Col. William Beamer Lowther, Sr.

Col William Lowther BIRTH 1742 Albemarle County, Virginia, USA DEATH 28 Oct 1814 (aged 71–72) Harrison County, West Virginia, USA BURIAL Lowther Burying Ground West Milford, Harrison County, West Virginia,

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/7063851/william-lowther

He was in Virginia Assembly, first sheriff of Harrison County, went with Lewis and Clark on their expedition, said to be along with Jesse Hughes the first white man to see the Ohio River.

Photo: Home of Colonel William Beamer Lowther of Harrison County

Colonel Lowther (1742-1814) lived here in Harrison County from about 1773 when he and his family moved into this famed old cabin at West Milford, where Colonel Lowther was to end his days in 1814 and where he rests. This photo is as the home appeared in 1908.

From a photograph in the Washburn glass plate collection The West Virginia Heritage Encyclopedia describes Lowther as defended the frontier against hostile Indians, first in Lord Dunmore’s War of 1774, and later during the Revolutionary War. According to the website Hacker’s Creek Pioneer Descendants, during the latter part of the Revolutionary War he had charge of the line of scouts along the Ohio River, covering the approaches to the settlements in the Kanawha Valley. Similarly, during the Northwest Indian War in 1795, William Lowther commanded scouts to help defend Harrison County, as documented by this recently discovered Harrison County court record at the History Center.

Source: West Virginia and Regional History Center https://lib.wvu.edu/…/recent-acquisition-of-vintage-photog…/

EARLY HISTORY OF BURKS IN SAND FORK

   "One morning about the middle of August James Hughes, William Lowther and Ellis Hughes, left the West Fork River, south of Weston, and started westward toward Parkersburg. Their aim was to reach the headwaters of  Leading Creek and follow it to the Little Kanawha River. By mistake they  arrived on the headwaters of Sandy Creek (presently known as Sand Fork  Creek) and traveled to the point where it enters the Little Kanawha

River. These were among the first white men to enter what is now Gilmer County and the town which is Sand Fork (Layopolis)."

http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~wvpioneers/gilmerbiographi...

DAR Ancestor# A072174 Geographical note: Hardy County, WV was previously Augusta County, VA.

Grave is located outside of West Milford, WV. Robert Lowther's Grave is also there (Military Stone)Thank you for Photo J. Whitener...

Find A Grave Memorial# 7063851

Note from Sharon West: The Colonel's middle name is in question. It may not have been Beamer. He was in Virginia Assembly, first sheriff of Harrison County, went with Lewis and Clark on their expedition, said to be along with Jesse Hughes the first white man to see the Ohio River.

West Milford is around five miles south from Clarksburg. Lowthers settled on Hacker's Creek just north of Jane Lew which is about 5 miles going north from Jane on WV Rt 20 to Clarksburg. The Colonel is buried in the Lowther Cemetery there.

I wrote a book, "George Hardman I: Ancestors and Descendants" that can be gotten as a ebook on line. Lowther begin on page 112 but the best source is ancestry.com or rootsweb.com. On the search engine just type in Robert Lowther descendants.

• Updated from MyHeritage Family Trees via sister Rebecca Washburn (born Lowther) by SmartCopy: Jun 3 2015, 19:08:54 UTC

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https://hackerscreek.com/norman/LOWTHER.htm

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/7063851/william-lowther Extension Lowther family history: https://archive.org/stream/historyofritchie00lowt/historyofritchie0...

"History of Harrison County" by Dorothy Davis states "On April 10, 1877, Robert J. Lowther conveyed to John Lowther and others named as trustees one-fourth acre and eight poles of land known as the Lowther Burying Ground plus a road to the plot. (Harrison Co., WV Deed Book No. 59, p. 521) The cemetery lies on the north side of the West Fork River on a hill overlooking Highland Dam two miles north of West Milford. Paul Lowther, on December 2, 1961, "named your honorable Body (the Colonel William Lowther Chaper of the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution, Salem, West Virginia) as "Trustee' or 'Custodian'...with full right and authority to protect and maintain the (Lowther Burying Ground) as a final resting place of a great patriot, Colonel William Lowther.

See photo of cabin: Home of Colonel William Beamer Lowther of Harrison County Colonel Lowther (1742-1814) lived here in Harrison County from about 1773 when he and his family moved into this famed old cabin at West Milford, where Colonel Lowther was to end his days in 1814 and where he rests. This photo is as the home appeared in 1908. From a photograph in the Washburn glass plate collection The West Virginia Heritage Encyclopedia describes Lowther as defended the frontier against hostile Indians, first in Lord Dunmore’s War of 1774, and later during the Revolutionary War. According to the website Hacker’s Creek Pioneer Descendants, during the latter part of the Revolutionary War he had charge of the line of scouts along the Ohio River, covering the approaches to the settlements in the Kanawha Valley. Similarly, during the Northwest Indian War in 1795, William Lowther commanded scouts to help defend Harrison County, as documented by this recently discovered Harrison County court record at the History Center. Colonel Lowther also served as a Justice of the Peace in the District of West Augusta, the first Sheriff of Harrison and Wood Counties, and as a member of the Virginia General Assembly. Colonel Lowther is spoken of in the highest terms for his active and successful exertions in what was known as the "starving year" in 1773; caused by the corn crop from the preceding year not being sufficient to furnish bread for the increased settler emigration which exhausted all bread supplies until the corn crop could be harvested the following year and relieve their sufferings. Source: West Virginia and Regional History Center https://lib.wvu.edu/…/recent-acquisition-of-vintage-photog…/

Col. William Lowther's ORiginal Cabin 1908 " Col. Lowther could not have remained for any considerable length of time on Hacker's Creek. No local tradition connects his residence with that settlement. He was closely identified with the region about Nutter's Fort during the earliest days of its existence. He resided on a large homestead on the West Fork River, about seven miles from Clarksburg, and near one and a half miles from West Milford. What is said to be his main original cabin is still occupied by some of his descendants. It is built of hewed logs and measures sixteen feet by twenty feet. The joists are flattened timbers, three and a half inches by seven and a half inches. The fire place is five feet and four and a half inches in height. The cabin had at some time been torn down and rebuilt. Its age is computed from 1772, the year of the colonel's advent into the settlement. This, I believe, is nearly correct. There is strong evidence that Col. Lowther did not remain on Hacker's Creek more than one year, and that he resided in the Clarksburg settlement during the "starving year," 1773. the house is among the oldest, if not the oldest, in that part of the state." From "THE BORDER SETTLERS OF NORTHWESTERN VIRGINIA FROM 1768 TO 1795 By Lucullus Virgil McWhorter page 253.

GEDCOM Note

HISTORY OF HARRISON COUNTY 381

Col. William Lowther.

William Lowther was the son of Robert Lowther, who moved to the Hacker s Creek settlement in 1772. He soon became one of the most conspicuous men in that section of the Country,

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https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Lowther-49

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