Nicholas Low

Nicholas Low (March 30, 1739 – November 15, 1826) was an American merchant and developer from New York City. He developed properties in upstate New York, including Lowville (in Lewis County) which was named for him.[1]

Nicholas Low
Member of the New York State Assembly
In office
July 1, 1787 – June 30, 1789
Personal details
Born(1739-03-30)30 March 1739
Piscataway, Province of New Jersey, British America
Died15 November 1826(1826-11-15) (aged 87)
New York City, New York, U.S.
Political partyFederalist
Spouse
Alice Halliburton
​
​
(died 1818)​
Parent(s)Cornelius Low Jr.
Johanna Gouverneur
RelativesIssac Low (brother)
Charles King (son-in-law)
Mary Alsop King (granddaughter)
OccupationMerchant

Early life

Nicholas Low was born in the Raritan Landing section of Piscataway Township, Middlesex County, New Jersey and was the younger brother of Isaac Low.[2] Low's family was descended from German, Dutch and French Huguenot settlers.[3][4] Their father, Cornelius Low Jr., was a well-established merchant and shipper who had brought prominence to the community of Raritan Landing. The elder Low also had built the Cornelius Low House, a magnificent 1741 Georgian mansion.[5]

Career

Like his brother, Nicholas became a prominent merchant (Low & Wallace) in New York before the revolution. Unlike Isaac, he remained a supporter of the rebel cause during the American Revolution.

Low became active in civic and state affairs for a decade. A power vacuum was created in the city when the Loyalist population, including his brother Isaac, left with the British Army evacuated in 1783.

Nicholas served in the New York State Assembly from 1787 to 1789 as part of the 11th[lower-alpha 1] and 11th New York State Legislatures.[lower-alpha 2] He attended the state's 1788 convention that ratified the United States Constitution.[6]

In the turmoil that followed the revolution, Low acquired several large tracts of land in upstate New York. At first these were purchased as speculations, but Low turned his attention to their development. He laid out townsites and divided his holdings to sell both land and lots. He is particularly tied with the early development of the City of Watertown and the Town of Lowville.

Later life

In later years, Low turned his attention to developing his own properties. He built the Sans Souci hotel and factories in the Town of Ballston (Saratoga County). Low Street in Ballston Spa is named after him.[7]

Personal life

Late in life, Nicholas married Alice Halliburton (d. 1818). Together, the couple had three children:[8]

Low died in 1826 at his home in New York City.[12]

Descendants

Through his daughter Henrietta,[13] he was the grandfather of Anne Johnstone King (1827–1891); Cornelius Low King (1829–1893), who married Julia Ellen Lawrence (1832–1862), and later, Janet De Kay (1839–1896); Henrietta Low King (b. 1833); Gertrude Wallace King (b. 1836); Mary Alsop King (1839–1894), who became a writer and who married William Henry Waddington (1826–1894); and Augustus Fleming King (1841–1862), who died during the Civil War.[14]

References
Notes
  1. As a member of the 11th New York State Legislature, he represented New York County alongside Evert Bancker, Nicholas Bayard, David Brooks, Richard Harison, Daniel Nivin, Comfort Sands, Richard Varick, and Gulian Verplanck.[6]
  2. As a member of the 12th New York State Legislature, he represented New York County alongside William W. Gilbert, Richard Harison, Nicholas Hoffman, Henry Brockholst Livingston, Alexander Macomb, Comfort Sands, Gulian Verplanck, and John Watts Jr.[6]
Sources
  1. Gannett, Henry (1905). The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States. U.S. Government Printing Office. p. 191.
  2. Finding aid for Nicholas Low Collection, 1776-1863, William L. Clements Library of the University of Michigan. Accessed November 24, 2013. "Nicholas Low was born in Raritan Landing, New Jersey, on March 30, 1739, the son of Cornelius Low, Jr., and Johanna Gouverneur."
  3. Ingham, John N. (1983). Biographical Dictionary of American Business Leaders. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 826. ISBN 9780313213625. Retrieved 20 June 2018.
  4. "Nicholas Low papers, 1773-1897". www.loc.gov. The Library of Congress. Retrieved 20 June 2018.
  5. "Cornelius Low House / Middlesex County Museum". Middlesex County, New Jersey. Archived from the original on 2008-10-16. Retrieved 2008-10-16. Cornelius Low was a leading citizen of Raritan Landing, a port community on the Raritan River in central New Jersey that flourished between 1720 and 1835.
  6. Hough, Franklin Benjamin (1858). The New York Civil List: Containing the names and origin of the civil divisions, and the names and dates of election or appointment of the principal state and county officers from the Revolution to the present time. Weed, Parsons and Co. p. 113. Retrieved 20 June 2018.
  7. Patrick, Sue C. (2000). "Low, Nicholas (1739-1826), merchant and speculator". American National Biography. Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/anb/9780198606697.article.1002149. ISBN 978-0-19-860669-7. Retrieved 20 June 2018.
  8. Hough, Franklin Benjamin (1860). A history of Lewis County, in the state of New York. Albany: Munsell & Rowland. pp. 135–137. Retrieved June 27, 2017.
  9. "Nicholas Low papers, 1781-1811 | Louisiana Research Collection". specialcollections.tulane.edu. Tulane University. Retrieved 20 June 2018.
  10. Assembly, New York (State) Legislature (1910). Documents of the Assembly of the State of New York. p. 75. Retrieved 20 June 2018.
  11. Hamm, Margherita A. (1917). "Famous Families of New York". usgwarchives.net. G. P. Putnam's Sons. Retrieved 21 February 2017.
  12. Nicholas Low Papers Supplement,1724-1828 (New-York Historical Society)
  13. Annual Report of the Secretary. Underhill Society of America. 1904. pp. 33–34. Retrieved 20 June 2018.
  14. "Augustus Fleming King | The Columbia University War Memorial". www.warmemorial.columbia.edu. Columbia University. Retrieved 21 February 2017.
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