‘Family Crest’ FAIL

This site http://www.houseofnames.com/xq/asp.fc/qx/lowndes-family-crest.htm perports to give you an accurate family history, but for Lowndes at least there are many errors and I do not recommend it. 

The Arms are incorrect (and frankly odd). The description suggests that the family came to England with the Norman Conquest, but then states that the name Lowndes has an Old English derivation! Such a basic mistake is worth a giggle, but little else. 

I’ve yet to find one of these companies that cares enough to get it right (or as right as we can get). I recommend anyone after a ‘crest’ creates one from the freely available images on my site, or employs a professional Heraldic expert.

Lowndes Roll

The Lowndes Roll is now online for your perusal at

http://www.mikelowndes.net/lowndes-roll/

Archive number D\LO\5\12 .  The Pedigree was comissioned/created by a member of the Selby-Lowndes family in 1862 and bought by the Archive in 1957. The Lowndes archive is catalogued in the National Archives, here

http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/a2a/records.aspx?cat=008-lowndes&cid=5-8#5-8

You will quickly see that it is far from finished. Though the main lines are present, many details are noted in pencil and some colouring remains incomplete.

The Pedigree and other things in the Ayelsbury archive relate to the Chesham branch of the family who arrived c.16th. It also concerns the Winslow branch of the family, and subsequently Lowndes-Stone of Brightwell Park, Oxfordshire. There’s plenty more in the archive I may return to, including a collection of C18th recipies, and documents recording the building of the Lowndes estate in Knightsbridge, London – by Thomas Cubitt (1788-1855), when this was a ‘green field’ area.

A related pedigree:
http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/a2a/records.aspx?cat=008-dx501600&cid=71#71
Another pedigree:
http://seax.essexcc.gov.uk/result_details.asp?DocID=908500

Lowndes pedigree

Finally on my way to Aylesbry Record Centre today, hopefully to photograph the Lowndes Family Roll:

• Pedigree of the Lowndes family, 1066-1862.  D-LO/5/12 1066-1862

May take me some time to get it on the site, though!

The raw image files will be quite large (8MP camera), so if anyone would like to donate some online  disk space, please let me know.

Facebook Lowndes

There are now a couple of Facebook Groups about the Lowndes family – want to find our who’s there? Get a FaceBook account and go see.

Lowndes – The Surname

Team Lowndes

Mayrinck Lowndes and scandal in C19th Brazil

From the New York TImes (PDF doc):

http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?_r=1&res=9903E5DD173EEF33A25756C1A9669D94629ED7CF&oref=slogin

From Patricia Johnson, Louisiana, USA

I am descended from Samuel Pleasant Lownds/Lowndes/Lownes born 13 July 1816 supposedly in Virginia, possibly Red Bank.

He married on 29 Sept 1844 to a Julia C. born in Alabama.  Samuel died 7 January 1903 in Village Springs, Alabama, a town which no longer is on the map.

In one census record he is listed as a buggy maker.  They had at least one child, Mary Emma Lownes born 12 Oct 1845 in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.  She first married William Henry Sanborn and they were supposedly divorced.  He died as the result of a shooting accident so he might have died instead of their being divorced.

Mary Emma did marry a second time to a David Arrowsmith and was living in New York City in 1880 census.  She died 28 Aug 1928.

My ancestor is a daughter of Mary Emma and William Sanborn.

In the (USA) Lowndes family history, I found mention of a Samuel Pleasants Lowndes, the son of Caleb and Jane (Steel), who was the son of James & Sarah (Pancoast) Lowndes.

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Patricia would appreciate any light anyone could shed on this family and if her Samuel is the same Samuel as in the USA Lowndes narrative – Mike

from Sol Norton

FLORENCE NORTON,  born 1871 Auckland, died 1923 England (Probably Buckinghamshire) widow of lord Edwin Abercromby Dashwood, 8th Baronet of West Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, married Colonel WILLIAM SELBY-LOWNDES, JP, born 1871 of Selby House, Bletchley, B’hamshire in 1894.

After his death she married, in 1910, ALFRED RONALD GILBEY, son of Alfred Gilbey of Wooburn House, B’hamshire.

Sol’s question is, if anyone has any information on her daughter of her first marriage, Florence Emily Dashwood born 1890?

In my papers drawn up by a relative in NZ there is a Diana Selby-Lowndes, born 1909. Is she a daughter or daughter-in-law?

Thank you in advance.

Cheers,

Sol Norton

andysol@bigpond.net.au

From Arturo Lowndes – Argentina

The situation we lived these last 2 months is as follows:
We have a berry farm in the middle of the forest 4 miles north of Trevelin, Argentina and 2 months ago we were lucky that the fire department was able to control one of the largest forest fires in the last 20 years only 300 yds north of our home. When the wind blew we had black ashes. The next thing that happened was that a volcano which has been dormant for aprox. nine thousand years located across the border in Chile (aprox. 60 miles west of us) exploded and started to spew ashes into the air.

The column of ashes reached 70.000 feet.The prevailing winds bring the ashes in our direction and the fall out for 15 days covered the ground in light grey silica, We had an acuumulation of 3 inches.The ashes even reached the city of Buenos Aires one thousand four hundred miles north of Trevelin. On top of that it snowed 5 inches .Now that the snow is melting and when the wind blows we have white ashes and sulphur smelling talcum powder even in our pockets. The melt off of the snow has carried ashes into the river Percy which runs below our farm and has filled the river bed so that the river is starting to flood the surroundings.

As all airline flights are cancelled we plan on leaving by car as soon as the roads are opened. Photos are available on Internet by calling up Chaiten which is the name of the volcano. As in Egypt; three down and four more plagues to go. We are in good health as we had dust masks in stock for fumigating the fruit and our water source is artesian and has not been contaminated.

We will see what happens to our berry crop in November as the sulphur content raises the acidity of the soil which may be good for the rasberries. currants and gooseberries but may mess up the cherries. Luckily we had sufficient water to wash down the roofs of the buildings and the only roof which caved in with the weight of the ashes plus snow was the wood shed. The good news is that they tell me it makes your hair grow and I am expectant that at 70 I may get something back on my fly airport (bald head) although I unknowingly kept a hat on everytime I ventured outside. The other good news was that as we had to stay inside I was able to record with my organ another Musical CD of jazzed up church hymns that I hope will be sold as well as the first one (up to now 800 copies) Anyone wanting a copy please contact me by mail at arturolowndes@gmail.com

Regards
Rosa and Arthur Lowndes

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Arturo is a wonderful and fascinating person to know. I will be posting up his family tree research shortly, to the Lowndes online archive. They’ve been through a lot and seem to be holding up very well. One day I aim to eat some of his raspberries. – Mike

Cheshire Lowndes – from Robert Leigh

The names that appear in my Lowndes family tree are

Randle Lowndes also spelt Lounds who died in Moulton, Cheshire in 1704, his son

Roger Lowndes also spelt Lounds who died in Moulton, Cheshire in 1712 and

Thomas Lowndes spelt Lownds who died in 1686 in Moulton, Cheshire who is the father of Randle Lowndes and grandfather of Roger Lowndes.

I know that certain christian names in families are passed down from generation to generation because i have seen Randle, Roger and Thomas mentioned in the Lowndes of Overton family and wondered if my Lowndes family branch could be connected, I know from their Wills that they were classed as Yeoman.

Catherine Lowndes daughter of Richard Lowndes (spelt Lounds) married Samuel Fluitt in 1698 in Frodsham, Cheshire and when Samuel Fluitt died in 1718 he is classed as a Gentleman in his will so must have been doing well.

I wondered if you have come across these Lowndes family members in your research who lived in the Moulton and Davenham areas of Cheshire.

Below is my direct family tree to the Lowndes family:

10 x great Grandfather Thomas Lowndes died 1686 Moulton, Cheshire

9 x great Grandfather Randle Lowndes died 1704 Moulton, Cheshire

8 x great Grandmother Catherine Lowndes (her christening should be recorded at St Wilfred Church, Davenham, which was the main church for Moulton) married Samuel Fluitt

7 x great Grandfather Randle Fluitt ch 1699 Frodsham, Cheshire married Ann Fulwood

6 x great Grandmother Ann Fluitt ch 1726 Frodsham, Cheshire married John Earl

5 x great Grandmother Catherine Fluitt Earl ch 1759 Frodsham, Cheshire married Thomas Pownall

4 x great Grandmother Maria Pownall ch 1788 Manchester, Lancashire married William Gough

3 x great Grandmother Maria Gough ch 1830 Stockport, Cheshire married James Dean

2 x great Grandmother Elizabeth Dean born 1852 Stockport, Cheshire married James Whittaker

Great Grandmother Sarah Ellen Whittaker born 1873 Stockport, Cheshire married Joseph Leigh

Grandfather James Leigh born 1909 Stockport, Cheshire married Ann Howard

Father James Leigh born 1930 Stockport, Cheshire married Joyce Wallace

Robert Leigh born 1962 married Sheila Mooney

from Lois Kay (nee Lowndes)

I have had a long interest in family background and only recently had the time to investigate. I discovered your website and have come to the conclusion that I am a descendant of the Overton Lowndes line.

My father was Bertie Alfred Lowndes, his father William Edward Lowndes (Master Mariner) born in New Plymouth, New Zealand and his father was Joseph Lowndes noted as a “Dealer”. This information is from the Marriage Certificate of William Edward Lowndes to Madeline Green 6 March 1899 in Auckland, New Zealand. My birth name was Lois Madeline Lowndes.

I was interested to read Ngaire’s note at the end of the commentary as it would be some 47 years since I saw Ngaire (probably apart from her father’s service in 1997).

Ngaire’s father Roy Lowndes and her uncle Noble Lowndes were cousins to my father. From memory they also had a brother Len.

I would be so pleased to receive any information you may have on my Great Grandfather, Joseph Lowndes. Joseph’s Mother’s name was Catherine Agnes Spears. Actually it looks more like Afnes but is probably Agnes.

Lois Kay (nee Lowndes)

Auckland, New Zealand

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Lois is happy for anyone to contact her about NZ lowndes – just comment on this post! – Mike