BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF ELD
J C LOWERY COLLIN COUNTY PIONEER
McKinney Daily Courier
November 30, 1905
Eld. James Curis
Lowery, whose picture accompanies this artic1e was born Aug. 12, 1834, in
Pennsylvania, at the foot of the Alleghaney mountains. When about five years
of age, his parents moved to Iowa, where, after a brief residence, they left
for Kentucky, settling at Louisville. At the latter place, the subject of
this sketch attended school and received a good common school education. In
1852, his parents, William L. Lowery and wife, with their children,
emigrated to Texas. They came direct to Collin county and settled near the
present site of New Hope school house, three and a half miles east of
McKinney. Later they moved to the Wilmeth community north of town and then
bought land six miles southeast of McKinney on the East Fork of Trinity
river. They settled there and the East Fork crossing near their place is
known yet as "The Lowery" Crossing. This old family homestead was the
property of Eld. Lowery at the time of his recent death, Nov. 9, 1905. About
the close of the war, his mother died there and her dust now reposes in the
Old McKinney cemetery just west of the Capt. J. H. Jenkins home. In 1866,
his father died in Mississippi. He was enroute to visit relatives in that
state when he was stricken with cholera, during the prevalence of the dread
epidemic of that year and died after a very brief illness.
After coming to
Texas the subject of this sketch followed school teaching during his early
young manhood. About 1854 and 1855, he taught at old Sugar Hill, two miles
north of Farmersville. Prior to the war he also taught at Orchard Gap near
Forest Grove and also in a little log school house at Lowery Crossing. At
Orchard Gap, he boarded with Uncle Wess and Aunt Patsy Kirby, an old pioneer
couple of the county, whose numerous posterity are settled all over this
county.
In the latter
part of 1861, or the first part of 1862, Prof. Lowery enlisted in Co. G,
Alexander's Regiment which was organized in McKinney. In choosing of its
officers, Jordan O. Straughn was elected captain and Mr. Lowery one of the
lieutenants. Sam H. Fox, Andy Atkinson, W G Barnes, all of this city, J. M.
Nicholls of Melissa and J. E. Fletcher of Plano and possibly others, are
still living. Company G. was soon reorganized, broken up and absorbed by
other companies. After the war, Mr. Lowery frieghted much from Jefferson to
McKinney. He would haul cotton to Jefferson from which city he would bring
back lumber or goods for merchants.
On March 19,
1863, he was married to Miss Melissa M. Ross, who lived on the rid John
Nelson place at Woodlawn. Capt. Ross, it will be remembered by old settlers,
in 1868, while enroute home from the old Harris Mill (now known as
squeezepenny) was instantly killed in the road by lightning which also
killed his team that he was driving.
Eld. Lowery
commenced preaching about 23 years ago, being a minister of the Christian
church. He was a great reader and a man well informed on current events,
especially taking a keen interest in affairs concerning the well-being of
his fellow man. His sunny, ever cheerful disposition won him a host of
friends and held them through a long lifetime. He was afflicted for sixteen
months prior to his death in a way that partially affected his mind. His
death is sincerely mourned by a wide circle of relatives and friends
scattered in nearly every part of the county. His old time friend, Rev. Abe
Enloe, a Baptist minister, conducted the last sad rites over his body which
was interred in Wilson Chapel graveyard. This was in accordance with the
request of the deceased which was a beautiful tribute to a life-long
friendship that existed between the two which was never allowed to be cooled
nor interrupted by denominational or any other honest differences in
opinion. Besides the widow the following children survive: Mrs. James Bass
of Bishop; Mrs. Joseph D. Bass of Sulphur Springs; Mrs. Sam Bass of
Greenville; Mrs. James McCollum of Alba; Mrs. Win. F. Odle of Lowery
Crossing; James G., John M., Ross H. and Miss Rosa May Lowery, all at home
with their mother. Another son, William L. Lowery was the unfortunate young
man who perished in the burning of the Johnson block only a couple of weeks
before his father's death. His picture also appears with this article. Eld.
Lowery was a half brother of Jake Harbarger, a lawyer of McKinney, who moved
after the war to Weatherford where he died a few years ago. He also had a
half-sister in Kentucky. Mrs. John T. Dugger of Princeton is a full sister.
His other full sisters, now all deceased, were: Mrs. Andrew Tucker of
Vineland; Mrs. Henry Howell who died at Marlin and the first wife of Eld. J.
R. Wilmeth of Brown county.
Surname Index
Recommended Citation:
"Eld. J. C. Lowery,
EARLY SETTLERS OF COLLIN COUNTY." Collin County, Texas History
and Genealogy Webpage by Genealogy Friends of Plano Libraries, Inc., <http://www.geocities/genfriendsghl>
[Accessed Fri February 13, 2004 ].
