630."
Groton: "Thomas Lowe, son of Thomas & Margaret Lowe bapt. 8 May, 1631."
Boxford, Suffolk: "Margaret, daughter of John & Margaret Lowe bap. 17 June 1632." The rector told Redstone that "John" was probably a copying mistake, "similar to others which appear to have been made by a Mr. Beale," and no John Lowe with wife Margaret appears elsewhere in that register.
Boxford: "John, son of Thomas & Margaret Lowe bap. 2 Mar. 1633."

Why this points to the Ipswich man [I]:

The children's names, Thomas, Margaret and John, are the three eldest of the Ipswich family.
Polstead is about three miles from Assington, where Rev. Nathaniel Rogers was rector until 1635.
Boxford was "the home of the Tod family" (Redstone).
John Choate of Chebacco, the Lows' neighbour, was baptized at Groton on 6 June 1624 (Quest No. 2).

The Ambrose (Capt. John Lowe of the Winthrop fleet) story was examined at length by Wm. G. Low, who concluded the immigrant was "probably not" his son (Quest, 1908) [C].

A lead from Mollie, not yet tested. Mollie (p. 71) quotes Redstone on the will of a widow Firmin of St. Peter's, Sudbury, which "mentions her kinsman Giles Lowe and his children, Thomas, John and Margaret." Redstone thought Thomas might have been baptized about 1605 in pages now lost from St. Peter's register. Mollie also notes an "Anthony Lowe married Rachel Cooper at Boxford in 1602" [T, quoting Redstone]. At Ipswich in 1647 Thomas Low and Edward Bragg bought a large pasture from Thomas Firman (Waters 2:721) [C]. Whether the Firmins of Ipswich were the Sudbury family is worth testing [I, Possible].

Arrival

1636, Rogers's company. He came in, or as part of, Rev. Nathaniel Rogers's company, which sailed from Gravesend on 1 June 1636 and reached Massachusetts Bay in November 1636 [C]. The evidence is an Ipswich town grant: "Granted to Thomas Low, ten acres of upland at Chebacco, next his ten acres there, in exchange for ten acres due to him by grant unto Mr. Rogers company near the three miles brook by Mr. Appleton's farme" (Ipswich town records, as quoted in Quest No. 2) [D transcript].
- Winthrop's account of that voyage: two ships arrived in November 1636 "full of passengers"; "their beer all spent and leaked out a month before their arrival, so as they were forced to drink water (and that very little) mixed with sack or vinegar"; "There were aboard that ship two godly ministers, Mr. Nathaniel Rogers and Mr. Partridge" (Winthrop, Journal, quoted in Quest No. 2) [C]. That Thomas Low was aboard is an inference from the grant [I].
1643, settled at Chebacco "on land since owned by the late Captain Winthrop Low. His house was about thirty-five rods south of Captain Low's mansion" (Crowell p. 45) [C].

Life, from the court records

1647, bought with Edward Bragg a large pasture from Thomas Firman (Waters 2:721) [C].
September 1655, "Tho. Loe fined for not appearing to serve on the jury" (EQC 1:398) [D].
March 1656, juror of trials (EQC 1:414) [D].
1657, "Thomas Low deposed that John Fuller's wife owned some of the hogs," in a dispute over hogs and fences (EQC 2:22) [D].
1660, deposition with his daughter Sarah, aged about 23, that John Lee had come to their house "with a parcel of hogs and asked if they were theirs and they replied that they were not" (EQC 2:200) [D].
1663, juror (EQC 3:21); 1667, grand juror (EQC 3:436) [D]. Which Thomas is meant in these is not certain [I].
1666, "Tho. Low" signed the Ipswich petition urging the General Court to make humble application to the King, to clear the colony "from the imputation either of disloyalty to the person, or disaffection to the government of their lawful Prince & Sovereign" (Waters 1:137-139, "The Charter in Peril") [D transcript]. Which Thomas is uncertain.
The malt-house. Rev. Thomas Cobbet's will (c. 1685) mentions "Malt at old Goodman Lowe's malt house" (Hammatt p. 56) [D transcript].

His will, 20 April 1677 ("In the Name of God Amen ... I Thomas Low Sent. of Ipswich in America in the Shire of Essex, being weake in body; but of good & perfect memory"), signed 30 April 1677 and proved at Ipswich court 6 Nov 1677 by James Chute (PREC 3:175-177) [D]. The bequests:

to his wife Susannah:
- "what goods she brought with hir," and "the vse of that roome which I Lye in";
- the use of the cow "which she liketh best," which his son John was to keep "winter & Sumer";
- "one fourth part of her labor that she hath Spunn both Lening & woollen";
- "& Also she shall haue hir beere as shee hath now, & also free vse of the fire";
- a shoat yearly, a garden plot, ground "to sow half a peck of flax seede yeerely," thirty shillings a year, and five pounds;
- if she chose "to remoue from my Sonne John," forty shillings a year, and "John to send hir the pay to Boston or Charls Towne";
to son John, "all my Howsing & all my lands in Ipswich," and the residue; John was sole executor;
to son Thomas, £30; to daughters Margaret and Sarah, £40 each;
£5 each to grandchildren Thomas Low, Margaret Davison, Sarah Safford and Sarah Low, at twenty or marriage.
Witnesses: James Chute and Mary (her mark) Chute.

Inventory, 5 Nov 1677, by Samuel Ingals, Sr., and Nathaniel Wells (PREC 3:176-177) [D]:

"half the hous and half barne, 50li."; "the mault hous and the things belonging to it, 35li.";
six acres of arable land; a division of marsh in the Hundreds; four and a half acres at Plum Island; six acres of marsh at Chebacco;
four oxen, five cows, two heifers and a calf, a horse, eight sheep and six lambs, swine;
"about fifty boushels of unthrest barly"; about 44 bushels of Indian corn; hemp and flax; spinning wheels; "twenty three pound of yarn";
"one Sword, belt, powder, boullets."
Total £290 16s. 6d.; debts £14 16s. 2d.

Susannah Low and the Geneva Bible. Crowell (1868, pp. 354-355) describes a Bible then owned by the family of Capt. Winthrop Low of Essex [C]:

"a copy of the Scriptures printed in 1579, pp. 554, quarto," a Geneva edition "Imprinted at London by Christopher Barker," bound with Sternhold and Hopkins's psalms of 1578;
"On the blank leaves of the book are written the following names: 'Susana Low her Book 1677, May 19;' 'Thomas Low his Book' (apparently written about the same time); 'Samuel Low,' and 'John Low.'"
Crowell repeats the family belief that it was "brought to this country by Capt. John Low." The Ambrose story is not supported [T].
The same family owned a bone-headed cane with a silver band inscribed "Owned in ye Family, Eng'd about 1573: D. L., U. America, March 14, 1803" [C].
The 1677 inscription dates from the year of Thomas's death and his widow's settlement [I].

Children: Thomas (64); Margaret (m. Daniel Davison); John (m. 1661 Sarah Thorndike); Sarah (m. Joseph Safford) [D, will].

Part Two: Newspapers and published accounts (verbatim)

The 1874 collision.

Portland Daily Press, 12 Sept 1874, p. 3:

"Collision. - Thursday night at about 10 o'clock, when the steamer Lewiston was a short distance from Seguin, she collided with a small [schooner] named the Paragon, belonging to Deer Isle. The officers of the steamer claim that the schooner had her light on the wrong side thus misleading them as to the course she was sailing, while her owner and master, B. F. Law, says that the lights were correctly set. The bow of the steamer cut the stern of the schooner completely off, and the schooner sank. The steamer lowered her boats and rescued the captain and his father and brother - the entire crew. The men were injured slightly, but not seriously. They were brought to this city on the steamer and to-night will be carried back to Deer Isle where they belong. The schooner was in ballast, and was valued at about $800."
Ellsworth American, 17 Sept 1874, p. 3: "The crew, consisting of an old man and two boys, were rescued by the steamer's boat." The shipping column on the same page: "Salem - Ar 8 ... Paragon, Low, Ellsworth."
Daily Kennebec Journal, 19 Sept 1874, p. 3:

"Capt. Lowe, master of schooner Paragon, which was rundown by steamer Lewiston off Seguin a few nights since, died Thursday morning at his home at Deer Isle, from the effects of exposure in the water. He leaves a wife and three children."

These three were found and read in the earlier pass (Low_Line_Research.md). Chronicling America could not be searched again in this pass because loc.gov returned a security check.

Hosmer (1886) on Major Nathan Low and his son, pp. 143-144: quoted in sections 2 and 4.

Washington Territory Council Journal, January 1860, on the Sylvester divorce bill: quoted in section 1.

News item on Mary Ellen (Low) Partridge, December 1900, as copied into the DIF typescript: quoted in section 2, child 10.

"The Chebacco Women Came Riding." An undated newspaper feature preserved in Mollie Book 4 (the last two pages). It retells the 1679 raising of the Chebacco meeting house by the women led by Abigail (Proctor) Varney. It ends with the deacons John Burnham and Thomas Low in the pew before the pulpit. It is a popular retelling, not a record. The court record behind it is EQC 7:245 (see Low_Line_Research.md).

Part Three: Documents worth clipping for the archive

FamilySearch images open at https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/ plus the ID, and can be downloaded at full resolution from the image viewer. Archive.org page links go to the printed page.

Deer Isle and Hancock County

Deer Isle register of births, pages 410-411, with Major Nathan and Rebekah Low's children: 3:1:3QS7-99L1-Q94M-T (film 004255379, image 206).
Harriet's birth entry, Deer Isle: record 1:1:F4HP-12N (open "View original document").
Marriage of Nathan Low and Hannah Tyler, 16 Sept 1832: record 1:1:Q283-LQHY.
Marriage of Crowell H. Sylvester and Harriet P. Low, 12 Dec 1852: record 1:1:Q28Q-S6WL.
1850 census, Deer Isle, with Harriet, 16, in her parents' household: record 1:1:M6J5-L3N. The Major's household of the same year: 1:1:M6J5-L7R.
Deed of Nathan Low, gentleman, and Rebekah, 1803, land on Eggemoggin Reach: 3:1:3Q9M-CS3J-2CTC.
Towne & Spofford v. Nathan Low, Court of Common Pleas, 1809: 3:1:3QS7-89MZ-4D2H.
Deeds of "Nathan Low Jun." and Hannah R. Low, 1838: 3:1:3Q9M-CSR4-832T-N.
Letters of administration to Nathan Low Jr. on his father's estate, 26 Oct 1859: 3:1:3QS7-L9WC-8LL8.
Hannah R. Low's petition, giving her husband's death on 17 Sept 1874: 3:1:S3HT-63Y9-RKP.
Rowland T. Low's petition on his mother's estate, 1887, naming Joseph E. Low's eight children: 3:1:S3HT-6612-2H.
The DIF typescript's Low Family pages (1)-(3), with the family Bible transcript and the Partridge news item: 3:1:3Q9M-CSVY-3QLN-P, 3:1:3Q9M-CSVY-3QGM-R, 3:1:3Q9M-CSVY-3QLN-N. Thompson Family pages (13)-(15): 3:1:3Q9M-CSZD-G3ZD, 3:1:3Q9M-CSZD-G38M, 3:1:3Q9M-CSZD-G36F.

Washington and Massachusetts

Harriet's power of attorney, Coveland, 14 Jan 1887, naming her as heir of Hannah R. Low: 3:1:3QS7-L9XJ-B5LV.
Harriet's death certificate, Seattle, 1918, no. 3584: record 1:1:N3G3-FJC (image via "View original document"; the certificate thumbnail shown first is no. 3583, the next image is hers).
Hannah R. Tyler Low's death record, Beverly, 1886: record 1:1:NWCP-3J7.
Mollie Holbrook's marriage record, Boston, 1898: record 1:1:N44N-CDD.
Washington Territory Council Journal, 1859-60, the Sylvester bill pages (about pp. 99-146): https://archive.org/details/walaw-journals-council-1859-f8ca79 . House Journal, 1860, pp. 105-122, 207: https://archive.org/details/walaw-journals-house-1860-77378e .

Essex County

Will of Nathan Low of Boxford, 1803: 3:1:3Q9M-C9YT-8S15 (image 324 of 884).
Will and inventory of Thomas Low, Sr., 1677, PREC 3:175-177: https://archive.org/details/probaterecordsof03mass .
EQC pages:
- the horse case, 4:124-126: https://archive.org/details/recordsfilesofqu04esse ;
- the Wells petition, 4:76;
- the Bragg testimonial, 4:243;
- the 1660 deposition, 2:200: https://archive.org/details/recordsfilesofqu02esse ;
- the freeman's oath, 8:377: https://archive.org/details/recordsandfiles01dowgoog .
Crowell (1868), pp. 45, 93, 110, 119-122 (Deacon Low) and pp. 354-355 (the Geneva Bible): https://archive.org/details/historyoftownofe01crow .

Objects to trace

The 1579 Geneva Bible inscribed "Susana Low her Book 1677, May 19." Last reported with Capt. Winthrop Low's family at Essex in 1868. Worth asking the Essex Historical Society and the Ipswich Museum.
Lucy (Lord) Low Choate's 1802 Carey Bible, with the Low family record. Last reported on Deer Isle with Thomas T. Low's descendants. Worth asking the Deer Isle-Stonington Historical Society.
Gen. Solomon Lowe's tomb, Harmony Cemetery, East Boxford, with engraved portraits of him and his four wives. A photograph is worth having.
Gravestones at Forest Hill Cemetery, Deer Isle, of Major Nathan Low, Capt. Daniel Webster Low, William and Mary (Eaton) Low and Thomas T. Low. Also the stones of Nathan and Lucy Low in Harmony Cemetery, Boxford.

Part Four: The wives' families in brief

Full treatment, with sources, is in Low_Line_Research.md. Ratings are carried forward unless noted.

Boreman of Claydon, Oxfordshire. Martha Boreman's father Thomas Boreman, bp. Claydon 18 Oct 1601, d. Ipswich May 1673. His will (EQC 5:167, abstract; Goldthwaite p. 115) names "daughter Martha, wife of Thomas Loe." Proven. The line above him runs through Elizabeth Carter to William Boreman of Banbury (1525) [C].
Lamb, Wise and Tompson of Roxbury. Mary Lamb's parents were Caleb Lamb and Mary Wise. Joseph Wise was from Bulkington, Warwickshire. Mary Tompson was probably a daughter of John Tompson and Alice Freeman [C]. Harriet descends twice from Joseph Wise and Mary Tompson.
Varney, Proctor and Cogswell of Chebacco.
- Abigail Varney's parents were Thomas Varney Jr. and Abigail Cogswell; her grandparents were Cpl. Thomas Varney and Abigail Proctor.
- Abigail Proctor was a sister of John Proctor, hanged at Salem in 1692 [D].
- Both "Thomas Varny" and "Tho. Low sen'r" signed the 1692 Proctor petition [D].
- Thomas Varney and Thomas Low, jr., signed the 1668 Wells petition together [D, new].
Lord, Fuller and Emerson of Ipswich. Lucy Lord's parents were James Lord Jr. and Mary Fuller. There were two James Lords [D]. Fuller and Emerson are compiled to Thomas Emerson of Bishop's Stortford [C].
Thompson, Foster, Bigg, Bate, Payson, Briscoe, Kneeland and Hawkins. These are Rebecca Thompson's lines. Mary (Foster) Thompson's father is still Possible only; everything above her rests on that link.

Part Five: Records to obtain next

In rough order of value.

Harriet's death certificate image (Washington death certificates, no. 3584, King County, 1918): informant, cause, and length of residence.
Harriet's obituary in the Seattle Times, Seattle Post-Intelligencer and Island County papers (27 Nov - early Dec 1918).
Washington territorial legislature bill file for H.B. No. 45 (1859-60) at the Washington State Archives, Olympia. It may hold the petition and "the testimony accompanying the bill."
Pierce County marriage record, 24 Dec 1860, Holbrook and Low (if recorded). Thurston County records for Harriet as "H. P. Sylvester," 1857-1860.
The Paragon. Her enrollment in the Castine or Belfast customs district; the List of Merchant Vessels for 1868-1874; any admiralty libel or inquiry over the Lewiston collision; the Ellsworth American death notice of late September 1874.
Hancock County probate files for Major Nathan Low (1859; inventory, division, heirs) and Nathan Low Jr. (1875; inventory). The record-book pages found give only the appointments.
Essex County probate file of Nathan Low of Boxford (1804): docket, inventory, accounts.
Major Nathan's militia commission and service, Massachusetts (District of Maine) to 1820 and Maine after.
The two Bibles (Part Three, items 22-23).
NEHGR 174 (2020), Edward E. Steele, on the first three generations of Thomas Low's descendants: for the English identification, Susannah, and Margaret Tod.
The Firmin will of St. Peter's, Sudbury (c. 1612?), cited by Redstone as naming Giles Lowe's children Thomas, John and Margaret.
Mary (Foster) Thompson's parentage: Suffolk Probate no. 12403 (John Foster, 1760) and the 1773 guardianships. This is unchanged from the earlier file.

Part Six: FamilySearch Family Tree corrections to consider

Nathan J Low (KNHT-Q3D):
- birth place is "Dixmont"; it should be Deer Isle, 24 Mar 1805 (Dixmont is his wife's birthplace);
- the death date (17 Sep 1874) has no source; attach the Hancock probate petition (3:1:S3HT-63Y9-RKP);
- "J" is probably "Jr."
Harriet Phillips Lowe (L75M-Q51):
- add the 1852 Sylvester marriage (1:1:Q28Q-S6WL), the 1860 Thurston County census (1:1:MC6W-8JX), the 1860 divorce (1:1:6CYG-2C6S) and the 1887 power of attorney;
- "Harriet Lowe" (MWTW-9BT), shown as wife of Crowell Hatch Sylvester with a birth of 1850, is a duplicate of her and should be merged.
Nathan Low (M684-PQP):
- add the 1837 marriage to Hannah Hardy, the 1803 and 1838 deeds, and the 1859 letters of administration;
- the attached Essex probate source is his father's will, so it belongs on KG9S-Y7Q.
Nathan Low (KG9S-Y7Q):
- son Daniel (MN3V-SMG) "1772-1772" is wrong; he was living in 1803 (will);
- son Caleb's birth should be 24 Dec 1767 (Boxford VR);
- the marriage date "25 Oct 1764" is probably the intention; the marriage was 17 Jan 1765.
Find a Grave, "Hannah R. Hardy Lowe," 1809-1886, Forest Hill Cemetery: this is Hannah R. (Tyler) Low.

Part Seven: Sources

[D] primary records and published transcripts or abstracts of them; [C] compiled works. "Read" means the record or page text was examined in this pass; "index" means only the index entry.

FamilySearch records (index entries read; images read through Full-Text Search where an image ID is given)

Maine, Births and Christenings, 1739-1900 (Deer Isle town records):
- Nathan Low's children: 1:1:F4W7-QT5, F4HF-FMP, F4HF-FMT, F4HF-63R, F4W7-QTT, F4HF-6L6, and duplicates;
- Nathan and Hannah R. Low's children: 1:1:F4HP-12N, F4H5-V5D, F4H5-H9Y, F4H5-FXT, F4H5-B43, F4H5-SY5, F4H5-R26, and duplicates;
- register image 3:1:3QS7-99L1-Q94M-T.
Maine, Church Records, 1734-1907: Nathan Low, 1805 (1:1:QG5F-H744); Thomas Thomson Low, 1802 (QGR2-DTQP).
Maine, Vital Records, 1670-1921:
- marriages: Nathan Low and Hannah Tyler, 1832 (Q283-LQHY); Crowell H. Sylvester and Harriet P. Low, 1852 (Q28Q-S6WL);
- deaths: Nathan Low, 1859 (Q283-L3FN); Daniel W. Low, 1896 (KC8R-BDS); Henry C. Low, 1861.
Maine, Marriages, 1771-1907: Crowell H. Sylvester and Irena Arey, 1848 (F4D4-4MV, F4D4-DPT).
United States Census:
- 1850 Deer Isle (M6J5-L3N, M6J5-L7R);
- 1860 Deer Isle (MDHJ-3DM); 1860 Thurston Co., W.T. (MC6W-8JX);
- 1870 Deer Isle (M6DN-VYJ); 1870 Whidbey Island (M6MB-RRM); 1870 Olympia (M6M1-ZHR);
- 1880 Thurston (MXTX-PX4);
- 1900 Seattle (MMPN-ZH6).
Massachusetts, State Vital Records:
- Hannah R. Tyler Low death, 1886 (NWCP-3J7);
- Laura E. Phillips death, 1918 (23TS-7RP);
- Emil C. Pfeiffer and Mollie F. Holbrook marriage, 1898 (N44N-CDD).
Minnesota, Deaths: Sarah L. Nichols, 1917 (ZWK2-4C6Z). New York City Municipal Deaths: Roland Tyler Lowe, 1923 (2W54-XZD).
Washington:
- Death Certificates: Harriett P. Holbrook, 1918 (N3G3-FJC);
- Deaths and Burials (HVXM-ZGPZ); County Death Registers (6FCM-HMWH);
- County Divorce Records (6CYG-2C6S);
- Birth Records: Mollie Francis Holbrook, 1870 (Q237-3NCT).
Find a Grave Index: Forest Hill Cemetery, Deer Isle (Maj Nathan Low, Q29Y-CJ6X; Capt Daniel Webster Low, Q29Y-CNFZ; Thomas T. Low, QK1L-298G; William Low, QK1L-29XZ; "Hannah R. Hardy Lowe," Q29Y-CNT9; Lucetta T. Low Nason, Q2BT-R76B; "Natha Lowe," Q29Y-CJDF); Sunnyside Cemetery, Coupeville (QVVN-4RG8); Crowell Hatch Sylvester, Olympia (QVK9-F29J).
Full-Text Search images:
- Hancock Deeds 1804-1805 (3Q9M-CS3J-2CTC) and 1837-1839 (3Q9M-CSR4-832T-N);
- Hancock Court of Common Pleas, May-Nov 1809 (3QS7-89MZ-4D2H);
- Hancock Probate Records 1855-1876 (3QS7-L9WC-8LL8);
- Hancock Probate Estate Case Files (S3HT-63Y9-RKP, S3HT-6612-2H, S3HY-D1X3-4PP);
- Penobscot Deeds 1887 (3QS7-L9XJ-B5LV);
- Essex Probate Records 1803-1806 (3Q9M-C9YT-8S15);
- "Genealogical history of Deer Isle families" (3Q9M-CSVY-3QLN-P, -3QGM-R, -3QLN-N; 3Q9M-CSZD-G3ZD, -G38M, -G36F; series 2, 3Q9M-C3H1-D9T3-T).
FamilySearch Family Tree: KNHT-Q3D, M684-PQP, L75M-Q51, KC9X-WTZ.

Printed primary sources (archive.org full text read)

Records and Files of the Quarterly Courts of Essex County, vols. 1-8: recordsfilesofqu01mass, recordsfilesofqu02esse, recordsfilesofqu03esse, recordsfilesofqu04esse, recordsfilesofqu05esse, recordsfilesofqu06esse, recordsfilesofqu07esse, recordsandfiles01dowgoog.
The Probate Records of Essex County, vol. 3 (1920), pp. 175-177: probaterecordsof03mass.
Journal of the Council of the Territory of Washington, 1859-60: walaw-journals-council-1859-f8ca79. Journal of the House of Representatives, 1860: walaw-journals-house-1860-77378e. Acts, 1859-60: walaw-session-laws-1859.
Massachusetts Soldiers and Sailors of the Revolutionary War, vol. 9: massachusettssol09mass.
Vital Records of Ipswich (vitalrecordsofip01esse, vitalrecordsofip02ipsw) and of Boxford (vitalrecordsofbo00boxfo).
Ipswich town grant to Thomas Low and Winthrop's Journal, as quoted in Quest No. 2.

Compiled works

Hosmer, Historical Sketch of Deer Isle (1886): historicalsketch00hosm.
Crowell, History of the Town of Essex (1868): historyoftownofe01crow.
Waters, Ipswich in the Massachusetts Bay Colony, vols. 1-2: ipswichinmassach01wate, ipswichinmassach02wate.
Perley, History of Boxford (1880): historyofboxford00perl; Dwellings of Boxford (1893): dwellingsofboxfo00perl.
Marvin, History of the Town of Winchendon (1868): historytownwinc00marvgoog.
Bodge, Soldiers in King Philip's War, 3rd ed. (1906): soldiersinkingph1906bodg.
Wm. G. Low, A Genealogical Quest (1908) and No. 2 (1909): genealogicalques00loww, genealogicalques01loww.
Merriam, Ancestors of the John Lowe Family Circle (1901): ancestorsofjohnl00merr.
Goldthwaite, Boardman Genealogy (1895); Brigham, Tyler Genealogy (1912); Jameson, The Choates in America (1896); as cited in Low_Line_Research.md.
Bangor Historical Magazine 5 (Deer Isle marriages).
Mollie Frances (Holbrook) Pfeiffer, family typescript, Books 4-5 (pp. 67-86), project files.
Low_Line_Research.md, Mollie_Typescript_Review.md and the Holbrook-Low Colonial Tree (project files).

Newspapers (read in the earlier pass): Portland Daily Press, 12 Sept 1874, p. 3; Ellsworth American, 17 Sept 1874, p. 3; Daily Kennebec Journal, 19 Sept 1874, p. 3 (Chronicling America).

Part Eight: Research log

6 October 2026.

Starting point. Compared Low_Line_Research.md, the Holbrook-Low Colonial Tree data and Mollie Books 4-5 (OCR of the scans) against the weak links listed in the project's Low page.
FamilySearch, record search:
- the 1850, 1860 and 1870 Deer Isle censuses;
- Deer Isle births and church records for Nathan Low as father;
- Maine marriages for Nathan Low and Hannah Tyler, and for Crowell H. Sylvester;
- Washington death records for Harriet;
- Massachusetts deaths for Hannah R. Low and Laura E. Phillips;
- the Find a Grave index for Deer Isle Lows;
- the 1860 census for Harriet in Washington.
FamilySearch, Family Tree: read for KNHT-Q3D, M684-PQP, L75M-Q51 and KC9X-WTZ, including source lists. A user-attached source on M684-PQP led to the 1803 will.
FamilySearch, Full-Text Search:
- "Nathan Low" with "Deer Isle";
- "Low," "Boxford" and "Deer Isle";
- "Hannah R. Low";
- "Harriet," "Holbrook," "Low" and "Deer Isle";
- "Mrs. Harriet P. Holbrook."
- Read: the Hancock deeds, court and probate images cited, the Penobscot power of attorney, and the DIF typescript pages.
archive.org texts downloaded and searched: EQC vols. 1-8; PREC 3; Hosmer; Crowell; Waters 1-2; Perley (both); Marvin; Bodge; Quest 1-2; Massachusetts Soldiers and Sailors 9; Ipswich and Boxford VR; the Washington Territory journals and session laws for 1859-60.

Searched without result, or not reachable

Chronicling America (loc.gov) was blocked by a security check in the browser and timed out from the research tools, so no new newspaper searches were possible this pass.
No obituary for Harriet in FamilySearch Full-Text.
No Hancock estate file with an inventory for either Nathan in the images read.
No "B. F. Low" at Deer Isle.
No muster-roll entry for Nathan Low of Boxford beyond the 1775 alarm in Massachusetts Soldiers and Sailors.
Thomas Low's will is not in Waters.
The 1580s-1630s Firmin will was not found online.
NEHGR 174 is subscription only.
The image of Harriet's death certificate did not display clearly in the browser pane; only the index was read.
The link to the computer, and with it the browser, dropped once during the session and was restored.

# Low Master Research
Research file for the Low line of Harriet Phillips Low (1834-1918), wife of Capt. Richard Blackmer Holbrook. It runs from Harriet back through her father's father's line to Thomas Low, maltster of Chebacco in Ipswich, Massachusetts, who was there by 1641. Each person has a section numbered by Ahnentafel number counted from Harriet: Harriet is 1, her father is 2 and her mother 3, and a person's father is twice their number and their mother twice plus one. Each section gives:
- vital facts;
- how the link to the parents is supported;
- the records of the life in date order;
- anecdotes and quotations;
- spouses and notable siblings or children;
- open questions;
- sources.
**Last revised:** 6 October 2026 (first edition).
**Relation to the earlier file.** This file supersedes the Low male-line parts of **Low_Line_Research.md** (1-2 October 2026). Its findings come in two groups.
- **New in this edition**, from FamilySearch records and images, FamilySearch Full-Text Search, and archive.org texts read for this pass:
- Deer Isle town records;
- Hancock County deeds, probate files and court records;
- census returns;
- Massachusetts and Washington death records;
- the full *Records and Files of the Quarterly Courts of Essex County*;
- Crowell's *History of Essex*;
- the Washington Territory legislative journals.
- **Carried forward from the earlier file**, with its citations.
The wives' ancestral lines (Boreman, Lamb, Wise, Tompson, Varney, Proctor, Cogswell, Lord, Fuller, Emerson, and the Thompson, Foster and Kneeland lines of Rebecca Thompson) are summarized here with their ratings. Their full generation-by-generation treatment stays in Low_Line_Research.md. Harriet's mother's side (Tyler and Ginn) is in Tyler_Ginn_Line_Research.md.
**Ratings.** Used where they matter, not on every line.
- How we know it:
- **[D]** Documented: a primary record, or a published transcript, index or abstract of one.
- **[C]** Compiled: a secondary genealogy, local history, typescript or online tree.
- **[I]** Inferred: our own reasoning, with the reason given.
- **[T]** Tradition: family lore, including Mollie's typescript where no record supports it.
- How sure we are, for links and disputed points: **Proven**, **Probable**, **Possible**, **Disproven**.
**Abbreviations**
- **FS:** FamilySearch.
- Record IDs look like 1:1:M6J5-L3N.
- Image IDs look like 3:1:3Q9M-CSR4-832T-N. All open at https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/ followed by the ID.
- Family Tree person IDs look like KNHT-Q3D.
- **EQC:** *Records and Files of the Quarterly Courts of Essex County, Massachusetts*, vols. 1-8 (Salem, 1911-1921).
- **PREC:** *The Probate Records of Essex County*, vol. 3 (1920).
- **Ipswich VR, Boxford VR:** the printed vital records to 1850.
- **Hosmer:** George L. Hosmer, *An Historical Sketch of the Town of Deer Isle, Maine* (1886).
- **Crowell:** Robert Crowell, *History of the Town of Essex from 1634 to 1868* (1868).
- **Waters:** T. F. Waters, *Ipswich in the Massachusetts Bay Colony*, 2 vols. (1905, 1917).
- **Perley:** Sidney Perley, *The History of Boxford* (1880) and *The Dwellings of Boxford* (1893).
- **Merriam:** *Ancestors of the John Lowe Family Circle* (1901).
- **Quest:** William G. Low, *A Genealogical Quest* (1908) and *No. 2* (1909).
- **DIF:** the typescript "Genealogical history of Deer Isle families," filmed by FamilySearch and read through Full-Text Search. Its compiler is not named on the pages read. On the Low pages the compiler calls Thomas T. Low "my grandfather."
- **Mollie:** Mollie Frances (Holbrook) Pfeiffer's family typescript (1930s), Books 4-5, pp. 67-85.
- **FaG:** Find a Grave.
**About the FamilySearch transcripts.** Many quotations below come from FamilySearch Full-Text Search, which gives a machine transcription beside each image. These were read from that transcription and checked for sense, not letter by letter against the image. Obvious machine misreadings are corrected in brackets. Before any of them is quoted in finished writing, the image should be checked.
---
## What this pass found
1. **All three weak links between Harriet and Major Nathan's father are now closed by records.**
- **Harriet is Capt. Nathan's daughter. Proven.**
- The Deer Isle town record gives "Harriet Phillips" born 12 June 1834 to Nathan Low and Hannah R.
- The 1850 census has Harriet, 16, in Nathan and Hannah's household.
- Her 1918 Washington death certificate names her father "Capt. Lowe."
- An 1887 power of attorney, signed by her and Capt. R. B. Holbrook, calls her "one of the daughters and heirs at law" of Hannah R. Low of Deer Isle.
- **Capt. Nathan is Major Nathan's son. Proven.**
- The Deer Isle record gives Nathan, born 24 March 1805, to Nathan Low.
- A Hancock County deed of 1838 is made by "Nathan Low Jun." with his wife Hannah R.
- In October 1859 "Nathan Low Jr" was appointed administrator of the estate of Nathan Low, yeoman, late of Deer Isle.
- **Major Nathan is the son of Nathan Low of Boxford. Now Proven** by several independent records.
- Nathan Sr.'s will of 31 March 1803 gives "my son Nathan Low two dollars in addition to what I have already given him."
- A Low family Bible kept on Deer Isle records the marriage of Nathan Low and Lucy Lord and their children. It is annotated "His son Nathan Jr. was Major."
- Major Nathan's first two daughters were registered at Deer Isle and baptized at East Boxford.
- The 1850 census gives him as born in Massachusetts, aged 84.
2. **The man who died on 17 September 1874 was Capt. Nathan.** His widow's petition in the Hancock County probate says that Nathan Low "died on the 17th day of September A.D. 1874 intestate." Hosmer also says Nathan Low, Jr., was master of the vessel and died of the exposure a few days later. The Portland paper's "B. F. Law" remains unexplained (section 2).
3. **Harriet's birth year is 1834, not 1839.** The town record, the 1850 census (16), the 1870 census (36), the 1900 census ("June 1834") and the death certificate ("84 years 5 months 14 days") all agree.
4. **Harriet's first marriage is found.** Crowell H. Sylvester and Harriet P. Low were married at Deer Isle on 12 December 1852. She was 18, not 16 as Mollie says.
- He was a widower, as Mollie says: he had married Irena Arey at Vinalhaven in November 1848.
- The divorce bill was **contested in the territorial Council in January 1860**. The Council had the written testimony read, called for oral testimony, summoned a witness, and sent the bill to a committee of the whole before passing it.
- In mid-1860 she was "H P Sylvester," 24, in Thurston County.
5. **Capt. Nathan's marriage date is 16 September 1832** (Maine vital records index, Deer Isle), not Mollie's 4 October 1832.
6. **All ten of Capt. Nathan's children are now identified** from Deer Isle birth records, the 1850 and 1860 censuses, and later records. Mollie's list of ten is correct.
7. **Major Nathan's second wife, Hannah Hardy, was alive in 1850.** She was aged 43 in his household. This undercuts Hosmer's "died in a few years after her marriage" and Mollie's story that she drowned herself. The story is not disproved, but she lived at least thirteen years into the marriage.
8. **The immigrant's will names "my Sonne Thomas Low,"** so the first link is Documented. The will also provides for the widow's maintenance to be sent "to Boston or Charls Towne," which is probably the root of Mollie's statement that Susannah died at Charlestown.
9. **The Essex court records give a fuller picture of the two Thomas Lows.** Highlights:
- juries, depositions, and the malt trade;
- a 1669 case in which their servant John Chub killed a neighbour's horse, and a witness said Thomas Low, jr., had run at the horse with a pitchfork;
- a 1668 petition signed by Thomas and Martha Low for neighbours accused of slandering the magistrates;
- Thomas Low's oath as a freeman in 1682.
10. **Two family heirlooms are reported in print:**
- a 1579 Geneva Bible inscribed "Susana Low her Book 1677, May 19" (Crowell, 1868);
- an 1802 Philadelphia Bible bought by Lucy (Lord) Low Choate and later kept on Deer Isle (DIF).
---
## How the weak links stand now
| Link | In Low_Line_Research.md | New evidence | Now |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thomas (128) > Deacon Thomas (64) | Probable: compiled accounts and "Thomas, jr." | Thomas Sr.'s will, 20/30 Apr 1677: "Item I Giue & bequeath vnto my Sonne Thomas Low Thirty pownds," and to "my Grandchild Thomas Low five pownds" (PREC 3:175-176) [D] | **Proven** |
| Nathan (8) > Major Nathan (4) | Probable: Boxford "Nathan, jr." marriage | Will of Nathan Low of Boxford, 1803, names son Nathan, already provided for [D]. Lucy (Lord) Low's family Bible on Deer Isle, with "His son Nathan Jr. was Major" [C, transcript of a family record]. Two children recorded at Deer Isle and baptized at East Boxford [D]. 1850 census: born Mass., 84 [D] | **Proven** |
| Major Nathan (4) > Capt. Nathan (2) | Probable: Hosmer's list of sons | Deer Isle birth record, 24 Mar 1805, son of Nathan [D]. 1838 deed of "Nathan Low Jun." [D]. 1859 letters of administration on his father's estate to "Nathan Low Jr" [D] | **Proven** |
| Capt. Nathan (2) > Harriet (1) | Probable: rests on Mollie | Deer Isle birth record [D]; 1850 census [D]; 1887 power of attorney as heir of Hannah R. Low [D]; 1918 death certificate, father "Capt. Lowe" [D] | **Proven** |
| Mary (Foster) Thompson's father | Possible | Not resolved. The DIF typescript adds Thomas Thompson's children with Deer Isle birth dates, and a Roxbury baptism of a son Thomas on 11 Jan 1767 | Possible (unchanged) |
---
## The tree
Ahnentafel numbers from Harriet (1). The rating in brackets is for the link between that person and the child above; a person's own parentage is rated in the line below or in their section. Sources are in the sections below; this outline is for orientation.
- **1. Harriet Phillips Low.** b. 12 Jun 1834, Deer Isle, Maine; m. (1) 12 Dec 1852, Deer Isle, Crowell H. Sylvester (divorced by act of 17 Jan 1860); m. (2) 24 Dec 1860, Steilacoom, Washington Territory, Capt. Richard Blackmer Holbrook; d. 26 Nov 1918, Seattle; bur. Coupeville, Island Co., Wash.
- **2. Capt. Nathan Low (Nathan Jr.)** [Proven]. b. 24 Mar 1805, Deer Isle; m. 16 Sep 1832, Deer Isle; d. 17 Sep 1874, Deer Isle.
- **4. Major Nathan Low** [Proven]. b. 18 Oct 1765, Ipswich (Chebacco), Mass.; bp. 3 Nov 1765; m. (1) 23 Oct 1792, Boxford, Mass.; m. (2) 30 Jan 1837, Deer Isle, Hannah Hardy; d. 13 May 1859, Deer Isle; bur. Forest Hill Cemetery, Deer Isle.
- **8. Nathan Low** [Proven]. b. 1 Oct 1742, Chebacco; m. 17 Jan 1765, Ipswich; d. 24 Jul 1804, Boxford; bur. Harmony Cemetery, East Boxford.
- **16. Caleb Low** [Proven]. b. c. 1707, Chebacco; m. 8 Jan 1732/3, Chebacco; d. 17 Jul 1777.
- **32. Sgt. David Low** [Probable: his will, as abstracted by Merriam, names a son Caleb]. b. 14 Aug 1667, Ipswich; m. 28 Dec 1699, Chebacco; d. 2 Jun 1746.
- **64. Deacon Thomas Low** [Proven]. b. c. 1631/2 (perhaps bp. Groton, Suffolk, 8 May 1631); m. 4 Jul 1660; d. 12 Apr 1712, Chebacco, aged 80.
- **128. Thomas Low** [Proven as father of 64]. b. c. 1605; at Ipswich by 1641; d. 8 Sep 1677, Ipswich.
- **129. Margaret Tod** [Probable]. m. Polstead, Suffolk, 22 Jun 1630; d. before c. 1636 (by inference). Thomas's second wife was Susannah (d. 19 Aug 1684, aged about 86).
- **65. Martha Boreman** [Proven]. b. c. 1641; d. 22 Jan 1720, in her 79th year. Daughter of Thomas Boreman (130) and Margaret (131).
- **33. Mary Lamb** [Proven as David's wife when Caleb was born]. b. c. 1680/2, Roxbury; d. 3 Mar 1735. Daughter of Caleb Lamb (66) and Mary Wise (67) [Probable].
- **17. Abigail Varney** [Proven]. b. 14 Oct 1713, Chebacco; d. 1800 (probably the widow recorded 30 Dec 1800, aged 86). Daughter of Thomas Varney (34) and Abigail Cogswell (35).
- **9. Lucy Lord** [Proven]. b. 25 Aug 1746 (Bible; Choate Genealogy), bp. 30 Aug 1747; m. (2) 1808 Capt. Ebenezer Lord; m. (3) 1817 Josiah Choate; d. 10 Sep 1833, Boxford, aged 87. Daughter of James Lord Jr. (18) and Mary Fuller (19).
- **5. Rebecca Thompson** [Proven: Major Nathan's wife from 1792 until her death in 1836]. b. 12 May 1772, Deer Isle; d. 1836, Deer Isle. Daughter of Thomas Thompson (10) and Mary Foster (11) [Probable]; Mary Foster's own father is Possible only.
- **3. Hannah Read Tyler** [Proven]. b. 12 Dec 1809, Dixmont, Maine; d. 9 Apr 1886, Beverly, Mass.; bur. Deer Isle. Daughter of Rowland Tyler (6) and Sally Ginn (7); see Tyler_Ginn_Line_Research.md.
---
## Part One: The Low line, generation by generation
### 1. Harriet Phillips Low (1834 - 1918)
**Vital facts**
- **Born** 12 June 1834, Deer Isle, Hancock County, Maine. [D]
- Deer Isle town record, in "Maine, Births and Christenings": "Harriet Philips Low," parents Nathan Low and Hannah R. (FS 1:1:F4HP-12N). A second indexing reads "Harriet Phillips," parents "Nathan J. Low" and Hannah R. (1:1:F4WQ-HFJ); "Nathan J." is probably the clerk's "Nathan Jr." [I].
- Also indexed in "Maine, Vital Records, 1670-1921" (1:1:Q283-21FR).
- **Name.** Mollie says she was named for her aunt Louisa Tyler's husband, Dr. John Phillips (Mollie p. 81) [T].
- **Married (1)** 12 December 1852, Deer Isle, Crowell H. Sylvester (FS 1:1:Q28Q-S6WL, "Maine, Vital Records, 1670-1921") [D]. She was 18.
- **Divorced** by private act of the Washington territorial legislature, "Passed January 17th, 1860" (Acts, 1859-60, Private Laws p. 476) [D]. Also indexed in "Washington, County Divorce Records, 1852-1950" (FS 1:1:6CYG-2C6S) [D].
- **Married (2)** 24 December 1860, Steilacoom, Pierce County, Washington Territory, Capt. Richard Blackmer Holbrook (1821-1894) [D, from the Holbrook files].
- **Died** 26 November 1918, Seattle, at 560 Mercer Street, widowed, aged "84 years 5 months 14 days." [D]
- Washington death certificate no. 3584 names her father "Capt. Lowe" (FS 1:1:N3G3-FJC).
- "Washington, Deaths and Burials" gives birth 12 June 1834, Maine, and father "Lowe," born Maine (1:1:HVXM-ZGPZ).
- King County death register (1:1:6FCM-HMWH).
- Mollie's chart gives 17 Nov 1918; the certificate's 26 Nov stands.
- **Buried** 29 November 1918, Coupeville, Island County [D]; Sunnyside Cemetery per Find a Grave (FS index 1:1:QVVN-4RG8) [C].
**Link to Capt. Nathan Low and Hannah Read Tyler: Proven.** The evidence:
- the Deer Isle birth record [D];
- the 1850 census [D];
- the 1887 power of attorney [D];
- the 1918 death certificate [D];
- her daughter Mollie's marriage record of 1898, which gives her mother as "Harriet P. Lowe" [D];
- Mollie's typescript [T].
**Life**
- **1850, Deer Isle**, dwelling 141: Nathan Low 45, Hannah H. [R.] 40, **Harriet H. 16**, Daniel W. 14, Loiza 12, Henry C. 9, Roland C. 7, Lucetta 5, Joseph E. 3, Laura 1, Charlotte A. 2 months (FS 1:1:M6J5-L3N) [D]. She was the eldest of the ten.
- **1852**, married Crowell H. Sylvester at Deer Isle [D].
- **Who he was.** Crowell Hatch Sylvester, born at Deer Isle 20 Dec 1825, son of Crowell Hatch Sylvester (1785-1863) and Hannah W. Saunders, and a younger brother of Edmund Sylvester (1821-1887), founder of Olympia [C, FS tree KC9X-WTZ; Blankenship 1914].
- **"Widower": Probable.** He had married Irena Arey at Vinalhaven, intention 11 Sept 1848, marriage 26 Nov 1848 (FS 1:1:F4D4-4MV and F4D4-DPT) [D]. She died in 1850 (FS tree; not checked against a record) [C].
- **Not him.** The "Crowell H. Sylvester" who married Susannah Dodge at Deer Isle in September 1854 was his widowed father, whose wife Hannah had died in 1853 [I, from the FS tree dates].
- **About 1856**, went with Crowell to Washington Territory, where his brother Edmund lived [T, Mollie p. 82].
- Mollie: "After a few sorrowful and disappointing years in Olympia, her marriage was annulled in the legislature, and she found herself alone in a new and wild land, earning her living with her sewing-machine. A certain inborn pride had kept her from letting her family know what had befallen her, until her second marriage."
- **The divorce bill, January 1860.** House Bill No. 45, "An act to dissolve the bonds of matrimony heretofore existing between Crowell H. Sylvester and Harriet P. Sylvester." [D: Washington Territory House Journal (1860), pp. 105-122, 207; Council Journal (1859-60), pp. 99-146]
- **House.** Introduced "upon leave" by Mr. Weed in the first week of January 1860. A motion to suspend the rules for a third reading failed 14 to 11 for want of two-thirds, and a motion to send it to a select committee also failed. It later passed.
- **Council: first readings.** Read and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, which reported it back "for the further consideration of the Council." It was laid on the table at least twice.
- **Council: the testimony.** When it was taken up, a call of the house tied 4 to 4. Then: "Mr. Clark moved that the testimony accompanying the bill under consideration be read for the information of the Council. Which was carried, and the clerk proceeded to read." Further reading was dispensed with. "Mr. Burbank moved that oral testimony be called for. Which was carried." The Sergeant-at-Arms was directed to procure the attendance of "the Hon. G. K. Willard."
- **Council: committee of the whole.** On 13 January 1860 a motion "that the lobby of the Council be cleared for the investigation of the bill and examination of witnesses" was lost. The Council went into committee of the whole, which reported the bill back "without recommendation."
- **Passage.** On a later day, on motion of Mr. Clark, it was "taken up, read a third time, passed." It was enrolled on 23 January and signed by the Speaker on 24 January 1860. The session laws date it 17 January 1860.
- **What survives.** The "testimony accompanying the bill" is not printed. The territorial bill files may hold it (see Records to obtain).
- The same session passed several other private divorce acts, among them one for Sidney S. Ford Jr. and Josephine Ford.
- **1860 census, Thurston County**, page 28: "H P Sylvester," female, 24, born Maine, the only person indexed on the record (FS 1:1:MC6W-8JX) [D]. Mollie says she had taken back her maiden name by the time of the courtship [T].
- **Courtship and second marriage, December 1860** [T, Mollie pp. 82-84]:
- Capt. Coupe of Whidbey Island told Capt. Holbrook "he knew just the girl for him to marry."
- She refused Holbrook twice, rode her mare to the home of her friend Mrs. Ford near Fort Steilacoom, and was married there "that Sunday evening, Christmas Eve, 1860." 24 December 1860 was a Monday.
- "The lonely young bride had only a brown dress, (alpaca?) which she tried to make more bride-like by touching the cuffs and neck with swan's down."
- A young man named Howell "had ridden hard to reach Steilacoom, and getting there too late, leaned against a door-jamb in a half-fainting condition and watched the end of the ceremony."
- **To Whidbey Island** by sailing vessel, then "a canoe and six Indians to paddle all the last part of the journey." In a storm she tied her husband's bandana over her head. At the head of Penn's Cove the neighbour Mrs. Libbey greeted them: "Why, I thought you were an Indian woman, Mr. Holbrooks, I thought you had brought home an Indian woman after all!" [T, Mollie p. 84]
- **First spring.** She drove the horses while he broke the land, "a fifty acre field" [T].
- **Children** [D for the births recorded; T for the order]:
- Nathan Gideon, died in infancy;
- Horace Greeley, born 3 Jan 1863;
- Josephine, died about four years old;
- Mollie Frances, born 4 Dec 1870 (Washington birth record, FS 1:1:Q237-3NCT, names her mother Harriet Phillips Low);
- Richard Blackmer Jr., born Sept 1872.
- **1870 census, Whidbey Island**: Richard Holbrook 48, Massachusetts; Harriet Holbrook 36, Maine; Horace 7, W.T. (FS 1:1:M6MB-RRM) [D].
- **1880 census, Island County**, indexed as "Harriet Holebrook" (FS 1:1:MXT6-X94; not opened in this pass).
- **14 January 1887, power of attorney.** Harriet and R. B. Holbrook, "both of Coveland, Island County Washington Territory," appointed "Daniel W. Low of Beverly ... Massachusetts" to sell "any and all right title and interest that the said Harriet P. Holbrook as one of the daughters and heirs at law" had in Maine real estate of "the late Hannah R. Low, late of Deer Isle ... at the time of her decease, on April 8th 1886."
- Witnesses J. C. Power and Joseph B. Libbey; acknowledged before Joseph O. Libbey, notary, Island County.
- Recorded in the Penobscot County Registry 26 May 1887 (Penobscot Deeds, book page 402; FS image 3:1:3QS7-L9XJ-B5LV) [D].
- **15 June 1898**, her daughter Mollie married Emil C. Pfeiffer at Boston. The record names Mollie's parents as Richard B. Holbrook and Harriet P. Lowe (FS 1:1:N44N-CDD) [D].
- **1900 census, Seattle Ward 3**: "H P Holbrook," mother-in-law, in the household of E. C. Pfeiffer, born June 1834, Maine, widowed, both parents born Maine (FS 1:1:MMPN-ZH6) [D]. The index gives 3 children born and 3 living; she had borne five, so the index or the enumerator is wrong [I].
- **Died** at Seattle in 1918. The certificate gives her residence as 560 Mercer St. Whose house that was is not stated; the family account says her son Richard's.
- **Her life on the island, as Mollie remembered it** [T, Mollie pp. 85-86]:
- "Harriet Holbrook was known, all her long life, the kindest of neighbors, and the most indulgent of mothers."
- A dying child told her: "Aunty Holbrook, you have such kind hands."
- She taught Indian women "to knit and sew and cook and to care for their children." She wrote epitaphs for Indian neighbours. She told a grieving chief that his wife Mary had gone to "a happier land," which Mollie renders in Chinook Jargon.
- Mollie also records, "as a historian," the slipper.
- Mollie's account of her childhood: "When she was eight years old she nursed her mother through the birth of one of her children, caring for younger children and the baby, doing the housework and even the washing" (p. 82).
**Spouses**
- **Crowell Hatch Sylvester** (1825-1899). After the divorce he stayed in Thurston County.
- 1870, Olympia, aged 45 (FS 1:1:M6M1-ZHR) [D].
- Bureau of Land Management tract book entries, 1864-1869 [D index].
- Married Edith L. Hall at Olympia, 5 May 1879 [C, FS tree].
- 1880, Thurston County, with Edith and children [D, 1:1:MXTX-PX4].
- Died at Olympia 4 Aug 1899; buried Forest Memorial Gardens [C, FaG].
- **Capt. Richard Blackmer Holbrook** (1821-1894). See the Holbrook files.
**Open questions**
- Her obituary (Seattle and Island County papers, late November 1918).
- The informant and cause of death on the certificate image.
- The territorial bill file for H.B. No. 45, with the "testimony accompanying the bill."
- The Pierce County record of the 1860 marriage.
- Who "the Hon. G. K. Willard" was and what he knew.
- The 1880 and 1910 census entries.
**Sources:** the FS records cited; Washington Territory House and Council Journals 1859-60 (archive.org); Acts of 1859-60, Private Laws p. 476; Penobscot Deeds (power of attorney, 1887); Mollie pp. 67-69, 81-86.
---
### 2. Capt. Nathan Low (Nathan Low Jr.) (1805 - 1874)
**Vital facts**
- **Born** 24 March 1805, Deer Isle [D].
- Deer Isle town record, "Maine, Births and Christenings," father Nathan Low (FS 1:1:F4W7-QT5). The record is on the town clerk's alphabetical births page with the other children of Nathan and Rebekah: Lucy, Mary, Rebekah and Thomas Thompson (FS image 3:1:3QS7-99L1-Q94M-T, film 004255379, image 206, pages 410-411).
- Also in "Maine, Church Records, 1734-1907," born 1805, father Nathan Low (FS 1:1:QG5F-H744).
- Census ages fit: 45 (1850), 55 (1860), 67 (1870).
- **Name.** Recorded as "Nathan Low Jr." or "Nathan Low Jun." (deeds 1838, probate 1832 and 1859), and as "Nathan J. Low" in one indexing of his children's births [D]. FS Family Tree calls him "Nathan J Low" (KNHT-Q3D). No evidence for a middle name "J." has been found; "Jun." is the likely reading [I].
- **Married** 16 September 1832, Deer Isle, Hannah Tyler ("Maine, Vital Records, 1670-1921," FS 1:1:Q283-LQHY) [D]. Mollie's chart gives 4 October 1832; her typescript also once typed Feb. 25, 1835, which is her brother Frederick's wedding date.
- **Died** 17 September 1874, Deer Isle [D]. His widow's petition for administration says that "said deceased died on the 17th day of September A.D. 1874 intestate, seized and possessed of estate in said County."
- The petition is signed "Hannah R Low," dated Deer Isle, November 1875 (Hancock County Probate, estate case files; FS image 3:1:S3HT-63Y9-RKP).
- **Burial**: probably Forest Hill Cemetery, Deer Isle, where his parents, his brother William and his son Daniel lie. A Find a Grave entry "Natha Lowe," born 1805, Forest Hill Cemetery, with no photograph, is probably his (FS index 1:1:Q29Y-CJDF) [Possible].
**Link to Major Nathan Low and Rebecca Thompson: Proven.** The evidence:
- the birth record, father Nathan, on the page of Nathan and Rebekah's children [D];
- "Nathan Low Jun." in the 1838 deed [D];
- letters of administration of 26 Oct 1859 on the estate of "Nathan Low late of Deer Isle ... Yeoman" to "Nathan Low Jr of Deer Isle" [D];
- Hosmer's list of Major Nathan's sons [C];
- the DIF Low pages [C].
**Life**
- **Selectman, 1828 and 1829: Possible.** Hosmer lists "Nathan Low" as selectman of Deer Isle in 1828 and 1829 (pp. 241-242) without saying which Nathan. Mollie gives the office to Nathan (7) for "1829 and 30" [T].
- **1832, administrator.** Appointed administrator of the estate of John Howard of Deer Isle at the Castine probate court, first Wednesday of March 1832 [D, Hancock estate case file, FS image 3:1:S3HY-D1X3-4PP].
- John Howard's widow Susan and son Thomas Howard declined the trust and asked "that Nathan Low Jun of said Deer Isle may be appointed."
- Hosmer says John Howard Jr.'s first wife was a daughter of Thomas Thompson and the mother of Capt. Thomas Howard, which would make Thomas Howard Nathan's first cousin [I].
- **1832**, married Hannah Read Tyler, a schoolteacher from Dixmont. Mollie: she "was engaged to teach school at Deer Isle," and "some of his wife's relatives thought him a brusque and crude man ... that their Aunt Hannah had married beneath her position and family" [T, Mollie p. 81].
- **2 August 1838, deeds.** "Nathan Low Jun. of Deer Isle ... Gent.," with "my wife Hannah R Low relinquishing her right of dower," sold Hiram Pond of Boston, merchant, two small lots on the Reach road "about fifty rods easterly of James Tylers house" and by land of the heirs of John Thompson, for $300 and $200. Witness Jona. E. Webb; recorded March 1839 [D, Hancock Deeds 1837-1839, FS image 3:1:3Q9M-CSR4-832T-N].
- **1850 census**, Deer Isle, dwelling 141, with Hannah and ten children [D].
- **1854**, received 31 votes for representative to the legislature (Hosmer, town-meeting abstracts) [C].
- **26 October 1859**, appointed administrator of his father's estate. His public notice is signed "Nathan Low Jr." [D, Hancock Probate Records 1855-1876, record p. 117; FS image 3:1:3QS7-L9WC-8LL8].
- **1859**, the town voted $50 for "the road from near the house of William E. Knight to Nathan Low's house" (Hosmer, 1859 town meeting) [C]. After the Major's death in May 1859 this is presumably Capt. Nathan's house [I].
- **1860 census**, Deer Isle, page 65: Nathan 55, Hannah R. 50, Henry C. 19, Rowland T. 17, "Lauraetta P." [Lucetta] 15, Joseph E. 13, Laura E. 11, Charlotte A. 10, Mary E. 9 (FS 1:1:MDHJ-3DM) [D].
- **1864**, "Nathan Low" was on the town committee to plan a permanent bridge at the old mill site (Hosmer) [C].
- **1870 census**, Deer Isle, dwelling 34: Nathan 67, Hannah R. 60, Joseph E. 23, Anna M. 21 (Joseph's wife), Carrie 5, Frederick Howard 22, Charlotte A. Howard 19, Lottie S. Howard [age as indexed, 12] (FS 1:1:M6DN-VYJ) [D].
- **The last voyage, September 1874.** The schooner *Paragon* of Deer Isle was run down by the steamer *Lewiston* off Seguin about 10 p.m. on Thursday 10 September 1874 [D, newspapers in Part Two].
- Hosmer, p. 144 [C]: "Nathan Low, Jr., who died a few years ago in consequence of the vessel of which he was then master having been run into by a steamer on the route from Portland easterly. Captain Low was thrown into the water, and being then nearly seventy years of age, the exposure caused his death shortly after. He was brought home, but lived only a few days."
- Mollie, p. 81 [T]: "being in the water many hours after the vessel was run into by a steamboat bound for Portland. His son Daniel was with him. He was brought home but lived only four days. He was over 70 years old at that time. Why he and the crew were left by the steamer in the water, I do not know."
- **Who was master: unresolved.**
- The *Portland Daily Press* named the owner and master "B. F. Law" and said the steamer rescued "the captain and his father and brother - the entire crew." That wording fits a son of Capt. Nathan as master, with his father and a brother aboard [I].
- Hosmer and the *Daily Kennebec Journal* ("Capt. Lowe, master of schooner Paragon") make Nathan the master.
- The *Ellsworth American* says "an old man and two boys."
- No B. F. Low has been found in the family.
- **Died** a week after the collision. The *Kennebec Journal*: "He leaves a wife and three children." He in fact left a widow and nine living children (Henry had died in 1861); perhaps three were still at home [I].
- **Estate.** His widow petitioned for administration in November 1875 [D]. No inventory was found in the case file images read.
**Character** [T, Mollie p. 81]: "like his father, was a large man, genial, generous, kind and likable, with the Low joviality ... his children adored him."
**Spouse: 3. Hannah Read Tyler** (see below).
**Children** (all born at Deer Isle; birth dates from the Deer Isle town records, FS "Maine, Births and Christenings" [D], unless stated otherwise):
1. **Harriet Phillips**, b. 12 Jun 1834 (1).
2. **Daniel Webster**, b. 28 Apr 1836.
- A sea captain. In 1864 the town paid him $100 "as a compensation for having put ... a substitute into the army for three years" (Hosmer) [C].
- Of Beverly, Mass., in 1887, when he was attorney for his sister Harriet and guardian of his brother Joseph's children [D].
- Died at sea 26 Jul 1896 ("Maine, Vital Records," FS 1:1:KC8R-BDS; father Nathan Low, mother Tyler) [D]. Memorial at Forest Hill Cemetery, Deer Isle, as "Capt Daniel Webster Low" [C, FaG].
- Married Evelyn Webster per Mollie [T].
- Mollie says Major Nathan named his eldest son for Daniel Webster. The records show it was Capt. Nathan who named his eldest son Daniel Webster, in 1836 [D].
3. **Sarah Louisa**, b. 15 Apr 1838.
- Mollie's "Louise Tyler Low, m. George Nichols, 8 children" [T].
- Married in Massachusetts; the bride's parents are given as Nathan and Hannah Low (FS indexes 1:1:NWBB-3CH, FC8X-KJ3, FH3N-9MM; dates not read) [D].
- Died 1917 in Minnesota as "Mrs. Sarah L. Nichols," father Nathan Low, mother Hannah Tyler (FS 1:1:ZWK2-4C6Z, FDSF-NM1) [D].
4. **Henry Clay**, b. 8 Jan 1841. Unmarried (Mollie). Death indexed 1861, Deer Isle ("Maine, Vital Records," father Nathan) [D]; FS tree has 1862 [C].
5. **Rowland Tyler**, b. 17 Jan 1843 (one indexing reads 1844).
- "Capt. Roland Lowe." Married Eva St. Clair Howard (24 Sep 1852 - 3 Feb 1903, Forest Hill Cemetery) [C, FaG].
- In January 1887 he petitioned, "son and heir of Hannah R. Low," for the sale of his mother's Deer Isle real estate [D].
- Died 1923. Two indexes: New York City Municipal Deaths, "Roland Tyler Lowe," parents Nathan Lowe and Hannah Tyler (FS 1:1:2W54-XZD); and "Maine, Vital Records," Deer Isle, 1923 [D]. Probably died in New York and was buried at Deer Isle [I].
6. **Lucetta Tyler**, b. 7 Mar 1846. Mollie's "Etta Low had 1 daughter m. Woodbury" [T]. Probably the "Lucetta T. Low Nason" who died 29 Oct 1876 and is buried at Forest Hill Cemetery, although that Find a Grave entry gives her birth as 1855 [C, FaG; identity Probable].
7. **Joseph Elkins**, b. 30 May 1847.
- Married Anna M. by 1870 [D, census].
- Died 1885 [C, FS tree].
- His minor children Henry H., Charles S., Frederic H., Augustus R., Frank S., Grace D., Lucy S. and Joseph E. Lowe, of Beverly, inherited one-eighth of their grandmother Hannah's estate [D].
8. **Laura Eastman** (Laura E.), b. c. 1849.
- Married her cousin John W. Phillips (Mollie: Capt. John Winthrop Phillips, son of Dr. John Phillips and Louisa Tyler) [T for the cousinship].
- Married in Massachusetts (FS 1:1:HS1W-DK3Z, FHVH-FLV) [D].
- Died 23 Jun 1918, Danvers, Mass., aged 69, as Laura E. Phillips, wife of John W. Phillips, parents Nathan Low and Hannah Tyler (Mass. death, cert. 191; FS 1:1:23TS-7RP) [D].
9. **Charlotte Adams** (Charlotte A.), b. c. Mar 1850 (2 months old at the 1850 census). Married Frederick Howard; both in her parents' household in 1870 [D]. Died 1928 [C, FS tree].
10. **Mary Ellen**, b. c. 1851.
- Married Joseph M. Partridge in Massachusetts in 1872 (FS index "Massachusetts Marriages, 1841-1915") [D].
- A news item copied into the DIF typescript [C]: "Mrs. Joseph Patridge, of St. Paul, Minn., died of consumption on Dec. 6, 1900. She was the youngest sister of Capt. Roland Lowe and leaves a husband and nine children. She has 4 sisters living."
**Open questions**
- His grave and gravestone.
- The *Paragon*'s enrollment (Castine or Belfast customs district) and owners.
- Whether a son was master in 1874.
- The full Hancock estate file, including any inventory or division.
- His 1840 census entry (two Nathan Lows are indexed at Deer Isle, FS 1:1:XHY5-6MP and XHY5-6MK).
---
### 3. Hannah Read Tyler (1809 - 1886)
- **Born** 12 Dec 1809, Dixmont, Maine [C, Brigham, *Tyler Genealogy* 1:221; the death record gives birthplace Dixmont].
- **Married** 16 Sep 1832, Deer Isle, Nathan Low Jr. [D].
- **Died** 9 Apr 1886, Beverly, Mass., aged 76, widowed, burial Deer Isle. [D]
- Mass. deaths vol. 373 p. 178; FS 1:1:NWCP-3J7. The record names her parents "Roland Tyler" and "Hannah Ginn"; "Hannah" for Sally is an informant's error [I].
- The 1887 power of attorney gives 8 April 1886; Find a Grave, indexed as "Hannah R. Hardy Lowe," gives 7 April 1886 at Forest Hill Cemetery [C]. "Hardy" there is an error; Hannah Hardy was her father-in-law's second wife [I].
- **Her estate.** On 17 January 1887 her son Rowland T. Low petitioned the Hancock County probate court [D, FS image 3:1:S3HT-6612-2H; recorded vol. 34 p. 8, March 1887].
- The petition says Daniel W. Low of Beverly was guardian of the eight minor children of Joseph E. Low, heirs to "one eighth part of said Hannah R Lows estate in said Deer Isle."
- It asked for leave to sell the land "to pay the debts of the deceased Hannah R Low," there being "no personal estate in said Deer Isle."
- One-eighth shares mean eight living lines of heirs in 1887: Harriet, Daniel W., Sarah L., Rowland T., Joseph E.'s children, Laura E., Charlotte A. and Mary E. Henry C. and Lucetta had died [I].
- The power of attorney was recorded in Penobscot County, which suggests she also owned land there, perhaps Tyler land at Dixmont [I].
- Her ancestry is in Tyler_Ginn_Line_Research.md.
---
### 4. Major Nathan Low (1765 - 1859)
**Vital facts**
- **Born** 18 October 1765, Ipswich (Chebacco). Boxford VR p. 59: "Nathan, s. Nathan and Lucy, at Ipswich, Oct. 18, 1765" [D]. Baptized 3 November 1765 (Ipswich VR 1:254) [D]. The Low family Bible: "Nathan Low, Jr. b. 18 Oct. 1765" [C, DIF transcript].
- **Married (1)** 23 October 1792, Boxford, Rebecca Thompson "of Dear Isle," with the intention also recorded (Boxford VR p. 171) [D].
- The Deer Isle record, as quoted in DIF series 2, has "Nathan Low of Boxford & Rebekah Thompson of D. I. pub. Oct 1 1792" [C].
- The FS tree gives 22 Oct.
- **Married (2)** 30 January 1837, Deer Isle, Hannah Hardy, daughter of Jonathan Hardy: "Maj. Nathan Low and Hannah Hardy, both of this town" (Deer Isle marriages by Rev. Jonathan Adams, *Bangor Historical Magazine* 5) [D transcript].
- **Died** 13 May 1859, Deer Isle [C, FaG and FS tree]; the year is in "Maine, Vital Records" (FS 1:1:Q283-L3FN) [D]. Hosmer: "He died in 1859, at the age of ninety-four years" (p. 144), and "1859, Major Nathan Low, aged 94" in his list of aged persons (p. 219) [C].
- **Buried** Forest Hill Cemetery, Deer Isle: "Maj Nathan Low," born 18 Oct 1765, died 13 May 1859 [C, FaG, FS index 1:1:Q29Y-CJ6X].
**Link to Nathan Low and Lucy Lord: Proven.** The evidence:
1. Boxford records his birth at Ipswich as son of Nathan and Lucy [D].
2. Boxford records "Nathan, jr." marrying "Rebecca Thompson of Dear Isle" in 1792 [D].
3. His daughters Lucy (b. 15 Aug 1793) and Mary (b. 30 Jun 1795) were registered at Deer Isle and baptized at the First Church, East Boxford, on 18 Aug 1793 and 30 Aug 1795 as daughters of "Nathan Low Jr." [D; DIF, quoting both].
4. His father's will of 1803 names "my son Nathan Low," already given his portion [D].
5. The family Bible, bought by his mother Lucy and later kept on Deer Isle, records his parents' marriage and his birth, and is annotated "His son Nathan Jr. was Major" [C, transcript of a family record].
6. The 1850 census gives him as born in Massachusetts, aged 84 [D].
Hosmer's statement that he "came here from the county of Worcester" conflicts with all of this and is probably an error [I].
**Life**
- **Early years.** He spent them in Boxford, where the family moved in 1767 [C, Perley].
- **Move to Deer Isle.** He married in 1792. His first two children were baptized at Boxford in 1793 and 1795, but their births were also entered in the Deer Isle register. The third, Rebekah, was born 11 June 1797, presumably at Deer Isle. So he moved between 1795 and 1797 [I].
- **7 July 1803, deed.** "Nathan Low of Deer Isle ... Gentleman," with "Rebekah Low" releasing dower, sold Ignatius Haskell of Deer Isle 40 acres on "Egemoggin Reach, so called" for $130. The bounds run "by land of the sd Nathan," by land of Thomas Thompson, John Closson, Robert Line and Joshua Staples. Acknowledged 1 Nov 1803 before Joseph Tyler, J.P.; recorded 13 Aug 1804 [D, Hancock Deeds 1804-1805; FS image 3:1:3Q9M-CS3J-2CTC].
- This is the land Hosmer describes: "he became owner of the land laid out to Joshua Staples; he afterward was owner of one of the lots laid out to Mr. Thomas Thompson near Thompson's Cove" (p. 143) [C].
- **1809, sued for debt.** Hancock County Court of Common Pleas, 1809: "Samuel G. Towne & Pearl Spofford both of Deer Isle ... Merchants & Copartners in trade, plaintiffs V. Nathan Low of said Deer Isle yeoman defendant." The claim was for a note of hand of 27 Oct 1808 for $34.36. "The defendant although solemnly called to come into Court does not appear but makes default." Judgment $36.58 and costs $17.87; execution issued 24 Nov 1809. The same merchants sued his father-in-law Thomas Thompson, yeoman, at the same term on two notes [D, Court of Common Pleas records May-Nov 1809; FS image 3:1:3QS7-89MZ-4D2H]. This was during the hard years of the Embargo and its successor acts [I].
- **10 June 1815**, named one of sixteen men "to assist the tithingmen of the town to enforce the due observance of the Sabbath, and suppression of intemperance," with his brother-in-law William Foster (Hosmer pp. 236-237) [C].
- **Occupations and offices.** Tanner and farmer, major of militia, selectman (Hosmer pp. 143-144) [C]. No commission record has been found.
- **1837**, married Hannah Hardy, who was "some forty years younger than himself" (Hosmer) [C].
- **1850 census**, Deer Isle, dwelling 152, household 153: Nathan Low 84, born Massachusetts; Hannah Low 43, born Maine (FS 1:1:M6J5-L7R) [D].
- This shows his second wife alive thirteen years after the marriage. Hosmer's "she died in a few years after her marriage" is wrong at least as to time [D vs C].
- Mollie: "these springs the Major's second wife drowned herself" [T]. Not disproved; no death record for her found.
- **Estate.** Administered by his son "Nathan Low Jr," whose letters are dated 26 Oct 1859. The notices were to be posted at Deer Isle and published three weeks in the *Ellsworth American* [D]. No will was found.
**Description and anecdotes**
- Hosmer, p. 144 [C]: "He was a large, portly man, and as an officer in the militia must have made a fine appearance. I have been told by one who had seen both that he very much resembled the father of Daniel Webster."
- Hosmer, p. 144: "A brother of his in Massachusetts lived to be about one hundred years old." None of the brothers found lived nearly that long (Solomon d. 1861 at 79; Jeremiah d. 1863) [I, unverified].
- Hosmer, p. 144: "He acquired considerable property and settled his sons upon farms of which he was owner." Mollie agrees: "Major Low gave each of his three sons a farm" [T].
- Mollie, pp. 79-80, on the homestead at Thompson's Cove, which she saw as a girl [T]:
- "Trees surrounded the open place, excepting on the water side. From there was a view of the Reach."
- "Along this shore had been found a beautiful black marble veined with green, from which buildings in Boston had been erected."
- She saw "remains of cellars of Major Low's house and that he had given to his son Nathan (7) in which Harriet Low (8) had been born; and the old high gate-post set up by Major Low."
- Harriet remembered "the dear little cottage her father and mother had lived in near her grandfather, a canary-colored cottage."
- "On the place were the famous Durham Springs."
- "As the Major grew older his granddaughter lived with him, until her own marriage, and kept house for him, and spoke of him always with the greatest affection." The granddaughter is evidently Harriet [I].
- Mollie, p. 80, on Capt. Nathan's later farm: "an elevated place, ... up to which one walked through a meadow and past great beech-trees. Here the two brothers William and Nathan lived in a double house" [T].
**Children** (with Rebecca Thompson; Deer Isle town records unless stated):
- **Lucy**, b. 15 Aug 1793, bp. East Boxford 18 Aug 1793 [D]; d. 1867 [C, FS tree].
- **Mary**, b. 30 Jun 1795, bp. East Boxford 30 Aug 1795 [D]; d. 1833 [C].
- **Rebekah**, b. 11 Jun 1797 [D].
- **Jane**, b. 1801 [C, FS tree only]. DIF: "One of the above girls md. -- Elkins" [C]. Capt. Nathan named a son Joseph Elkins in 1847 [D].
- **Thomas Thompson**, b. 8 Oct 1802 (town record) [D]; Find a Grave gives 28 Oct 1801. Married Abigail. In 1853 he received 32 votes for representative (Hosmer). Died 17 Oct 1881, aged 80 (Bible note; FaG) [C]. The DIF compiler's grandfather.
- **Nathan**, b. 24 Mar 1805 (2).
- **Susanna**, b. 17 Jun 1807 [D].
- **William**, b. c. 1810. Married 9 Mar 1835 Mary Eaton (b. 28 Jun 1810, d. 1 Oct 1872). Died 20 Feb 1888, aged 78. Both buried at Forest Hill Cemetery, "at the Reach" [C, DIF series 2 and FaG]. "The sole surviving son" in 1886 (Hosmer).
- Hosmer: "None of the daughters remained here."
**Open questions**
- His Hancock estate file (inventory and division).
- His militia commission (Massachusetts militia records for the District of Maine before 1820; Maine adjutant general after 1820).
- Hannah (Hardy) Low's death.
- Census entries 1800-1840.
- The Durham Springs and Thompson's Cove homestead on a map.
---
### 5. Rebecca Thompson (1772 - 1836)
- **Born** 12 May 1772, Deer Isle (DIF Thompson pages, citing Deer Isle records) [C].
- **Married** 23 Oct 1792, Boxford [D]. **Died** 1836 (Hosmer p. 144) [C].
- **Link to Thomas Thompson and Mary Foster: Probable.** The evidence:
- Hosmer lists "the wives of Major Nathan Low" first among Thomas Thompson's daughters (p. 47) [C];
- DIF gives her birth among Thomas and Mary's children [C];
- the Boxford record calls her "of Dear Isle" [D];
- Nathan Low's 1803 deed bounds his land on Thomas Thompson's [D].
- **Her parents.**
- **Thomas Thompson** (c. 1744 - c. 1824) married Mary Foster at Roxbury on 28 Oct 1765 (Roxbury VR 2:153, 394) [D] and settled at Thompson's Cove.
- DIF adds:
- a Roxbury baptism of a son Thomas, 11 Jan 1767 (First Religious Society);
- the 1790 census household: 3 sons under 16 and 5 females;
- the tax lists: "taxed for a poll in 1817 and for R. and P. only after that to 1826";
- Deer Isle records: "Thomas Thompson deceased 26 March (year torn)" and "Widow Mary Thompson Deceased March -- 1837."
- Hosmer gives Mary's death as 1836, aged 91.
- **Her siblings**, with Deer Isle birth dates (DIF) [C]:
- Jane, 30 Jun 1768;
- Mary, 22 Jun 1770 (m. Joseph Sellers, published 23 Feb 1799);
- Martha, 16 Oct 1774;
- Adam, 26 Apr 1776;
- Elizabeth, 5 Nov 1781 (published 1800 to Nathaniel Kennison);
- Thomas, 11 Apr 1784;
- Abigail May, 20 Aug 1786 (m. 1805 John Howard Jr.);
- John, 26 Mar 1789.
- **Mary Foster's own parentage** is still unproven; see Low_Line_Research.md, Part Two.
---
### 8. Nathan Low (1742 - 1804)
**Vital facts**
- **Born** 1 October 1742, Chebacco: "Nathan, s. Caleb and Abigail, Oct. 1, 1742" (Ipswich VR 1:254) [D]. The family Bible gives "Nathan Low, Senior, b. 1 Oct. 1741" [C, DIF transcript]; the town record stands.
- **Married** 17 January 1765, Ipswich, Lucy Lord ("Lucy, and Nathan Low, Jan. 17, 1765. c. R. 7," Ipswich VR 2:282, 291) [D]. The Bible agrees. The FS tree's 25 Oct 1764 is probably the intention [I].
- **Died** 24 July 1804, Boxford, "a. 62 y." (Boxford VR p. 249, from the gravestone in Harmony Cemetery) [D].
**Link to Caleb Low and Abigail Varney: Proven.** The evidence:
- the birth record [D];
- Caleb's will of 17 June 1773 names son Nathan [C, abstract of the probate on WikiTree; image not seen].
**Life**
- **Ipswich property.** Mollie says he and Lucy owned property on High Street, east side, in Ipswich, bought of William Kimball and later sold to a Lord [T].
- **1767**, moved from Ipswich to Boxford and hired the Hale farm (*Dwellings of Boxford* p. 47) [C].
- **The Low mansion.** John Hale "built the late ancient Low mansion about 1750, and a few years later erected the saw-mill." By the laying out of the "Janes Road" in 1772 the mill was "Hale's new mill." "About the same time it came into the possession of Nathan Low (father of Gen. Solomon Low), and was kept in the family until the death of Major William Low (son of Gen. Low) in 1870" (Perley, *History of Boxford*, p. 198) [C]. Perley also names "Lowe's ... mill-pond" among Boxford's ponds.
- **19 April 1775.** "Low, Nathan, Boxford. Private, Capt. Jacob Gould's co. of militia, Col. Samuel Johnson's regt., which marched on the alarm of April 19, 1775; service, 4 days" (*Massachusetts Soldiers and Sailors* 9:1030) [D].
- **Later Revolutionary service: Probable.** Perley lists Nathan Low among Boxford men "stationed at New York for two months," and among those "stationed for two months at Winter Hill" (pp. 229-230) [C]. No other Nathan Low of Boxford was of age [I].
- **31 March 1803, his will.** "I Nathan Low, of Boxford in the county of Essex and Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Yeoman, considering the uncertainty of this mortal life ..." [D, Essex Probate record book 1803-1806, image 324 of 884; FS image 3:1:3Q9M-C9YT-8S15]. The bequests:
- **to his wife Lucy:** the use of one third of the real estate for life; "two cows and two sheep"; "my chaise and sleigh to her own use and disposal, together with the privilege of using a horse for all necessary purposes"; and all the household furniture "except my desk and a low chest";
- **to "my son Nathan Low two dollars in addition to what I have already given him, as his full portion of my estate";**
- to James, $50; to Daniel, $100; to William, $100; to Jeremiah, $2 "in addition to what I have given him";
- to Solomon, all the real estate and buildings, subject to his mother's dower, and the personal estate;
- to Joseph, "that part of the Back Pasture ... lying westerly of a valley, where stones are laid for the purpose of making a wall," and $300 in three instalments;
- a clause about his pew or share in the meeting house of the First Parish is partly lost in the transcription.
- Executors: Solomon Low and Moses Dorman. Witnesses: "Jacob Lofty" (as transcribed; the name needs checking against the image), Daniel Bodwell, Samuel Haseltine.
- **Notes.**
- The will is entered among probate business of 6 August 1804. A FamilySearch user note gives "Entered in Probate 6 August 1806."
- Son Caleb (b. 24 Dec 1767) is not named.
- The original probate file and inventory have not been seen.
- **Death and burial.** Died 24 July 1804; buried in Harmony Cemetery, East Boxford, beside Lucy (Mollie; Boxford VR) [D/C].
- Family tradition, as written in the DIF note on the Bible: "Old Nathan fought in Revolutionary war and killed by falling off apple tree. His son Nathan Jr. was Major." The informant is given as Emma Damon Eaton [T].
**Mollie's claims for him that fail**
- "With his grandfather in the expedition against Quebec when a very young lad, under Capt. John Smith of Rowley Village." His grandfather Sgt. David Low died in 1746, when Nathan was three [D]. **Disproven.**
- "Also in the French and Indian War with Capt. Gideon Parker." Not found [T].
**Children** (Boxford VR pp. 59-60 [D]; the Bible list in DIF agrees except for Caleb's year):
- Nathan, b. at Ipswich 18 Oct 1765 (4);
- Caleb, b. 24 Dec 1767 (the Bible says 1770);
- James, b. 17 Jun 1770;
- Daniel, b. 20 Oct 1772. Living 1803; the FS tree's death in 1772 is wrong;
- William, b. 2 Jun 1775 ("Capt. William Low," d. 1822, FS tree);
- Jeremiah, b. 6 Apr 1777, died young;
- Jeremiah, b. 6 Aug 1779;
- Solomon, b. 9 Apr 1782;
- Joseph L., b. 28 Dec 1784; m. Sally Wood 2 May 1805;
- a daughter, b. 19 Oct 1786, with a gravestone in Harmony Cemetery.
**Gen. Solomon Lowe** (1782-1861), the son who inherited the homestead [C, Perley]:
- General of the Second Brigade, Second Division, Massachusetts militia, from September 1820 to April 1840.
- Representative for Boxford 1823, 1827, 1828 and 1841.
- He gave the bell of the East Parish meeting house.
- Married four times. "The remains of Gen. Lowe lie in his tomb in Harmony Cemetery. The tomb has attracted many visitors, because of the pictures of himself and his four wives, which are engraved on marble tablets, and placed upon the face of the tomb" (Perley p. 359).
- His son Major William Lowe "died in 1870, from injuries caused by a bull which attacked him in his cowyard"; the buildings burned 21 June 1874 (*Dwellings* p. 48).
**Open questions**
- The Essex probate file (docket number, inventory, division).
- Gravestone photographs in Harmony Cemetery.
- Whether his New York and Winter Hill service is in the Massachusetts muster rolls under another spelling.
---
### 9. Lucy Lord (1746 - 1833)
- **Born** 25 Aug 1746 (Bible; *The Choates in America*) [C]. Baptized 30 Aug 1747 (Ipswich VR 1:245) [D]. The year conflict is unresolved.
- **Link to James Lord Jr. and Mary Fuller: Proven** (baptism record) [D].
- **Married:**
- (1) 17 Jan 1765, Nathan Low.
- (2) 25 Apr 1808, Capt. Ebenezer Lord of Ipswich (Boxford VR p. 171; Ipswich intention 9 Apr 1808) [D]. He died 2 May 1810 (Ipswich VR); the Bible says 21 May 1810.
- (3) 28 Nov 1817, Josiah Choate. He died 30 Mar 1822, aged 75 (Bible) [C].
- **Died** 10 Sept 1833, aged 87, Boxford; buried beside her first husband (Boxford VR p. 249) [D].
- **Her Bible** [C, DIF Low Family pp. (1)-(2)]:
- A Philadelphia Bible of 1802 published by Mathew Carey, "big book," inscribed at the end of the New Testament: "This book was purchased Anno Domino 2 April 1801 By Lucy Choate." The compiler noted that the edition dates from 1802, so the date is wrong; she was in fact Lucy Choate only from 1817.
- Marriages: Nathan Low and Lucy Lord, 17 Jan 1765; Eben Lord and Lucy Low, 25 Apr 1808.
- Deaths: Eben Lord, 1810; Josiah Choate, 30 Mar 1822, aged 75; Daniel Lord, 11 Jul 1819, in his 77th year; "Miss Mary Lord, d. 28 Jan 1826 in 94th year of age (called an old maid)."
- Births: Nathan Low Senior, Lucy Lord, and their ten children.
- Later Deer Isle entries for Thomas T. Low's family, including "Nathan Augustus Low, d. 20 Mar. 1872."
- It was then in the hands of Thomas T. Low's descendants on Deer Isle.
- Who Daniel and Mary Lord were is not known; they were probably Lucy's kin [I].
- **Mollie's Tappan claim.** Mollie says Lucy "had one daughter who married a Tappan." **Disproven** as stated: the Tappan bride, Nancy, was Josiah Choate's daughter by his first wife (*Choates in America*) [C].
---
### 16. Caleb Low (c. 1707 - 1777)
- **Born** about 1707, Chebacco. Not in the printed births; age "abt. 70" at death [D].
- **Married** 8 Jan 1732/3, Chebacco, Abigail Varney (Ipswich VR 2:289, 436) [D]. They were second cousins through Joseph Wise and Mary Tompson of Roxbury [C/I, Low_Line_Research.md].
- **Died** 17 Jul 1777: "lethargy, a. abt. 70" (Ipswich VR 2:624) [D].
- **Link to Sgt. David Low: Probable.** David's will of 14 March 1745 names a son Caleb (Merriam p. 18) [C, abstract]. No birth record.
- **Will** of 17 Jun 1773 [C, WikiTree abstract of Essex Probate, Old Series vols. 351-352; image not seen]. It names:
- wife Abigail;
- sons Thomas, Caleb, Nathan, William and Jeremiah;
- "Thomas Varney, brother";
- daughters Katharine Sutton, Abigail (wife of Joseph Low) and Mary Bradley.
- **Children** (Ipswich VR 1:251-255) [D]: Catherine (bp. 1733/4), Abigail (1735, d. 1736), Abigail (1737), Caleb (bp. 1739), Nathan (1742), Thomas (1744), Mary (1747), William (1751, d. 1752), William (1754), Jeremiah (1756).
- **Mollie** [T]:
- "A part of his life was spent in Danvers." Not tested.
- His son Thomas married Dorothy Choate, and their children "were all born in the old slant-roof house" later replaced by Josiah Low's square house.
- **Abigail's death.** Rev. John Cleaveland's Chebacco death records, printed by Crowell, have "Dec. 30 [1800]. Widow Catherine Low, aged 86" (Crowell pp. 465-467) [C]. The Ipswich VR enters the same death as "[Catharine, c. R. 4.], wid. Caleb, Dec. 30, 1800, a. 86 y." The age fits Abigail (b. 1713); the name does not. **Unresolved.**
- **Not his sons.** Mollie's "Major Caleb Low," aide to Washington, and "Captain David Low" were first cousins of his son Nathan, not brothers (Low_Line_Research.md) [D].
- Crowell (p. 226) repeats that Major Caleb Low of Danvers "was present at the execution of Andre" and prints an order to him signed by Washington, from Hanson's *History of Danvers*. His service in Col. Wade's regiment July-October 1780 is documented; being an aide is not [C].
---
### 32. Sergeant David Low (1667 - 1746)
**Vital facts**
- **Born** 14 Aug 1667: "David, s. Thomas, jr., Aug. 14, 1667" (Ipswich VR 1:252) [D].
- **Married** 28 Dec 1699, Chebacco, Mary Lamb (VR 2:289) [D]. She died 3 Mar 1735 (VR 2:624) [D].
- **Died** 2 June 1746: "David, Sergt., June 2, 1746" (VR 2:624) [D].
- **Link to Deacon Thomas: Proven** (birth record) [D].
**Life**
- **1690, the Phips expedition against Quebec.** Waters lists "David Low" among the Ipswich soldiers in it (vol. 1, p. 312) [C]. When the General Court granted "Ipswich-Canada" (now Winchendon) to the soldiers and their heirs in 1735, the claim list reads "David Low, Ipswich. Own," meaning he claimed by his own service, not a father's or uncle's (Marvin, *History of Winchendon* (1868), proprietors' list; Waters 1:310-311) [D transcript]. In the first division of 4 Nov 1736 "David Low" drew lot "N. D. No. 8" (Marvin) [D transcript].
- On 5 Oct 1736 he deeded to his son David land "granted to a certain number of men, which formerly went in an expedition to Canada under Sir William Phipps, of which I, David Lowe, was one" (Merriam p. 18) [C].
- **Sergeant**, presumably of the Chebacco militia company. The source of the title is not found beyond the death record.
- **The house.** Wm. G. Low, quoted by Mollie (p. 78): "David Low (3) built a house, still standing, of which I have a photograph. Mr. Rufus Choate says it was built about 1705 of wood from the farm and that said David had the trade of a carpenter and doubtless took part in building it." [C/T]. The house's identity and survival should be checked with the Essex historical commission inventory.
- **Will**, 14 March 1745, proved 16 June 1746. It names sons David, Jeremiah, Caleb, Stephen and Joshua, and daughters Mary Lufkin, Martha Crafts, Abigail and Eunice (Merriam p. 18) [C, abstract].
- **His son Lt. Stephen Low** was killed at Ticonderoga, 8 July 1758 (VR 2:625) [D]. He was second lieutenant of Capt. Stephen Whipple's company. Chaplain John Cleaveland's journal, printed by Crowell (pp. 176-183), says "Lieut. Stephen Low (both of Chebacco) was slain, as we suppose; the last that was seen of him, he was sitting down, with a heavy wound" [C].
- **King George's War.** "David Low juner was Imprest into his Majesties Service In march, 1748" (Ipswich impressment list, Waters vol. 2, about pp. 165-171) [D transcript].
**Mary Lamb (33)** was a daughter of Caleb Lamb and Mary Wise of Roxbury, and a niece of Rev. John Wise, the Chebacco pastor. An elder sister Mary died in 1679, and her own birth is not recorded. **Probable** (Low_Line_Research.md).
---
### 64. Deacon Thomas Low (c. 1631/2 - 1712)
**Vital facts**
- **Born** about 1631/2: "aged about thirty-seven years" in June 1669 (EQC 4:156) [D] and 80 at death [D]. Perhaps the Thomas, son of Thomas and Margaret Lowe, baptized at Groton, Suffolk, 8 May 1631 (Quest No. 2) [C, Possible].
- Conflict: in June 1676 he deposed as "Thomas Low, jr., aged about thirty-six years" (EQC 6:159) [D]. The 1669 age fits the death age.
- **Married** 4 July 1660 Martha Boreman: "Thomas, and Martha Borman, July 4, 1660. ct. r." (Ipswich VR 2:292) [D]. Martha was "aged twenty-eight years" in March 1669 (EQC 4:125) [D] and died 22 Jan 1720 "in her 79th y." (VR 2:625) [D].
- **Died** 12 April 1712, aged 80 (gravestone, VR 2:625) [D].
**Link to Thomas Low (128): Proven.** His father's 1677 will gives "my Sonne Thomas Low" £30 and "my Grandchild Thomas Low" £5 (PREC 3:176) [D]. In the records of the 1660s-70s he is "Thomas Low, jr." while his father lives, and "Thomas Low, sr." after 1677 [D].
**Life, from the Essex court records and Crowell**
- **1668**, Salem court, November. "Thomas Low, jr.," "Martha (her mark) Low," Thomas Varny, "Goodman (his mark) Procktor" and other Chebacco neighbours petitioned "in behalf of their beloved neighbors, Thomas Wels and his wife," who had been fined for "slanderous, reproachful and threatening speeches" against the court and magistrates (EQC 4:76) [D]. They wrote: "We are much greeued and troubled that such things should bee laied to theire charge ... we neuer found nor understood ainy thing in their speeches or behauior but that which was good and Christian like, and euer sence last Apriell they haue liued amonghst us and very conversant in our famelie."
- **1669, the killing of Reynold Foster's horse.** Ipswich court, March 1669 (EQC 4:124-126, 156-157) [D].
- John Chub, servant of Thomas Low, jr., was charged with killing Goodman Reynold Foster's horse.
- A maid "living at Goodman Lowes" said she heard nothing until her master had gone out to work; "Martha Low testified the same." Martha Low, aged 28, deposed that Chub had said that "if he could save himself by telling two or three lies and turn it to anybody else, he was bound in conscience to do so."
- Neighbours testified that "Goodman Low came to work at a seasonable time the morning the horse was killed, when the sun was a half hour high." Abigail Story deposed "that Goodwife Lowe said to her uncle that their horse had bitten his horse." **John Burnum, jr., "deposed that he saw Thomas Low, jr., run at Renall Foster's horse with a pitchfork."**
- Chub was sentenced "to pay 5li. to said Foster and 5li. to the county or else to be whipped. Also to pay Thomas Low 10s."
- "John Chub engaged to serve Thomas Low until he be satisfied for his engagement to the court for defraying his fines and court charges."
- At Salem in June the court "Ordered that Jno. Chub, now residing with Renold Foster, be returned to Thomas Loe, jr., to serve him four months."
- **1669, other business.** "Thomas Loe, aged about thirty-seven years," deposed about the brothers Knowlton spoiling 2,000 planks they had undertaken to cut for Thomas Wells (EQC 4:156). He served a writ "as deputy for Robert Lord, marshal of Ipswich" (EQC 4:171) [D].
- **1670, character witnesses.** "Thomas Low, jr., and wife Martha deposed that they had known Thomas Brag ever since he was born and looked upon him as one of 'the quietest young men in all oure ende: one of few words and Therfor the mos apt for to be abused by any one.' They had lived near him for ten years and never knew him to strike any one" (EQC 4:243) [D].
- **1671, malt.** A writ was served "by attachment of malt in the hands of Capt. Appleton and Goodman Low" (EQC 4:334) [D]. Which Thomas is meant is not stated [I].
- **1676**, deposition about living near Mr. William Cogswell's (EQC 6:159); trial juror at Ipswich, Sept 1676 (EQC 6:196) [D].
- **1677/8, the separate parish.** The Chebacco inhabitants chose William Cogswell, John Andrews, Thomas Low and William Goodhue "a committee to confer with the Selectmen" about their petition to have preaching in Chebacco (Crowell p. 74) [C].
- **1679**, with William Story, Sr., appraised the damage to timber cut on the Cogswell farm, rented by Samuel Pippin (EQC 7:203-204, 259) [D].
- 1679 was also the year of the Chebacco women's meeting-house raising, led by Abigail (Proctor) Varney, grandmother of the Abigail Varney who later married his grandson Caleb (EQC 7:245; Low_Line_Research.md).
- **1682**: rated 16s. 7d. in the Ipswich rate (EQC 8:310). At Ipswich court, 26 Sept 1682, "Thomas Low took the freeman's oath" (EQC 8:377) [D].
- **1683, deacon.** When the Chebacco church was organized and John Wise ordained (1683), "the church chose John Burnham, and Thomas Low, deacons" (Crowell p. 93) [C]. He was deacon until his death and "for several years parish clerk" (Crowell p. 119) [C].
- A newspaper retelling preserved in Mollie's typescript ("The Chebacco Women Came Riding," undated clipping) says "the deacons, John Burnham and Thomas Low, held the pew in front of the pulpit" [C/T].
- **1685**, bought of the town "two acres with a town way through it, bounded by his own land southerly, by the Common northeast, Goodman Reginald Foster's southeast, and Robert Kinsman's southwest" (Waters 1:335-337; Waters adds that this "may have been in Chebacco") [C].
- **1692**, "Tho. Low sen'r" signed the Ipswich petition for John and Elizabeth Proctor (Salem Witchcraft Papers no. 107) [D]. The first signer was Rev. John Wise, the Chebacco pastor, whose niece Mary Lamb married his son David in 1699 [D].
- **1702**, the first Chebacco school-house was to stand "on the right hand of the way as you go from the Meeting-house to Dea. Thomas Low's, upon a handsome, rising, dry piece of ground, right opposite to Mr. Adam Cogswell's barn" (parish records, Crowell p. 110) [C].
- **17 June 1708, his will.** "I Thomas Low, of Ipswich, in the county of Essex, in the Massachusetts Bay, Maltster" (Crowell p. 120; Goldthwaite p. 120) [C]. He calls himself "ancient, crazey & infirm in body." To Martha:
- the use of "the new end" of the house, which he had built a few years before;
- "two hundred weight of pork yearly, with ten barrels of Winter apples, and all the Summer fruit she needed, two barrels of cider, six bushels of malt, three of Indian corn, and one of wheat ... fourteen pounds of wool and twelve of flax, wood for one fire, the milk of two cows, and a horse to ride at her pleasure" (Crowell's summary).
- **Crowell's picture of the malt-house.** Crowell (pp. 120-122) gives an imagined "visit" to the house in 1712. He places the widow in the new end and son Samuel in the old, carrying on the malting. He describes the kiln, the hair-cloth floor, and a horse turning the mill. The scene is Crowell's own reconstruction from the will, written as a temperance lesson, and is not a record [C].
**Children** (will and VR): Thomas (1661-1697/8), Martha (m. Dodge), Joanna (m. Dodge), Sarah, Abigail (m. Goodhue), Jonathan, Samuel, David (32), Nathaniel (d. 1695), John (d. 1695) [D/C].
**King Philip's War: Possible.** In the list of grantees of Narragansett Township No. 1 (now Buxton, Maine), granted in 1733 to soldiers of the 1675-76 war and their heirs, is "Low, Thomas," with claimant "Jon[athan]. Low" (Bodge, *Soldiers in King Philip's War*, 3rd ed., p. 415) [D transcript]. Jonathan was Deacon Thomas's son, so the soldier was probably Deacon Thomas or his eldest son Thomas (b. 1661) [I].
---
### 128. Thomas Low (c. 1605 - 1677), the immigrant
**Vital facts**
- **Born** about 1605. In 1660 at Ipswich court "Thomas Low, sr., aged about fifty-five years, and Sarah Low, aged about twenty-three years," deposed about John Lee's hogs (EQC 2:200) [D].
- **Married (1), probably** Margaret Tod, at Polstead, Suffolk, 22 June 1630 [C, Probable].
- **Married (2)** Susannah, named in his will. She died 19 Aug 1684, aged about 86 (Merriam, "at Watertown") [C].
- **Died** 8 Sept 1677, Ipswich (VR 2:625) [D].
**English origin: Probable for Polstead and Boxford; the *Ambrose* is Disproven as far as the evidence goes.** The Suffolk entries, from V. B. Redstone's searches printed in Quest No. 2 (1909) [C, transcripts]:
- Polstead: "Thos. Lowe & Margaret Tod married 22 June 1630."
- Groton: "Thomas Lowe, son of Thomas & Margaret Lowe bapt. 8 May, 1631."
- Boxford, Suffolk: "Margaret, daughter of John & Margaret Lowe bap. 17 June 1632." The rector told Redstone that "John" was probably a copying mistake, "similar to others which appear to have been made by a Mr. Beale," and no John Lowe with wife Margaret appears elsewhere in that register.
- Boxford: "John, son of Thomas & Margaret Lowe bap. 2 Mar. 1633."
Why this points to the Ipswich man [I]:
- The children's names, Thomas, Margaret and John, are the three eldest of the Ipswich family.
- Polstead is about three miles from Assington, where Rev. Nathaniel Rogers was rector until 1635.
- Boxford was "the home of the Tod family" (Redstone).
- John Choate of Chebacco, the Lows' neighbour, was baptized at Groton on 6 June 1624 (Quest No. 2).
The *Ambrose* (Capt. John Lowe of the Winthrop fleet) story was examined at length by Wm. G. Low, who concluded the immigrant was "probably not" his son (Quest, 1908) [C].
**A lead from Mollie, not yet tested.** Mollie (p. 71) quotes Redstone on the will of a widow Firmin of St. Peter's, Sudbury, which "mentions her kinsman Giles Lowe and his children, Thomas, John and Margaret." Redstone thought Thomas might have been baptized about 1605 in pages now lost from St. Peter's register. Mollie also notes an "Anthony Lowe married Rachel Cooper at Boxford in 1602" [T, quoting Redstone]. At Ipswich in 1647 Thomas Low and Edward Bragg bought a large pasture from Thomas Firman (Waters 2:721) [C]. Whether the Firmins of Ipswich were the Sudbury family is worth testing [I, Possible].
**Arrival**
- **1636, Rogers's company.** He came in, or as part of, Rev. Nathaniel Rogers's company, which sailed from Gravesend on 1 June 1636 and reached Massachusetts Bay in November 1636 [C]. The evidence is an Ipswich town grant: "Granted to Thomas Low, ten acres of upland at Chebacco, next his ten acres there, in exchange for ten acres due to him by grant unto Mr. Rogers company near the three miles brook by Mr. Appleton's farme" (Ipswich town records, as quoted in Quest No. 2) [D transcript].
- Winthrop's account of that voyage: two ships arrived in November 1636 "full of passengers"; "their beer all spent and leaked out a month before their arrival, so as they were forced to drink water (and that very little) mixed with sack or vinegar"; "There were aboard that ship two godly ministers, Mr. Nathaniel Rogers and Mr. Partridge" (Winthrop, *Journal*, quoted in Quest No. 2) [C]. That Thomas Low was aboard is an inference from the grant [I].
- **1643**, settled at Chebacco "on land since owned by the late Captain Winthrop Low. His house was about thirty-five rods south of Captain Low's mansion" (Crowell p. 45) [C].
**Life, from the court records**
- **1647**, bought with Edward Bragg a large pasture from Thomas Firman (Waters 2:721) [C].
- **September 1655**, "Tho. Loe fined for not appearing to serve on the jury" (EQC 1:398) [D].
- **March 1656**, juror of trials (EQC 1:414) [D].
- **1657**, "Thomas Low deposed that John Fuller's wife owned some of the hogs," in a dispute over hogs and fences (EQC 2:22) [D].
- **1660**, deposition with his daughter Sarah, aged about 23, that John Lee had come to their house "with a parcel of hogs and asked if they were theirs and they replied that they were not" (EQC 2:200) [D].
- **1663**, juror (EQC 3:21); **1667**, grand juror (EQC 3:436) [D]. Which Thomas is meant in these is not certain [I].
- **1666**, "Tho. Low" signed the Ipswich petition urging the General Court to make humble application to the King, to clear the colony "from the imputation either of disloyalty to the person, or disaffection to the government of their lawful Prince & Sovereign" (Waters 1:137-139, "The Charter in Peril") [D transcript]. Which Thomas is uncertain.
- **The malt-house.** Rev. Thomas Cobbet's will (c. 1685) mentions "Malt at old Goodman Lowe's malt house" (Hammatt p. 56) [D transcript].
**His will, 20 April 1677** ("In the Name of God Amen ... I Thomas Low Sent. of Ipswich in America in the Shire of Essex, being weake in body; but of good & perfect memory"), signed 30 April 1677 and proved at Ipswich court 6 Nov 1677 by James Chute (PREC 3:175-177) [D]. The bequests:
- **to his wife Susannah:**
- "what goods she brought with hir," and "the vse of that roome which I Lye in";
- the use of the cow "which she liketh best," which his son John was to keep "winter & Sumer";
- "one fourth part of her labor that she hath Spunn both Lening & woollen";
- "& Also she shall haue hir beere as shee hath now, & also free vse of the fire";
- a shoat yearly, a garden plot, ground "to sow half a peck of flax seede yeerely," thirty shillings a year, and five pounds;
- if she chose "to remoue from my Sonne John," forty shillings a year, and "John to send hir the pay to **Boston or Charls Towne**";
- to son John, "all my Howsing & all my lands in Ipswich," and the residue; John was sole executor;
- to son Thomas, £30; to daughters Margaret and Sarah, £40 each;
- £5 each to grandchildren Thomas Low, Margaret Davison, Sarah Safford and Sarah Low, at twenty or marriage.
- Witnesses: James Chute and Mary (her mark) Chute.
**Inventory**, 5 Nov 1677, by Samuel Ingals, Sr., and Nathaniel Wells (PREC 3:176-177) [D]:
- "half the hous and half barne, 50li."; "the mault hous and the things belonging to it, 35li.";
- six acres of arable land; a division of marsh in the Hundreds; four and a half acres at Plum Island; six acres of marsh at Chebacco;
- four oxen, five cows, two heifers and a calf, a horse, eight sheep and six lambs, swine;
- "about fifty boushels of unthrest barly"; about 44 bushels of Indian corn; hemp and flax; spinning wheels; "twenty three pound of yarn";
- "one Sword, belt, powder, boullets."
- Total £290 16s. 6d.; debts £14 16s. 2d.
**Susannah Low and the Geneva Bible.** Crowell (1868, pp. 354-355) describes a Bible then owned by the family of Capt. Winthrop Low of Essex [C]:
- "a copy of the Scriptures printed in 1579, pp. 554, quarto," a Geneva edition "Imprinted at London by Christopher Barker," bound with Sternhold and Hopkins's psalms of 1578;
- "On the blank leaves of the book are written the following names: 'Susana Low her Book 1677, May 19;' 'Thomas Low his Book' (apparently written about the same time); 'Samuel Low,' and 'John Low.'"
- Crowell repeats the family belief that it was "brought to this country by Capt. John Low." The *Ambrose* story is not supported [T].
- The same family owned a bone-headed cane with a silver band inscribed "Owned in ye Family, Eng'd about 1573: D. L., U. America, March 14, 1803" [C].
- The 1677 inscription dates from the year of Thomas's death and his widow's settlement [I].
**Children:** Thomas (64); Margaret (m. Daniel Davison); John (m. 1661 Sarah Thorndike); Sarah (m. Joseph Safford) [D, will].
---
## Part Two: Newspapers and published accounts (verbatim)
**The 1874 collision.**
- *Portland Daily Press*, 12 Sept 1874, p. 3:
> "Collision. - Thursday night at about 10 o'clock, when the steamer Lewiston was a short distance from Seguin, she collided with a small [schooner] named the Paragon, belonging to Deer Isle. The officers of the steamer claim that the schooner had her light on the wrong side thus misleading them as to the course she was sailing, while her owner and master, B. F. Law, says that the lights were correctly set. The bow of the steamer cut the stern of the schooner completely off, and the schooner sank. The steamer lowered her boats and rescued the captain and his father and brother - the entire crew. The men were injured slightly, but not seriously. They were brought to this city on the steamer and to-night will be carried back to Deer Isle where they belong. The schooner was in ballast, and was valued at about $800."
- *Ellsworth American*, 17 Sept 1874, p. 3: "The crew, consisting of an old man and two boys, were rescued by the steamer's boat." The shipping column on the same page: "Salem - Ar 8 ... Paragon, Low, Ellsworth."
- *Daily Kennebec Journal*, 19 Sept 1874, p. 3:
> "Capt. Lowe, master of schooner Paragon, which was rundown by steamer Lewiston off Seguin a few nights since, died Thursday morning at his home at Deer Isle, from the effects of exposure in the water. He leaves a wife and three children."
These three were found and read in the earlier pass (Low_Line_Research.md). Chronicling America could not be searched again in this pass because loc.gov returned a security check.
**Hosmer (1886) on Major Nathan Low and his son**, pp. 143-144: quoted in sections 2 and 4.
**Washington Territory Council Journal, January 1860**, on the Sylvester divorce bill: quoted in section 1.
**News item on Mary Ellen (Low) Partridge**, December 1900, as copied into the DIF typescript: quoted in section 2, child 10.
**"The Chebacco Women Came Riding."** An undated newspaper feature preserved in Mollie Book 4 (the last two pages). It retells the 1679 raising of the Chebacco meeting house by the women led by Abigail (Proctor) Varney. It ends with the deacons John Burnham and Thomas Low in the pew before the pulpit. It is a popular retelling, not a record. The court record behind it is EQC 7:245 (see Low_Line_Research.md).
---
## Part Three: Documents worth clipping for the archive
FamilySearch images open at https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/ plus the ID, and can be downloaded at full resolution from the image viewer. Archive.org page links go to the printed page.
**Deer Isle and Hancock County**
1. **Deer Isle register of births**, pages 410-411, with Major Nathan and Rebekah Low's children: 3:1:3QS7-99L1-Q94M-T (film 004255379, image 206).
2. **Harriet's birth entry**, Deer Isle: record 1:1:F4HP-12N (open "View original document").
3. **Marriage of Nathan Low and Hannah Tyler**, 16 Sept 1832: record 1:1:Q283-LQHY.
4. **Marriage of Crowell H. Sylvester and Harriet P. Low**, 12 Dec 1852: record 1:1:Q28Q-S6WL.
5. **1850 census, Deer Isle**, with Harriet, 16, in her parents' household: record 1:1:M6J5-L3N. The Major's household of the same year: 1:1:M6J5-L7R.
6. **Deed of Nathan Low, gentleman, and Rebekah**, 1803, land on Eggemoggin Reach: 3:1:3Q9M-CS3J-2CTC.
7. **Towne & Spofford v. Nathan Low**, Court of Common Pleas, 1809: 3:1:3QS7-89MZ-4D2H.
8. **Deeds of "Nathan Low Jun." and Hannah R. Low**, 1838: 3:1:3Q9M-CSR4-832T-N.
9. **Letters of administration to Nathan Low Jr.** on his father's estate, 26 Oct 1859: 3:1:3QS7-L9WC-8LL8.
10. **Hannah R. Low's petition**, giving her husband's death on 17 Sept 1874: 3:1:S3HT-63Y9-RKP.
11. **Rowland T. Low's petition** on his mother's estate, 1887, naming Joseph E. Low's eight children: 3:1:S3HT-6612-2H.
12. **The DIF typescript's Low Family pages** (1)-(3), with the family Bible transcript and the Partridge news item: 3:1:3Q9M-CSVY-3QLN-P, 3:1:3Q9M-CSVY-3QGM-R, 3:1:3Q9M-CSVY-3QLN-N. **Thompson Family pages** (13)-(15): 3:1:3Q9M-CSZD-G3ZD, 3:1:3Q9M-CSZD-G38M, 3:1:3Q9M-CSZD-G36F.
**Washington and Massachusetts**
13. **Harriet's power of attorney**, Coveland, 14 Jan 1887, naming her as heir of Hannah R. Low: 3:1:3QS7-L9XJ-B5LV.
14. **Harriet's death certificate**, Seattle, 1918, no. 3584: record 1:1:N3G3-FJC (image via "View original document"; the certificate thumbnail shown first is no. 3583, the next image is hers).
15. **Hannah R. Tyler Low's death record**, Beverly, 1886: record 1:1:NWCP-3J7.
16. **Mollie Holbrook's marriage record**, Boston, 1898: record 1:1:N44N-CDD.
17. **Washington Territory Council Journal, 1859-60**, the Sylvester bill pages (about pp. 99-146): https://archive.org/details/walaw-journals-council-1859-f8ca79 . **House Journal, 1860**, pp. 105-122, 207: https://archive.org/details/walaw-journals-house-1860-77378e .
**Essex County**
18. **Will of Nathan Low of Boxford**, 1803: 3:1:3Q9M-C9YT-8S15 (image 324 of 884).
19. **Will and inventory of Thomas Low, Sr.**, 1677, PREC 3:175-177: https://archive.org/details/probaterecordsof03mass .
20. **EQC pages**:
- the horse case, 4:124-126: https://archive.org/details/recordsfilesofqu04esse ;
- the Wells petition, 4:76;
- the Bragg testimonial, 4:243;
- the 1660 deposition, 2:200: https://archive.org/details/recordsfilesofqu02esse ;
- the freeman's oath, 8:377: https://archive.org/details/recordsandfiles01dowgoog .
21. **Crowell (1868)**, pp. 45, 93, 110, 119-122 (Deacon Low) and pp. 354-355 (the Geneva Bible): https://archive.org/details/historyoftownofe01crow .
**Objects to trace**
22. **The 1579 Geneva Bible** inscribed "Susana Low her Book 1677, May 19." Last reported with Capt. Winthrop Low's family at Essex in 1868. Worth asking the Essex Historical Society and the Ipswich Museum.
23. **Lucy (Lord) Low Choate's 1802 Carey Bible**, with the Low family record. Last reported on Deer Isle with Thomas T. Low's descendants. Worth asking the Deer Isle-Stonington Historical Society.
24. **Gen. Solomon Lowe's tomb**, Harmony Cemetery, East Boxford, with engraved portraits of him and his four wives. A photograph is worth having.
25. **Gravestones** at Forest Hill Cemetery, Deer Isle, of Major Nathan Low, Capt. Daniel Webster Low, William and Mary (Eaton) Low and Thomas T. Low. Also the stones of Nathan and Lucy Low in Harmony Cemetery, Boxford.
---
## Part Four: The wives' families in brief
Full treatment, with sources, is in Low_Line_Research.md. Ratings are carried forward unless noted.
- **Boreman of Claydon, Oxfordshire.** Martha Boreman's father Thomas Boreman, bp. Claydon 18 Oct 1601, d. Ipswich May 1673. His will (EQC 5:167, abstract; Goldthwaite p. 115) names "daughter Martha, wife of Thomas Loe." **Proven.** The line above him runs through Elizabeth Carter to William Boreman of Banbury (1525) [C].
- **Lamb, Wise and Tompson of Roxbury.** Mary Lamb's parents were Caleb Lamb and Mary Wise. Joseph Wise was from Bulkington, Warwickshire. Mary Tompson was probably a daughter of John Tompson and Alice Freeman [C]. Harriet descends twice from Joseph Wise and Mary Tompson.
- **Varney, Proctor and Cogswell of Chebacco.**
- Abigail Varney's parents were Thomas Varney Jr. and Abigail Cogswell; her grandparents were Cpl. Thomas Varney and Abigail Proctor.
- Abigail Proctor was a sister of John Proctor, hanged at Salem in 1692 [D].
- Both "Thomas Varny" and "Tho. Low sen'r" signed the 1692 Proctor petition [D].
- Thomas Varney and Thomas Low, jr., signed the 1668 Wells petition together [D, new].
- **Lord, Fuller and Emerson of Ipswich.** Lucy Lord's parents were James Lord Jr. and Mary Fuller. There were two James Lords [D]. Fuller and Emerson are compiled to Thomas Emerson of Bishop's Stortford [C].
- **Thompson, Foster, Bigg, Bate, Payson, Briscoe, Kneeland and Hawkins.** These are Rebecca Thompson's lines. Mary (Foster) Thompson's father is still **Possible** only; everything above her rests on that link.
---
## Part Five: Records to obtain next
In rough order of value.
1. **Harriet's death certificate image** (Washington death certificates, no. 3584, King County, 1918): informant, cause, and length of residence.
2. **Harriet's obituary** in the *Seattle Times*, *Seattle Post-Intelligencer* and Island County papers (27 Nov - early Dec 1918).
3. **Washington territorial legislature bill file for H.B. No. 45 (1859-60)** at the Washington State Archives, Olympia. It may hold the petition and "the testimony accompanying the bill."
4. **Pierce County marriage record, 24 Dec 1860**, Holbrook and Low (if recorded). Thurston County records for Harriet as "H. P. Sylvester," 1857-1860.
5. **The *Paragon*.** Her enrollment in the Castine or Belfast customs district; the List of Merchant Vessels for 1868-1874; any admiralty libel or inquiry over the *Lewiston* collision; the *Ellsworth American* death notice of late September 1874.
6. **Hancock County probate files** for Major Nathan Low (1859; inventory, division, heirs) and Nathan Low Jr. (1875; inventory). The record-book pages found give only the appointments.
7. **Essex County probate file of Nathan Low of Boxford (1804)**: docket, inventory, accounts.
8. **Major Nathan's militia commission** and service, Massachusetts (District of Maine) to 1820 and Maine after.
9. **The two Bibles** (Part Three, items 22-23).
10. **NEHGR 174 (2020)**, Edward E. Steele, on the first three generations of Thomas Low's descendants: for the English identification, Susannah, and Margaret Tod.
11. **The Firmin will** of St. Peter's, Sudbury (c. 1612?), cited by Redstone as naming Giles Lowe's children Thomas, John and Margaret.
12. **Mary (Foster) Thompson's parentage**: Suffolk Probate no. 12403 (John Foster, 1760) and the 1773 guardianships. This is unchanged from the earlier file.
---
## Part Six: FamilySearch Family Tree corrections to consider
- **Nathan J Low (KNHT-Q3D):**
- birth place is "Dixmont"; it should be Deer Isle, 24 Mar 1805 (Dixmont is his wife's birthplace);
- the death date (17 Sep 1874) has no source; attach the Hancock probate petition (3:1:S3HT-63Y9-RKP);
- "J" is probably "Jr."
- **Harriet Phillips Lowe (L75M-Q51):**
- add the 1852 Sylvester marriage (1:1:Q28Q-S6WL), the 1860 Thurston County census (1:1:MC6W-8JX), the 1860 divorce (1:1:6CYG-2C6S) and the 1887 power of attorney;
- "Harriet Lowe" (MWTW-9BT), shown as wife of Crowell Hatch Sylvester with a birth of 1850, is a duplicate of her and should be merged.
- **Nathan Low (M684-PQP):**
- add the 1837 marriage to Hannah Hardy, the 1803 and 1838 deeds, and the 1859 letters of administration;
- the attached Essex probate source is his father's will, so it belongs on KG9S-Y7Q.
- **Nathan Low (KG9S-Y7Q):**
- son Daniel (MN3V-SMG) "1772-1772" is wrong; he was living in 1803 (will);
- son Caleb's birth should be 24 Dec 1767 (Boxford VR);
- the marriage date "25 Oct 1764" is probably the intention; the marriage was 17 Jan 1765.
- **Find a Grave**, "Hannah R. Hardy Lowe," 1809-1886, Forest Hill Cemetery: this is Hannah R. (Tyler) Low.
---
## Part Seven: Sources
**[D]** primary records and published transcripts or abstracts of them; **[C]** compiled works. "Read" means the record or page text was examined in this pass; "index" means only the index entry.
**FamilySearch records** (index entries read; images read through Full-Text Search where an image ID is given)
- *Maine, Births and Christenings, 1739-1900* (Deer Isle town records):
- Nathan Low's children: 1:1:F4W7-QT5, F4HF-FMP, F4HF-FMT, F4HF-63R, F4W7-QTT, F4HF-6L6, and duplicates;
- Nathan and Hannah R. Low's children: 1:1:F4HP-12N, F4H5-V5D, F4H5-H9Y, F4H5-FXT, F4H5-B43, F4H5-SY5, F4H5-R26, and duplicates;
- register image 3:1:3QS7-99L1-Q94M-T.
- *Maine, Church Records, 1734-1907*: Nathan Low, 1805 (1:1:QG5F-H744); Thomas Thomson Low, 1802 (QGR2-DTQP).
- *Maine, Vital Records, 1670-1921*:
- marriages: Nathan Low and Hannah Tyler, 1832 (Q283-LQHY); Crowell H. Sylvester and Harriet P. Low, 1852 (Q28Q-S6WL);
- deaths: Nathan Low, 1859 (Q283-L3FN); Daniel W. Low, 1896 (KC8R-BDS); Henry C. Low, 1861.
- *Maine, Marriages, 1771-1907*: Crowell H. Sylvester and Irena Arey, 1848 (F4D4-4MV, F4D4-DPT).
- *United States Census*:
- 1850 Deer Isle (M6J5-L3N, M6J5-L7R);
- 1860 Deer Isle (MDHJ-3DM); 1860 Thurston Co., W.T. (MC6W-8JX);
- 1870 Deer Isle (M6DN-VYJ); 1870 Whidbey Island (M6MB-RRM); 1870 Olympia (M6M1-ZHR);
- 1880 Thurston (MXTX-PX4);
- 1900 Seattle (MMPN-ZH6).
- *Massachusetts, State Vital Records*:
- Hannah R. Tyler Low death, 1886 (NWCP-3J7);
- Laura E. Phillips death, 1918 (23TS-7RP);
- Emil C. Pfeiffer and Mollie F. Holbrook marriage, 1898 (N44N-CDD).
- *Minnesota, Deaths*: Sarah L. Nichols, 1917 (ZWK2-4C6Z). *New York City Municipal Deaths*: Roland Tyler Lowe, 1923 (2W54-XZD).
- *Washington*:
- Death Certificates: Harriett P. Holbrook, 1918 (N3G3-FJC);
- Deaths and Burials (HVXM-ZGPZ); County Death Registers (6FCM-HMWH);
- County Divorce Records (6CYG-2C6S);
- Birth Records: Mollie Francis Holbrook, 1870 (Q237-3NCT).
- *Find a Grave Index*: Forest Hill Cemetery, Deer Isle (Maj Nathan Low, Q29Y-CJ6X; Capt Daniel Webster Low, Q29Y-CNFZ; Thomas T. Low, QK1L-298G; William Low, QK1L-29XZ; "Hannah R. Hardy Lowe," Q29Y-CNT9; Lucetta T. Low Nason, Q2BT-R76B; "Natha Lowe," Q29Y-CJDF); Sunnyside Cemetery, Coupeville (QVVN-4RG8); Crowell Hatch Sylvester, Olympia (QVK9-F29J).
- *Full-Text Search images*:
- Hancock Deeds 1804-1805 (3Q9M-CS3J-2CTC) and 1837-1839 (3Q9M-CSR4-832T-N);
- Hancock Court of Common Pleas, May-Nov 1809 (3QS7-89MZ-4D2H);
- Hancock Probate Records 1855-1876 (3QS7-L9WC-8LL8);
- Hancock Probate Estate Case Files (S3HT-63Y9-RKP, S3HT-6612-2H, S3HY-D1X3-4PP);
- Penobscot Deeds 1887 (3QS7-L9XJ-B5LV);
- Essex Probate Records 1803-1806 (3Q9M-C9YT-8S15);
- "Genealogical history of Deer Isle families" (3Q9M-CSVY-3QLN-P, -3QGM-R, -3QLN-N; 3Q9M-CSZD-G3ZD, -G38M, -G36F; series 2, 3Q9M-C3H1-D9T3-T).
- *FamilySearch Family Tree*: KNHT-Q3D, M684-PQP, L75M-Q51, KC9X-WTZ.
**Printed primary sources** (archive.org full text read)
- *Records and Files of the Quarterly Courts of Essex County*, vols. 1-8: recordsfilesofqu01mass, recordsfilesofqu02esse, recordsfilesofqu03esse, recordsfilesofqu04esse, recordsfilesofqu05esse, recordsfilesofqu06esse, recordsfilesofqu07esse, recordsandfiles01dowgoog.
- *The Probate Records of Essex County*, vol. 3 (1920), pp. 175-177: probaterecordsof03mass.
- *Journal of the Council of the Territory of Washington*, 1859-60: walaw-journals-council-1859-f8ca79. *Journal of the House of Representatives*, 1860: walaw-journals-house-1860-77378e. *Acts*, 1859-60: walaw-session-laws-1859.
- *Massachusetts Soldiers and Sailors of the Revolutionary War*, vol. 9: massachusettssol09mass.
- *Vital Records of Ipswich* (vitalrecordsofip01esse, vitalrecordsofip02ipsw) and *of Boxford* (vitalrecordsofbo00boxfo).
- Ipswich town grant to Thomas Low and Winthrop's *Journal*, as quoted in Quest No. 2.
**Compiled works**
- Hosmer, *Historical Sketch of Deer Isle* (1886): historicalsketch00hosm.
- Crowell, *History of the Town of Essex* (1868): historyoftownofe01crow.
- Waters, *Ipswich in the Massachusetts Bay Colony*, vols. 1-2: ipswichinmassach01wate, ipswichinmassach02wate.
- Perley, *History of Boxford* (1880): historyofboxford00perl; *Dwellings of Boxford* (1893): dwellingsofboxfo00perl.
- Marvin, *History of the Town of Winchendon* (1868): historytownwinc00marvgoog.
- Bodge, *Soldiers in King Philip's War*, 3rd ed. (1906): soldiersinkingph1906bodg.
- Wm. G. Low, *A Genealogical Quest* (1908) and *No. 2* (1909): genealogicalques00loww, genealogicalques01loww.
- Merriam, *Ancestors of the John Lowe Family Circle* (1901): ancestorsofjohnl00merr.
- Goldthwaite, *Boardman Genealogy* (1895); Brigham, *Tyler Genealogy* (1912); Jameson, *The Choates in America* (1896); as cited in Low_Line_Research.md.
- *Bangor Historical Magazine* 5 (Deer Isle marriages).
- Mollie Frances (Holbrook) Pfeiffer, family typescript, Books 4-5 (pp. 67-86), project files.
- Low_Line_Research.md, Mollie_Typescript_Review.md and the Holbrook-Low Colonial Tree (project files).
**Newspapers** (read in the earlier pass): *Portland Daily Press*, 12 Sept 1874, p. 3; *Ellsworth American*, 17 Sept 1874, p. 3; *Daily Kennebec Journal*, 19 Sept 1874, p. 3 (Chronicling America).
---
## Part Eight: Research log
**6 October 2026.**
- **Starting point.** Compared Low_Line_Research.md, the Holbrook-Low Colonial Tree data and Mollie Books 4-5 (OCR of the scans) against the weak links listed in the project's Low page.
- **FamilySearch, record search:**
- the 1850, 1860 and 1870 Deer Isle censuses;
- Deer Isle births and church records for Nathan Low as father;
- Maine marriages for Nathan Low and Hannah Tyler, and for Crowell H. Sylvester;
- Washington death records for Harriet;
- Massachusetts deaths for Hannah R. Low and Laura E. Phillips;
- the Find a Grave index for Deer Isle Lows;
- the 1860 census for Harriet in Washington.
- **FamilySearch, Family Tree:** read for KNHT-Q3D, M684-PQP, L75M-Q51 and KC9X-WTZ, including source lists. A user-attached source on M684-PQP led to the 1803 will.
- **FamilySearch, Full-Text Search:**
- "Nathan Low" with "Deer Isle";
- "Low," "Boxford" and "Deer Isle";
- "Hannah R. Low";
- "Harriet," "Holbrook," "Low" and "Deer Isle";
- "Mrs. Harriet P. Holbrook."
- Read: the Hancock deeds, court and probate images cited, the Penobscot power of attorney, and the DIF typescript pages.
- **archive.org texts downloaded and searched:** EQC vols. 1-8; PREC 3; Hosmer; Crowell; Waters 1-2; Perley (both); Marvin; Bodge; Quest 1-2; Massachusetts Soldiers and Sailors 9; Ipswich and Boxford VR; the Washington Territory journals and session laws for 1859-60.
**Searched without result, or not reachable**
- Chronicling America (loc.gov) was blocked by a security check in the browser and timed out from the research tools, so no new newspaper searches were possible this pass.
- No obituary for Harriet in FamilySearch Full-Text.
- No Hancock estate file with an inventory for either Nathan in the images read.
- No "B. F. Low" at Deer Isle.
- No muster-roll entry for Nathan Low of Boxford beyond the 1775 alarm in Massachusetts Soldiers and Sailors.
- Thomas Low's will is not in Waters.
- The 1580s-1630s Firmin will was not found online.
- NEHGR 174 is subscription only.
- The image of Harriet's death certificate did not display clearly in the browser pane; only the index was read.
- The link to the computer, and with it the browser, dropped once during the session and was restored.