This page is devoted to the Lowe ancestors of, James R. Lowe, the host of the main Lowe - Robson family web site.

Father: Howard DeLyle Lowe
Mother: Marie Eloise Robson

Howard D. Lowe was born December 4, 1916, in Warren, Pennsylvania.  He married my mother Marie Eloise Robson on January 22, 1938.  They were divorced in the Spring of 1951.  He subsequently married Geraldine Woodrum of Seth, West Virginia, circa 1952.  They had two children, my half-sister and half-brother, Cathy and Charles, both of whom were probably born in the mid-to-late 1950's.  This picture shows my father in his army uniform.  It was taken in 1945, when he was 28 years old.  My father died on May 6, 1989, in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, where he resided with his third wife, Peggy.  Further details regarding my mother are found on the page devoted to currently living family members.

Grandfather: Ralph DeLyle Lowe
Grandmother: Lillian Twyla Olson

My grandfather Lowe was born April 2, 1893, on a farm on Measer Hill near Spring Creek, Pennsylvania.  He was married in 1914 to Lillian Olson of Warren, Pennsylvania.  My grandmother Lowe is believed to have been born in 1895.  It is possible (although unknown to me) that this is their wedding picture.  They had three sons, my father, Howard Lowe, and his two younger brothers, Kenneth (May 30, 1918 - ??) and Ralph, Jr. (August 26, 1925 - ??).  I currently have little information about my Grandmother Lowe's family.  However, I have always understood that both of her parents were born in Sweden.  My Grandmother Lowe died ? (circa 1960).  My grandfather Lowe died ? (circa 1962).

Great-Grandfather: Charles Lowe
Great-Grandmother: Lillian Violet Stranahan

Charles Lowe was born October 20, 1860, on a farm on Baker Hill, between Corry and Spring Creek, Pennsylvania.  He married my great-grandmother in 1882 or 1883.  They had five children, the youngest of which was my grandfather Ralph D. Lowe.  Charles Lowe died February 24, 1927. He is buried in the Spring Creek Cemetery.

This picture was taken in 1901 at the Lowe Family Reunion.  Take a look at the larger version.  My great-grandmother, Lillian (Stranahan) Lowe is the lady on the far right end of the front row.  The little boy in the second row, just above the letter "R," is my grandfather, Ralph D. Lowe, at the age of 8.

Great-Great-Grandfather: Moses F. Lowe
Great-Great-Grandmother: Phoebe Hewitt

Moses F. Lowe was born December 30, 1820, in Sherburne, New York.  Phoebe Hewitt was born August 3, 1825.  They married sometime before 1856.  Moses and Phoebe Lowe had 11 children, the 8th of which was my great-grandfather Charles Lowe.  Phoebe Lowe died January 9, 1881, at Baker's Hill near Spring Creek, Pennsylvania, at the age of 55.  Moses Lowe subsequently married Sophia Madison, of whom nothing is known.  He died August 19, 1886, in Pine Valley, Pennsylvania, at the age of 65.  It is not known when this picture of Moses Lowe was taken, but it is likely to have been in the early to mid-1880s.  Moses and Pheobe are buried in David Curtis Cemetery, Columbus, Pennsylvania.

Moses is said to have added the final "e" to the family name.  He was engaged in shipping freight on the river barges of his day and he added the "e" to distinguish himself and his freight from that of the other Lows.  It was he who moved his Lowe family to Warren County, Pennsylvania.

Great-Great-Great-Grandfather: Tunis Low
Great-Great-Great-Grandmother: Abigail Avery
Tunis Low was born October ll, 1783 and lived in Sherburne, New York.  Abigail Avery was born in 1782.  They were probably married circa 1799, as the first of 13 children was born in 1800.  My great-great-grandfather Moses Lowe was the 8th. Tunis Low died February 24, 1843, in Sherburne, and is buried there in the East Hill Cemetery.  Abigail Low is buried beside a son in the Curtis Cemetery, at Columbus, Pennsylvania.

Great-Great-Great-Great-Grandfather: Thomas Low
Great-Great-Great-Great-Grandmother: Charity (Gerrtje/Geertrui) Vosburgh

Thomas Low was born February 6, 1755.  He was a weaver by trade.  He married Charity Vosburgh, June 15, 1777, in the First Dutch Reformed Church, Albany, New York.  They had five children: Tunis, Woodbeck, John, Charity, and Polly.  In 1790, Thomas and Charity resided in Watervliet, Albany County, New York.  By 1800 the family had moved to Brookfield, Chenango County, New York.  They moved to Columbus Town, Chenango County by 1810.  He died August 16, 1819 and is buried at East Hill Burying Ground, Sherburne, New York.

Charity Vosburgh was born October 22, 1758, and was baptized two months later (December 17) at The Flats, Rhinebeck, Dutchess County, New York, her sponsors being Evert Knickkerbakker (her maternal grandfather) and Dorothea Vosburgh.  She died November 5, 1820, at Columbus Town, Chenango County, New York, and is also buried at Sherburne East Hill Burying Ground.  It is through Charity Vosburgh and her mother, Cornelia Knickerbocker, that so many of us Lowe's can assert relationship to President Theodore Roosevelt.  The T. R. and Me page sets forth the details.  Another connection, through Charity Vosburgh and her great-grandmother, Lysbet Janse Bogaert, establishes my relationship to the actor Humphrey Bogart.  The Here's Looking At Me? page sets forth the details.

Five Greats-Grandfather: Teunis Louw
Five Greats-Grandmother: Maake/Maayke ("Mary") Hall
Teunis Louw (Lowe) was the eighth and last child of Jan "John" Low and Jannetie Corsen.  He was baptized April 3, 1728, in Harlngen, Somerset, New Jersey.  He married Maake/Maayke Hall circa 1752 and they had three children, the middle one of which was Thomas Low.

Six Greats-Grandfather: Jan "John" Cortright Low
Six Greats-Grandmother: Jannetie Corsen
Jan "John" Laurensze Low, the fifth of ten children, was baptized April 29, 1685 in New York City.  He moved near Readington, New Jersey, in Amwell Township, Hunterdon County, where he was the deacon of the Reformed Church of Readington.  His will was probated May 30, 1729.  On June 20, 1707, he was married to Jannetie "Yannaca" Corsen (baptized May 22, 1687 - ), the daughter of Jan Corszen (1650 - 1703) and Metje Theunis Cray (1650 - ).  They had eight children, the last of which was Teunis.

Seven Greats-Grandfather: Laurens Jansen (Louw)(Cortright)
Seven Greats-Grandmother: Mary Roosa
Laurens/Louwerens Jansen was born in 1651, in Leerdam, Gelderland, Netherlands.  On November 1, 1672, Laurens married Mary (Mareitje)Roosa.  Their descendants used the patronymic of his name: Louwrens>Louwe>Louw>Low>Lowe.  He and Mary became the parents of ten children, the fifth of whom was Jan "John" Cortright.  On September 25, 1669, Nicholas de Meyer sold two farms to the brothers Cornelis and Laurens and Cornelis leased his share to Laurens.  His share of the land was the foundation of an ample estate he acquired.  In 1677 he was elected as an overseer.  In 1727 Laurens Jansen died, in Harlem, and his land subsequently descended to his son Albert Low of Somerset County, New Jersey, who released it to his brother Laurens in 1731.

Mary (Mareitje/Maritje) Roosa was born in 1652 in Herwynen, Gelderland, Holland, the daughter of Aldert Heymans Roosa and Wyntje Ariens\Ariense de Jong(h), later of Esopus, New York.  She died in Marbletown, Ulster County., New York.

Eight Greats-Grandfather: Jan Bastiansen Kortrijk
Eight Greats-Grandmother: Iolanta De La Montagne/Annetje Cornelis (?)
Jan Bastiansen/Bastiaensen Kortrijk/Kortregt/Kortryk/Kortrik/Courtwright was born in 1618, in Leerdam, Gelderland, South Holland.  He settled at Beest (Beesd), near Leerdam.  He embarked for New Amsterdam (New York) with his brother Michael (Michiel) and their respective families April 16, 1663, on the ship "De Bonte Koe (The Spotted Cow)," Jan Bergen, Master.  (This was 43 years after the Mayflower landed at Plymouth Rock and one year before Peter Stuyvesant surrendered to English forces and New Amsterdam was renamed New York.)  Each adult was charged 39 florins, children under ten, except infants, half price.  It cost Jan Bastiansen for the transportation of himself, his wife and children 204 florins, 10 stivers.  They first settled upon Governor Stuyvesant's bouwery, but subsequently moved to Harlem.  A history book on New York Belgian settlers says that Jan and Michiel were Walloons, that is members of a group of people living in southern Belgium who traditionally spoke a dialect of French called Walloon, in contrast to the Dutch-speaking Flemings of the northern provinces.

All the Kortright or Courtright families of New York and New Jersey are descended from these two brothers.  Another account suggests that Jan may have been the "Kortryck" who owned a bouwery on Staten Island in 1674.  He spent part of his time at Harlem, but is last mentioned there January 8, 1677, when he was a witness to a power of attorney given his old friend, Jan Louwe Bogert to Hendrick Jansen Baker, to collect money due Bogert on Brooklyn property sold to Thomas Lamberts.  He had four children, the third of which was Laurens Jansen, who was 12 years old when he sailed for America.  Jan Bastiansen Kortrijk died after 1677 probably in New York.

According to many accounts, he was married (circa 1640 - 1645) to Iolanta/Jolant/Jolanta/Yolanta De La Montagne, in Beest, Holland.  However, this is not well documented and another line of compelling research indicates that a woman named Annetje Cornelis is the more likely candidate. See the separate who was Jan's Wife? page for the details.

Nine Greats-Grandfather: Sebastian Van Kortryk
Nine Greats-Grandmother:
(Se)Bastian/Bastiaen Van Kortryk/Kortrijk was born in 1586 in Kortrijk, West Flanders, Belgium.  He emigrated to the Netherlands about 1615 and settled at the town of Leerdam.  The name of his wife is presently unknown, although one source suggests a marriage about 1617 in Zuid Province, Leerdam, Holland.  They had at least three children, one of whom was Jan Bastiansen Kortrijk.  Kortrijk, a Flemish town on the river Lys, gave its name to the family.  The ancestors of the family are said to have been Protestants, of Flanders.  There is an excellent online source for those pursuing Kortrijk family research.

Ten Greats-Grandfather: Sebastian y Cortez (?)
Ten Greats-Grandmother:
Most sources end with a question mark regarding any lineage prior to Sebastian Van Kortryk, devolving instead into the origin of the Bastian/Bastin surname generally.  The most persuasive evidence suggests a German origin, originally an ethnic name meaning "man from Sebastia."  Some sources, however, suggest a Spanish connection and that Sebastian y Cortez, born about 1560 in Navarre, Spain, was the father of Sebastian Van Kortryk.  He is said to have married (September 24, 1579) a descendent of the Castillo family, in the church of Nuestra Senora De La Asuncion, Fustinana, Navarre, Spain, later moving to West Flanders, Belgium, Spanish Netherlands.