Page:Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography (1900, volume 4).djvu/65

Rh but he soon abandoned his profession to attend to his plantation. While still a young man he travelled in Europe for mental improvement. It is related that while in London he happened to be left alone at his hotel, which was frequented by none but men of rank and distinction, with Will- iam Roscoe, author of the "Life of Leo X.," who was much his se- nior. The two fell into conversation, and the elder gentleman, leaving the room after a time, met the Duke of Argyll in the street. " I have been spending a most agreeable hour," he said to the duke, " with a young Ameri- can gentleman, who is the tallest, wisest, and best bred young man I have ever met." " It must have been Mi'. Lowndes, of South Car- olina," replied the duke. " He is such a man. I know him, and I know no other like him. Return and make his acquaint- ance." In 1806 Mr. Lowndes was elected to the lower house of the general assembly of South Caro- lina, retaining his seat until 1810, when he was chosen a member of congress as a Democrat, and re-elected five times successively, serving from 4 Nov., 1811, till 8 May, 1822, when failing health compelled his resignation. He was an earnest supporter of the war of 1812-'15, and spoke fre- quently on matters pertaining to the army, the navy, the finances, the national bank, the Missouri compromise, the Spanish treaty, and the tariff. His friends regarded him as a suitable candidate for the presidency, and he was nominated by the legislature of South Carolina. His health having been benefited by a visit to England in 1819, he decided to return to that country, and had em- barked with his family from Philadelphia, but did not live to complete the voyage. As a debater he occupied the front rank, in spite of a weakness of voice caused by diseased lungs, while his memory was remarkably retentive. It is said that Henry Clay expressed the opinion that Mr. Lowndes was " the wisest man he had ever known in congress." The only portrait of Mr. Lowndes was by Morse, and is in the Corcoran gallery, Washington. See illustration above.

LOWREY, George, Cherokee chief, b. on Ten- nessee river about 1770 ; d. 20 Oct., 1852. He was one of the delegates that visited Washington in 1791, was present at the signing of the treaty of 1817, a member of the convention that framed the constitution of the Cherokee nation in 1827, and was chosen assistant principal-chief. He filled various local offices, and was regarded as an honest man and a patriot. He wrote a tract on temper- ance in the Cherokee tongue, and assisted in trans- lating the Scriptures into that language.

LOWRIE, Walter, senator, b^ in Edinburgh, Scotland, 10 Dec, 1784; d. in New York city, 14 Dec. 1868. He was brought to the United States when eight years of age by his parents, who settled in Huntingdon county. Pa., but subsequently re- moved to Butler county. Young Lowrie received a good education, but prosecuted his studies amid many diffienlties. At the age of eighteen, he began a course of study with a view to entering the min- istry, but was led to change his purpose. He was subsequently a member of the legislature for sev- eral years, and was afterward elected U. S. senator from Pennsylvania, and served from 6 Dec, 1819, till 3 March, 1825. On the expiration of his term he was elected secretary of the U. S. senate, an office he held for twelve years. While in the lat- ter body he made his influence felt as a decided and earnest religious man. He was a founder of the Congressional prayer-meeting and the Con- gressional temperance society, and for many years served as a member of the executive committee of the American colonization society. In 1836 he be- came corresponding secretary of the Western for- eign missionary society, afterward the Presbyterian board of foreign missions. He continued in the charge of his various duties until he was disabled by old age in 1868.— His son, John Cameron, clergyman, b. in Butler, Pa., 16 Dec, 1808, was graduated at Jefferson college in 1829, prepared for the ministry at the Western and Princeton theological seminai'ies, and was licensed to preach, 21 June, 1832. On 23 May, 1833, he was ordained a missionary and was sent out by the Western for- eign missionary society to northern India, but his health failed, and he returned in 1836. In 1838 Dr. Lowrie was made assistant secretary of the board of foreign missions, his father being secre- tary. In 1845 he was called to take charge of the 42d street Presbyterian church in New York city, a connection he continued to maintain until 1850, when he was elected one of the corresponding sec- retaries of the board of foreign missions. In 18C5 he was chosen moderator of the general assembly of his church. He is the author of "Travels in North India, etc" (Philadelphia, 1841 ; same work issued in New Yorl^:, 1850, under title of " Two Years in LTpper India ") : " A Manual of the For- eign Missions of the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America " (New York. 1855; 3d ed., 1868) ; and " Missionary Papers " (1882), besides many reports, sermons, and articles in the " Princeton Review." — Another son, Walter Macon, missionary, b. in Butler, Pa.. 18 Feb., 1819; d. 19 Aug., 1847, was graduated at Jefferson in 1837. studied at Princeton theological seminary, and was ordained in November, 1841. On 19 Jan., 1842, he sailed for China to join the Presbyterian mission there. After laboring about two years in Macao, he removed to Ningpo in 1845. Having occasion to attend a conference of missionaries at Shanghai, he visited that city during the summer of 1847, and on the voyage back to Ningpo his vessel was attacked by pirates, and he was thrown into the sea. He was the author of " The Land of Sinim, or an Exposition of Isaiah xlix, 12 " (Philadelphia, 1850), and " Sermons Preached in China " (New York, 1851). See " Memoir of W. M. Lowrie" (New York, 1849 ; Philadelphia, 1854-'5 and 1880), edited by his father. — Another son. Jonathan Roberts, lawyer, b. in Butler, Pa., 16 March, 1823 ; d. in Warrior's Mark. Pa., 10 Dec, 1885, was graduated at Jefferson college in 1842, and studied law with his cousin. Judge Walter H. Lowrie. He at first settled in HoUidaysburg, Blair eo.. Pa., but soon removed to Warrior's Mark, Huntingdon co., where he passed the remainder of his life. There he became the legal adviser of a firm owning one of the largest estates in central Pennsylvania. He spent much time in the study of the natural sciences, especially botany, and converted the grounds attached to his residence into an arboretum, made large collections of the rarer plants, and discovered one new species, Prunus Alleghaniensis, and several others that had not previously been found in the state. — Another son, Renben, missionary, b. in