Member Biography
Alexander Lowry Sr.
| Sessions | Office | Position | District | Party |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1790-1791 | Federalist |
Biography
1727 - 05/31/1805
Colonel Alexander Lowry, Sr. (Federalist) Lancaster and York Counties 1791
Early Life:
Colonel Alexander Lowry, Sr., born January 1727, Northern Ireland; son of Lazarus and Etta Campbell Lowry; trader, 1748; Committee of Correspondence for Lancaster, July 1774; member, Provincial Conference, Philadelphia, July 1774; assembly, Carpenters' Hall, June, 1776; Constitutional Convention, Philadelphia, July 1776; elected, Republican, Pennsylvania General Assembly, Lancaster County, 1776-1781; commanded, Third Battalion, Lancaster County Associators, 1776; appointed, commissioner, procure blankets, United States Army, May 1777; elected, Republican, Pennsylvania General Assembly, 1785-1789; commissioned, justice of the peace, Governor Thomas Mifflin, 1789-1805; elected, Federalist, Pennsylvania State Senate, 1791, resigned, 1791; Unsuccessful campaign, Commissioner, Huntingdon County, 1813; married, three times, Mary “Polly” Waters Lowry, 1752, children: Alexander, Elizabeth, Mary, Lazarus, Margaret, married Ann West, 1774, children: Fannie, married, Sarah Cochran, 1793; died, May 31, 1805 (aged 79) Marietta, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania; interment, Donegal Presbyterian Church Cemetery, Mount Joy, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania
Early Career:
Came to America with his parents when six years of age; reared, Donegal, Pennsylvania. Trader: traded extensively with the Indians; associated with fur trader Joseph Simon of Lancaster, who provided furs to Barnard Gratz of Philadelphia for trans-Atlantic shipping, 1748.
Was one of General John Forbes' guides on that officer's march to Fort Duquesne, 1758; narrowly escaped death, massacre at Bushy Run near present-day Harrison City, Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, 1762; guide of Colonel Henry Bouquet's Expedition against the Indians 1764.
Colonel Alexander Lowrey commanded a battalion of Pennsylvania Militia during the Revolutionary War; saw action, the Battles of Germantown and Brandywine and the New Jersey campaigns, commanded, Lancaster County militia, battle of Brandywine, September 10, 1777.
He was one of the first in the county or State who advocated independence, and was a delegate to Carpenter's Hall, in Philadelphia, where was passed the resolution in favor of independence, on June 16, 1776, instructing our members of Congress to vote for that measure.
Pennsylvania Politics:
Committee of Correspondence for Lancaster, July 1774.
Member, Provincial Conference, Philadelphia, July 1774.
Assembly, convened, Carpenters' Hall, Colony to State Convention, June 1776.
Constitutional Convention, Philadelphia, July 1776.
Elected, Republican, Pennsylvania General Assembly, Lancaster County, 1776-1781.
Commanded, Third Battalion, Lancaster County Associators, 1776.
Appointed, commissioner, procure blankets, United States Army, May 1777.
Elected, Republican, Pennsylvania General Assembly, 1785-1789.
Commissioned, justice of the peace, Governor Thomas Mifflin, 1789-1805.
Elected, Federalist, Pennsylvania State Senate, Lancaster and York Counties, 1790-1791; Sebastian Graff died prior to August 29, 1791, was replaced by Alexander Lowry, who resigned at the end of the session, September 30, 1791.
Unsuccessful campaign, Commissioner, Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania, 1813.
Pennsylvania State House of Representatives Biography:
Not currently available.
Cited:
Cox, Harold. "Senate Members "L"". Wilkes University Election Statistics Project. Wilkes University.
Cox, Harold. Senate1790-1869 (wilkes.edu). Wilkes University Election Statistics Project. Wilkes University.
Cox, Harold. Assembly Members (wilkes.edu). Wilkes University Election Statistics Project. Wilkes University.
A New Nation Votes (tufts.edu)
Col Alexander Lowry Sr. (1725-1805) - Find a Grave Memorial