William & Margaret LOWE (Leith)

[boagh]

Hi there,

Looking for parents of William Lowe, famous Shipbuilder.
 
All i know so far of his parents is that his father William Lowe married Margaret Steel (of Stirling), and was a "landed proprietor". He had at least 2 children, his second, William was born in July 1805 in Leith.

Biographies of William Lowe Jr say that the Lowe family in Leith were descended from French Huguenots, and would love to know more about that too!

Any help would be appreciated

[ev]

hi boagh 

there are baptisms for a jean low(1797) and ann low(1800) south leith on the
IGI(familysearch beta) , parents william low and margaret steill
also william low born 20th july 1802 , baptism 25th july 1802 , south leith midlothian , parents william low and margaret steill

marriage william low and margaret steill 25th oct. 1796 south leith midlothian
brides fathers name thomas steill

ev

[CoJac32]

Hi Boag,

I have just signed up on RootsChat so hope this finds you since it is five years since you posted your question.  I too, am seeking information on William and Margaret Lowe of Leith in Scotland and their descendants.  I am researching the life of their second son, also called William Lowe who built the first ocean-going steamship in Australia for my PhD.  He was my great-great grandfather.  I am very keen to find any other descendants of (son) William Lowe - there must be some others because he had 14 children!  My mother's maiden name was Lowe. 
Any information would be very much appreciated!

[robinklowe]

My grandfather is a William James Lowe, born in Edinburgh in 1865.  According to my Uncle's notes that I have just come across, he was born into a large family of mostly boys and his father was a shipbuilder in Glasgow.  This may be a shot in the dark, but this may be a piece of a puzzle.
My grandfather was an employee of the White star line, immigrated to America, married in Iowa and eventually moved to Florida around 1919. He passed in 1949.

[Forfarian]

Your grandfather's birth certificate will be available to view at www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk. You need to buy credits and use some of them to view it. It will cost less than a cup of coffee.

It will tell you the full names oh his parents, his father's occupation and the date and place of their marriage.

[MonicaL]

Hi Robin

Welcome to RootsChat 

Have any of the family researchers got copies of William's marriage or death registrations?

This was his marriage to Rose from what you have www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XJQD-C57

He is pretty well documented in the US isn't he. Unfortunately, I can't his naturalization application which would have been useful to see for his birth details he gave. Looks to have happened between 1920-30 censuses.

I haven't yet seen his entry for 1910 but census records easy to find from 1920-40.

His occupation is showing on the census entries as that of a cabinet maker.

He gave his immigration year as 1908. Have you had any luck finding his shipping manifest entry?

You mention he was also a musician earlier in his life? www.wikitree.com/wiki/Lowe-9432

Monica

[MonicaL]

1910 census entry just after his marriage to Rose here www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:ML1R-F3L

Showing as born in England on this, but everything else matches for him. Still giving 1908 as his immigration year.

Monica

[robinklowe]

I have both marriage certificate to Rose, as well as a newspaper clipping. Apparently, it was quite the to-do. He was a musician and they were married at the Dubuque Opera House after a performance of Carmen. The owner requested the audience stay after the performance and the Mayor's wife hosted the celebration afterward. 

The marriage was Feb 12, 1910. One bit of unusualness - On the marriage certificate, he lists his age as 32, which puts his birth year as 1878. 

My sister has arrival records of him and a supposed brother named Leonard coming into Philadelphia in 1908.

He died in Bradenton Florida on Christmas day 1949. Headstone says 1865-1949. The census figures all show different birth years as well. He definitely was a carpenter - we have a couple of chairs that he had made.  My Uncle's notes match up to that. My issue is trying to find anything pre-US arrival. that I can match up. I also have a few cousins that have tried as well.   

[MonicaL]

My sister has arrival records of him and a supposed brother named Leonard coming into Philadelphia in 1908.

Don't think that is the correct shipping manifest for William James unfortunately. The Leonard you mention was Leonard Samuel Lowe born in 1886 in Birminham England. Looking at the 1901 English census, he did have a big brother William J (William Jonah Lowe) but he was born c. 1883. See www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XSZ8-CKX

He is well documented in the US after his arrival in 1908.

Monica