The name of Lazarus’
father and mother are not known. Speculation might be
entertained, based upon the prevalent Scotch-Irish naming pattern,
that Lazarus’ father may have been a “James Lowry”. The
tradition being that the eldest son was named for the father’s
father, the second son after the mother’s father and the third son
after the father. The first son of Lazarus was James Lowry. The
first daughter of Lazarus we know of was Mary Lowry, so some chance
exists that this might also be his mothers name. This naming
tradition was not universal, nor was it strictly followed, and it
should not be relied upon to positively establish the names
of unknown individuals. About a 70% rate of compliance is the best
that can be expected in this time and place.
Early
Background
There is very little
known about the early life of Lazarus Lowry. Based on his
affiliation with the Presbyterian Church later in life, it might be
inferred that he was born to a Presbyterian family and raised in
that tradition. No early Presbyterian church records of a Lazarus
Lowry have yet come to the author’s attention. It might also be
suspected that Lazarus came from a fairly prosperous family,
possibly merchant or landed gentry. This is suggested by the fact
that Lazarus arrived with a family numbering about nine persons,
took up about 333 acres, purchased license and trade goods, and
began trading with the region’s Native Americans. At a time when
many other individuals were selling themselves as contractual bond
servants in order to get to America, some degree of affluence might
be inferred the circumstances of his arrival. The recurrence in
later generations of the family of a “Lowry Coat of Arms” containing
a cup and laurel branches might suggest affiliation with the
Scots-Irish descendants of Jhone Laurie of Larg, Scotland. Jhone
Laurie won this patent as the appointed “champion” of James VI of
Scotland, when, during the King’s wedding celebrations with Anne of
Denmark, the dauntless Laurie overcame a giant Danish Knight in a
fearsome three day drinking contest. (No...really! Look it up.
See the Black Whistle by Robert Burns.) The cup and laurel
device has, since that time and with varying degrees of legitimacy,
been differenced and used by many Lowry/Laurie titulados, such as
the Earls of Belmore, the Baronets of Maxwelton, those of Bedford
Square, Pomaroy, and several other branches. Another anecdotal
account of the connection between these Lowrys and the cup & wreath
arms comes from a biography of Lazarus’ eighth child, Col. Alexander
Lowry. The Anglican, anglophile wife of Alexander was sometimes a
sore trial to the fire-breathing revolutionary activist who loved
her. She would, on her occasional shopping trips to Philadelphia,
quietly purchase English tea, and bring it home. Alexander would
routinely discover the tea and burn it. On one such trip, she
obtained a finely carved coat of arms to display on their carriage
door. Alexander, upon seeing it, and deeming it an inappropriate
affectation for a Colonel in the Continental Army, tore it from the
coach , broke it into pieces, and burned it. This coat of arms was,
according to some accounts, the cup and laurel wreath. It is
plausibly, but certainly not factually established, that Alexander’s
loathing for this symbol might have been based on something more
personal than politics. The possibility of Lazarus being a
disinherited or irregular offshoot of one of these old noble
families might account for both the antipathy and the lack of
documentary record of the birth of Lazarus. This last is pure
speculation and should not be taken as fact.
Conditions
Most of the
Scots-Irish/Ulster-Scots of the period were known as “Plantationers”
or “Undertakers” of plantations. The Crown of a few generations
prior, had , with typical social myopia, confiscated lands from the
ancient Earls of the North, and replaced those Irish Lords with
Scots and English Protestant holders. The Scots-Irish, or “New
Irish” did much better in Ireland than did the English. Possibly
there was less animosity between the Scots Irish and the Pure Irish
due to a common Gaelic language and heritage. In the early 1700's,
there were several disastrous harvests in rapid succession. Added to
this, the English government began to suppress Irish exports and
imports through punishing tariffs and mandating trans-shipment
through English ports. There were also several religious “Test Acts”
which originally targeted Catholics, but were later applied to all
dissenting religions, including the Presbyterians. These Test Acts
resulted in more tax, exclusion from public office and limitation of
educational and professional opportunities. The final straw was the
renewal of the crown leases on the Scots-Irish plantations. The hard
working Ulster-Scots had, through capital investment and hard work,
greatly increased the value of the lands they farmed. As a result,
in about 1710, when the leases expired, the Scots-Irish found their
new leases, if they could be gotten at all, cost two and three times
as much as they had. Many Ulster-Scots couldn’t afford to renew and
were forced off of their lands. This gave rise to the great wave of
emigration by the Scots-Irish to North America. It is from this
background that our Lazarus came to America.
Emigration
The emigration of
Lazarus is a given. He was born there and died here. The devil is in
the details...or lack of known details. We believe that he married
for the first time in Ireland, as his first nine children are
reportedly of Irish birth. The date frame of 1728-1729 is indicated
by biographical accounts, by land holding records and by the
issuance of state trading licenses. The place of arrival was most
likely Philadelphia or the Port of Newcastle, Delaware. Newcastle
may be more likely, not only because the transit to their future
home site of Donegal, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania was only about
40 miles, northwest, up a relatively well established route
(now
U.S. route 41), but also because there was rioting in
Philadelphia at the time, protesting the influx of Palatine
newcomers. Unfortunately for researchers, the Scots-Irish were
deemed citizens of the same Great Brittan that ruled the colonies,
so records kept on foreign immigrants were not then kept on those
from other parts of the British Empire. Some ships passenger lists
are available from that period, but many have been lost or
destroyed. The ships most likely to have carried Lazarus and his
family would have been part of the White Sails fleet. It is just
possible that these Lowrys took ship at the port of Londonderry on
Lough Foyle, but it is far more probable that they would have had to
travel to Liverpool or even London in order to take ship. This
remains a topic for future research. Some ships which debarked Irish
passengers at Newcastle and Philadelphia in 1728-29 were: The Morton
house August 1728, The Albany September 4, 1728, The James Goodwill
September 11, 1728, The Mortonhouse August 19, 1729, and The Allen
September 15, 1729. This is not a complete list, but may be a
starting point for a passenger search.
Occupation
Upon his arrival in
America, Lazarus, as mentioned above, took up 333 acres of land near
Donegal, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. In addition to this
homestead, he obtained a license from the government to “sell whisky
by the small” as part of his trade with the local Indians. Lazarus
and his sons were partners with other Scots-Irish immigrants in this
trading venture, and became well established among the southern
tribes. Lazarus was reputed to have been largely responsible for
bringing many of the southern tribes to the side of the colonists
during the French and Indian War. The trade routes set up by Lazarus
and his sons reached as far as Kentucky and the valley of the Ohio.
It is possible, but undocumented, that the furs which Lazarus
received in trade with the Indians were transshipped to Great
Britain not through Philadelphia, but rather by floating them down
the Susquehanna River to the Chesapeake Bay, and south to Elizabeth
City-County Virginia, where the other main branch of the Lowrys in
North America maintained a large and prosperous shipping business
with their Lowry partners in Scotland and England. This is just
speculation, as insufficient documentation has been developed to
prove it.
Marriage
Lazarus was married,
in Ireland, in about 1713. The name of his wife is Elizabeth, and
she was called Etta. Some of the family histories I have seen give
her the last name of Campbell, but I have seen no solid
documentation on this. It is solidly established that Etta died
after 1725 and prior to 1731. She may have died in Ireland, along
with her youngest son David, or on the voyage to America, or, as
some undocumented accounts suggest, in one of the many raids on the
Donegal settlements which would eventually culminate in the French
and Indian War. This last is quite possible, as these raids took a
fearful toll in the area that Lazarus called home. Because Lazarus’
youngest son by Etta, Alexander, would have been only six or seven
years old at the time of Etta’s death, it is unlikely that he would
have waited any great length of time before the grim necessities of
frontier life would have made re-marriage needful. In 1730 Lazarus
married the widow of Captain Thomas Edwards, a friend killed in one
of the Indian raids. Ann Millie Boggs Edwards gave five children to
Lazarus. The first she named Lazarus, both in his honor and in
remembrance of little Lazarus, who died with his mother Elizabeth.
The second of these children was named Thomas, after her own
departed first husband. Ann remained at Lazarus’ side until his
death, in Philadelphia, in 1755. In the will of Lazarus Lowry, he
referred to Ann as “my dear friend”. I can think of no higher praise
which could be given a wife and lover.
Frontier
It was the pragmatic
land policies of the then largely Quaker government of Pennsylvania
to welcome the Scots-Irish and the German Palatine Immigrants. These
two groups were especially welcomed because of their respective
natures and dispositions. The Pennsylvania frontier was lain out in
three distinct aprons. The Scots-Irish immigrant were offered very
attractive terms for settling in the wild, outlying areas. The
Quakers felt that since the Ulster-Scots were of a disposition to
fight, and were quite accustomed to it, they would act as front line
pioneers. The Palatine German and Swiss, later known as the
Pennsylvania Deutsch (not Dutch),were given tasks suited to
their natures and skills, converting and improving the rough
settlements being vacated by the Scots-Irish moving still further
west, into fine, productive, beautiful farms. The Quaker families
were delighted to acquire these improved properties and were quite
content to lead quiet and productive lives on these safe, finished
farms. The incentives provided by the Quakers kept the industrious
Scots-Irish and Germans moving onward and outward. Unfortunately,
living on the outermost fringes involved the Scots-Irish in fairly
frequent clashes with the native Americans. Great efforts were made
to maintain some degree of amicability with these tribes, but with
the increase of incitement by the French military during the decades
prior to the Seven Years War (French & Indian War), many hostile
tribes raided south from Canada, burning, killing and taking
captives as they went. Lazarus Lowry and his sons were well known
among the southern tribes. Their influence brought many of those to
the side of the colonists in resisting the French and Northern
Indians. Unfortunately, these hostilities would eventually resulted
in great loss for the sons of Lazarus Lowry and in the death of
several family members at the massacre of Bloody Run. Instances of
the Scots-Irish hunting down the war parties who had killed their
families became all to common along the frontier.
