History of Butler County, Pennsylvania, 1895



Walter  Lowrie Biography

HON. WALTER LOWRIE was one of the most distinguished sons of Butler county, and none of her citizens has ever attained greater eminence or labored in a broader field. He was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, December 10, 1784, and came to the United States with his parents, John and Catherine (Cameron) Lowrie, in 1792. The family settled in Huntingdon county, Pennsylvania, whence they removed to what is now Allegheny township, Butler county, in 1797. Here his parents spent the remaining years of their lives, his mother dying in 1837 and his father in 1840. Their children were as follows; Matthew B., who removed to Pittsburg, became quite a prominent man of that city, and served as mayor several terms; Walter; John L.; Ann, who married Andrew Porter; Elizabeth, who.first married John Stevens, and after his death Robert S. Whann; Jane, who became the wife of William Porterfield, and Catherine, who married Andrew McCaslin.

John Lowrie, Sr., owned a farm and a grist and saw mill, and was one of the prosperous citizens of the county. He was among the founders of Scrubgrass Presbyterian church in Venango county, and a man of sturdy character, excellent moral traits and high mental qualities. After clearing up and living upon his farm for about forty years, he there' died, and is buried in Scrubgrass Presbyterian cemetery.

The subject of this sketch was reared upon his father's farm, and his primary education consisted of an occasional term at a subscription school' and home instruction of winter nights. His parents being devout Presbyterians, Walter was carefully trained in that faith, and at an early age entered upon a course of study with the ministry in view, and pursued the Latin, Greek and Hebrew languages under Rev. John McPherrin In 1807 he cane to Butler to engage in teaching, was soon after appointed clerk in the commissioner's office, was later elected a member of the board, and also filled the office of justice of the peace, thus commencing a public career that lasted continuously for nearly thirty years. In the meantime himself and brother, Matthew B., opened a store in Butler, but his public duties gave him little opportunity to devote to the business, which was conducted principally by clerks. In 1811 he was elected on the Democratic ticket to the legislature, and the following year to the State Senate. He was re-elected to the latter, and served in that body seven years.

In 1818, while still a member of the State Senate, he was elected to the United States Senate, and served in that body with ability and distinction for six years. This period was one of great interest in the history of our country. Such distinguished men as Webster, Clay, Calhoun, Randolph and Benton were members of the Senate, and among those eminent statesmen Walter` Lowrie occupied a position of honorable prominence. His stanch integrity won their confidence, while his practical judgment led them to seek his advice and rely upon his opinions. He was regarded by the senators who knew him best as an authority upon all questions of political history and constitutional law.

During the discussion of the celebrated Missouri Compromise, he made a speech of great power and force of argument, in which he took strong grounds against the extension of slavery, and uttered a vigorous protest against the establishment of slave labor upon a single foot of free territory. His influence in the Senate was not only that of a statesman, but also of a christian. He was one of the founders of the Congressional Prayer Meeting, as well as of the Congressional Temperance Society.

For a long time he was a-member of the executive committee of the American Colonization Society, also of the Senate committee on Indian affairs. At the expiration of his senatorial term, in March, 1825, he was elected secretary of the Senate, an office he held for twelve years, resigning it in 1836;(to become secretary of the Presbyterian Board of Foreign Missions, which, under his vigorous and sagacious policy, was built up from an obscure institution to its subsequent importance and prosperity. He brought to his new field of action the same strength of mind and earnestness of purpose that had characterized his previous career, and became the efficient head of a great missionary work. His labors only terminated with his death, which occurred in New York City, December 14, 1868.

Senator Lowrie was twice married. His first marriage occurred in 1808, to Amelia McPherrin, a daughter of Rev. John McPherrin, his preceptor, and one of the founders of Presbyterianism in Butler county. She,died in 111:32, and he afterwards married Mary K. Childs. The children of his first marriage were as follows : John C.; Matthew S., an early member of the Butler bar; Mary, who married Samuel Baird, a merchant of Pittsburg; Eliza; Walter M.; Jonathan Roberts, a well remembered attorney of Hollidaysburg; Reuben M., and Henry M., all of whom are dead except the eldest. John C., Walter M., and Reuben P., became zealous missionaries of the Presbyterian church. Reuben M fell a victim to overwork in the enervating climate of China, and Walter M. was murdered by Chinese pirates, August 19, 1847.

Rev. John C. Lowrie, D. D., the only survivor of the family, spent two years on missionary work in India, then returned to New York and was appointed assistant to his father in the office of the Board of Foreign Missions. On the death of the latter he succeeded him as secretary, which position he has filled continuously for the past twenty-eight years.

In resigning the secretaryship of the United States Senate, and accepting that of the Board of Foreign Missions, Senator Lowrie exhibited a rare example of obedience to the dictates of duty. He relinquished a home surrounded by every comfort, a position of ease and large emolument, the society of a wide circle of eminent men, with whom he was on terms of the closest intimacy, for a life in humble quarters, in a city with which he was unfamiliar and to assume an arduous position, the remuneration of which was scarcely sufficient to sustain him.

Notwithstanding his many and varied talents, he was a modest and unassuming gentleman, whose public career was marked by the same rigid morals and principles that guided his private life.


Source: History of Butler County, Pennsylvania; Brown & Co; 1895












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