George Lowman

George Lowman (b. July 24, 1738, d. November 24, 1800) George Lowman (son of Samuel Lowman and Honour Crowley) was born July 24, 1738 in Kent Co., MD, and died November 24, 1800 in Liberty Twp, Adams Co., PA. He married Mary Thornton on Abt. 1763.

 Notes for George Lowman: Notes from "Lowman History Notes of Charles Beckman" Let the Lowman story begin with a young girl named Mary, who was kidnapped by Indians over two centuries ago. Her grand-daughter Susannah, who grew up in the same home where Mary lived, told this story, as recorded by her son:

Grandmother was made a captive by the Indians during the French and Indian War, at the age of fourteen years. She was held a captive for five years; was married to an Indian chief and to them was born one son, whom she called John. The chief's name not known. After her release they gave her the child and she returned to Pennsylvania.

Mary's son-n-law John Zimmerman also passed her story down in greater detail to his grandson: My great-great-grandfather and family, including a daughter about nine years old, were living in the present Liberty Township of Adams County, PA near the Maryland line in a settlement along the banks of what is now known as "Flat Run" in the year 1766. Indians often passed through the settlement and not infrequently were found lurking around, begging or stealing. One morning during the berry season the daughter went alone into the woods bordering the stream in search of berries. Wandering out of sight and hearing of the settlement she was seized by two Indian braves.

A neighbor who happened to be passing through the woods heard the commotion and hid in the underbrush to learn, unobserved, what was happening. He saw two Indians leading or half-dragging the reluctant little girl away from home. She was crying bitterly and attempted to call out as she passed his hiding place, but one of the Indians put his hand over her face. In doing so he pushed back her bonnet and the watcher recognized her but was powerless to attempt her rescue. As soon as possible he gave the alarm and led friends and neighbors on a vain search, but the captors and captive had vanished in the wilderness.

Some ten years later in an engagement with a tribe of Indians near Shamokin a young whte woman and her half-breed son were liberated and brought back to the settlement. She was recognized and returned to her family with the child, whom she called John.

When the incidents of her capture were related to her she admitted an indistinct recollection of them, but she had grown taciturn and morose and does not seem to have shown any great pleasure at being restored to her parents. She described the Indians as having been extremely kind to her. When she arrived at a suitable age she was married to one of the chiefs with all the rites and forms by which the tribe signalized their marriage in "high lodge life". She had never known any other home among the Indians than that of Shamokin. As time passed she took more kindly to civilization and was wooed and won by a young man named Lohman.

The essence of this story is confirmed by evidence of Mary's half-Indian son, whose name appears in Adams Co., PA records. Nothing further concerning Mary's family has come to light and her surname is still unknown.

Family tradition relates that George and Mary Lowman were married in 1763. Although this date has not been otherwise confirmed, it is given substance by the birthdates of their children. The place, however, is uncertain, one tradition implying that they first lived in present Adams Co., PA and another locating them in Rockbridge Co., VA. Whichever is correct, they did not tarry long before settling in the Virginia wilderness.

After their marriage, George and Mary sought new land upon which to build their home, and found it just south of the Potomac River near the present town of Falling Waters, West Virginia. This was in the so-called "Northern Neck" of Virginia, the land between the Potomac and Rappahannock Rivers that the Crown had granted to Lord Fairfax, who controlled its settlement and sale. Before the Lord Proprietor would give title a settler, after making a "tomahawk claim" by blazing trees to mark its limits, had to build a cabin, clear a field and raise a crop of grain. After the settler had proven himself by these accomplishments a survey was run to produce a legal land description and money was paid for the purchase, authenticated by a formal deed.

Thomas Lord Fairfax, Proprietor of the Northern Neck of Virginia, on 7 September 1770 granted to George Lowman of Frederick County 148 acres of "waste and ungranted land at the Head of the Falling Water, a drain of the Potowmack". This land had been surveyed by Thomas Rutherford and was adjoined by lands belonging to col. John Carlisle, Thomas Adams, William and John Paul, William Porterfield and Jonas Hedge. After the surrounding area was completely settled and property lines drawn, an 18 acre piece adjoining George's land remained unclaimed and was awarded to him in 1787 as an original grant. He also bought from individuals other acreage that bounded his land; these are matters of record in Berkeley County, which had been formed from the northern part of Frederick County in 1772.

Evidence that George Lowman and his family resided in Berkeley County is contained in rent rolls and tax lists, the 1790 census for Virginia having been destroyed when the British burned Washington during the War of 1812. His deed from Lord Fairfax required an annual quit-rent of one shilling for every 50 acres, payable "on the Feast Day of St. Michael the Archangel", and rent rolls which are still preserved show George Lowman's name for the years 1772 and 1776, after which collections ceased because of the Revolutionary War. AS the Commonwealth government replaced former colonial authorities tax assessments were instituted to replace former ground rents. The first personal property tax list for Berkeley County was drawn up in 1782 and contained the name of George Lowman "one taxable, no slaves". In 1783 he was one of 2209 taxables in the county and was taxed on six horses and 14 cattle. His name also appeared on each of the county's yearly tax lists from 1784 through 1794.

George and Mary Lowman raised a family on their Virginia farm and apparently prospered. Unquestionably their primary occupation was that of farming, but the tax lists show a rather large number of horses and the inventory of 1800 lists ten horses (one a colt and another blind) and a "road wagon", suggesting that George or his sons may have supplemented their income from time to time as teamsters on the great wagon road that passed by their farm-in those days it was a major transportation artery running from Philadelphia through the Shenandoah Valley to settlements on the Yadkin River in western North Carolina.

After more than a quarter-century of developing this piece of wilderness into a farm, George and Mary Lowman decided to move away. We can only speculate why. Perhaps it was because their children were leaving: three of their daughters had married and left home, and their son Ephraim had started farming on his own account about 1794. Whatever the reasons may have been, records show that George Lowman in 1796 sold his Berkeley County farm and bought land in York County, Pennsylvania two years later. His actual move probably occurred sometime between these dates, for he could have occupied land in Pennsylvania before deciding upon a purchase. His son-in-law George Adam Kellenberger appears to have accompanied him in this move and his son George made the same move, but possibly before his father.

On 25 April 1796, George Lowman sold his Virginia farm to David Williamson, taking a mortgage that was not paid off until 1803. About the same time George Adam Kellenberger, believed to be the husband of his daughter Elizabeth, also sold his Berkeley county land. On 4 January 1798, George Lowman "late of the State of Virginia" purchased for just under 2,835 pounds some 425 acres of land in Hamilton Bann Township of York County (after 1800 Liberty Township of Adams County) Pennsylvania. This tract bordered lands owned by James Clark and James Agnew and was purchased from Robert Porter who had made some cash payment for the land but 2,000 pounds was covered by five "bonds" or promissory notes for 400 pounds each, payable annually from 1800 through 1804; the last payment was made by his heirs in 1805.

This newly-purchased land was quickly transformed into a prosperous family farm, with the help of stepson John, son George and possibly son-in-law George Kellenberger. The federal census of 1800 shows that George Lowman's household consisted of himself and wife, stepson John and two daughters. Nearby was the household of George, Jr., possibly also on the land his father had bought, and Adam Kellenberger was enumerated elsewhere in the county. An inventory prepared at the end of the year showed a well-equipped and amply-stocked farm which had produced wheat, oats, corn, buckwheat, hay and some hemp, as well as garden vegetables. During the year oats, pork and a milch cow with calf had been sold. Livestock consisted of a riding horse, eight work-horses and a colt; a bull, six cows, ten 2- and 4- year olds and a calf; 21 sheep; 11 hogs and a sow with pigs. Farming implements included two plows, a harrow, a farm wagon and a "road wagon", as well as hand tools. But he was not to enjoy the fruits of his labor.

George Lowman's death occurred between 28 October (the day on which he signed his will) and 25 November (the day it was filed for probate), the date coming down to us as 24 November 1800. His final resting place is no longer known.

In his will the land was divided, three-quarters to his son George and one-quarter to his stepson John, who jointly were charged with providing for the support of his widow Mary and with paying his debts and legacies. Papers in the probate file indicate debts of about 1000 pounds (excluding notes for the land purchase) and accounts receivable of about 1300 pounds (although some charged against his children or their husbands may not have been collected). In addition, his personal property, livestock and farm equipment, was appraised at 450 pounds. (The dollar had not yet replaced the old pounds, shillings and pence system; the rate of exchange was about three dollars to the pound.)

The will reveals that George Lowman was a God-fearing Christian devoted to his family. When his daughters married they were given a bed, bed-clothes, sometimes a chest and other household or kitchen furniture, and similar provisions were made for his unmarried daughters. His son Ephraim received a horse, a mare and seed-grain, and his son-in-laws each a horse; these were "sold" to them against a book entry in his accounts receivable records, with no indication that the accounts receivable were ever paid. The well-formed signature that appears on his will indicates that George Lowman had received an education in his youth, as does the fact that books (unnamed) were listed on the inventory of his possessions.

Mary and her family probably continued living on the farm after George's death, while her sons John and George saw to its operation and to payments on the land. This arrangement apparently lasted during the five years or so required to settle George's estate, i.e., to pay for the land he bought and to collect the money owing to him, for receipts dated as late as 1805 are found in the probate file. Mary's son George apparently left about this time to spend about five years in Rockbridge County, Virginia, but it is not known whether she accompanied him or stayed in Adams County. The farm there was sold on 20 September 1810, about the time George, Jr. moved his family west to Ohio. His mother accompanied them on this long journey and once again faced the wilderness. Surrounded by grandchildren she lived the rest of her days in Clark Co., Ohio, where she is buried in the Funderburk-Heck cemetery near the graves of her son and his wife. There a tombstone carries the inscription, "Mary Lowman, died 3 August 1826 in the 93rd year of her age". George Lowman's Will, by mentioning a son who lived in another state and a deceased daughter, apparently named all of his and Mary's offspring who survived childhood.

More About George Lowman and Mary Thornton: Marriage: Abt. 1763

Children of George Lowman and Mary Thornton are: i.John Lowman, b. Abt. 1754, d. Abt. 1822. ii.Ephraim Lowman, b. Abt. 1764, Martinsburg, Berkeley Co., VA, d. Abt. 1836, Morgan Co., VA. iii.+George Lowman, b. July 23, 1765, Adam Co., PA, d. August 21, 1848, Bethel Twp, Clark Co., OH. iv.+Elizabeth Lowman, b. Abt. 1766, d. date unknown. v.Mary Lowman, b. Abt. 1768, d. date unknown. vi.Rebecca Lowman, b. Abt. 1771, Frederick Co., VA, d. Abt. 1810, Liberty Twp, Adams Co., PA. vii.Sarah Lowman, b. Abt. 1776, Berkeley Co., VA, d. Abt. 1800. viii.Catherine Lowman, b. Abt. 1779, Berkeley Co., VA, d. Abt. 1819, Liberty Twp., Adams Co., PA. ix.Susannah Lowman, b. Abt. 1782, Berkeley Co., VA, d. date unknown.