Lowndes communications from around the world: maybe you can help or be helped?
This is now an archive page but you can comment on any of these letters.
Newest entry at the top:
John Towers – Ireland – May 2006
Lowndes of Ramsden Hall and Old House Green
…I have a number of family papers including a family tree that mostly confirm and in a few respects complements your researches…
I am descended on my mother’s side from William Lowndes and Elizabeth Hope through their eldest daughter Mary (sister of John Hope Lowndes) who married James Bury from Manchester and who may be a descendant of the Burys of Bury. James’ father also James was from Sabden, his father being the James Bury of Miller & Bury Ltd, cotton spinners and printers of cotton which in its hey day was a thriving manufacturing business in Sabden and seemingly a model industrial employer. James (of Sabden) was a committed Baptist churchman who established a Baptist chapel in the area.
The union of Mary and James (of Manchester) however was evidently not approved by William Lowndes who did not consider the younger James a suitable match for his eldest daughter. The Lowndes and Bury families already knew each other from the time when both lived in Everton Hill, Liverpool. Indeed another sister of Mary and John Hope Lowndes, Ellen Susanna Lowndes married Thomas Bury who may have been a brother of James (of Manchester) James Bury (of Manchester) it seems did not follow in his father’s footsteps and was seen as a ne’er do well by his father-in-law. As a result, she too lost out in her father’s will to her younger sister Elizabeth who married William Chaddock who added Lowndes to his name. Indeed Ellen Susanna being older than Elizabeth was passed over as well. One evident error in my family tree document is that John (Hope) Lowndes b 1799 is shown as having died in 1812 which clearly did not. One wonders if being ‘the black sheep’ was he effectively written out of the family history such that whoever compiled the family tree in my possession assumed that he must have died young?
James Bury and Mary Lowndes had five daughters and two sons. Their second daughter, Elizabeth Lowndes Bury, married Thomas Woodhouse. They had fourteen children. It was their fourth child, Thomas Vernon Woodhouse of Nottingham who was my great grandfather, his eldest daughter Florence Lucy Woodhouse being my mother’s mother. He founded the engineering firm of L. H. Woodhouse & Co. in Nottingham which until ca. 1997 was still in family hands. The family tree (a copy of which I have) is that of Thomas Woodhouse and Elizabeth Lowndes Bury – their ancestors and descendants including the Lowndes line back to Edward Lowndes d. 1608 and the Hope line back to John Hope of Hopefold, Astley Green, Lancashire in the early 1600s. Your research takes the Lowndes line further back.
The papers in my possession were compiled by Elizabeth Hope Goadby a granddaughter of Thomas Woodhouse and Elizabeth Lowndes Bury and a first cousin of my Woodhouse grand mother. She seems to have been the family historian and may have compiled or have had the family tree compiled. She consulted Burke’s peerage. She also records personal recollections of some of the family. She too evidently trod some of the paths that you trod to visit Lowndes’ grave sites and memorials in Astbury and surrounds. She also speculates that Edward Lowndes may have been a younger son of John Lowndes and Alice Rode but I think that your research rules out that possibility
The family tree however is poster size and the notes are carbon copies of a typed manuscript on foolscap so I will need a postal addresss to mail hard copies to you. Incidentally are you aware that Isabella Lowndes [1812-1835] (sister of Mary and John Hope Lowndes) reputedly a great beauty who died young, had married Andrew Bannerman and was related by marriage to the Prime Minister Sir Henry Campbell Bannerman who always kept a portrait of her at his home.
more from…
Ngaire Lowndes, New Zealand – Apr 2006
I’m a great-granddaughter of Joseph Lowndes (originally of Manchester) who emigrated to New Zealand in the 1880’s. (He’s incidentally also the great-grandfather of Terry Lowndes, a farmer in Cheshire). Joseph had several children, one of whom was my grandfather Frank Forbes Lowndes. Frank was born and raised in Gisborne, on the east coast of the North Island of New Zealand. He married Laura Louisa Wildish and they had six sons – Noble, Leonard, Sidney, Edward, Colin, and Roy (my father). Noble Lowndes came to the UK in the 1920’s and built up a very substantial insurance/pensions business with Colin and Roy’s help, hence Lowndes House (an office building) on Old Street, almost opposite Armoury House, in the City of London.
Monica Lowndes – Canada/Eduador – Nov 2005
I’m from Guayaquil – Ecuador but currently living in Toronto, Canada. In my country I was a Speech Therapist. My father’s name is Roy Lowndes and lives in Miami, FL. My uncles Otto, Jorge, Sophia and Walter (who passed away) Lowndes live in L.A, California. My grandfather Robert Lowndes known as “Kid Robert” was one of the best boxer in Ecuador in the late 40’s and 50’s.
My greatgranfather’s father also named Robert Lowndes was know as “El Gringo Robert” from England went to Ecuador with a Petrolium group to work at a camp and he’s wife was from Jamaica (I think her name was Santos). I’m divorced and have 1 daughter Monica Pezo Lowndes, I also have 3 brothers Danilo married Magdalena and two daughters Peggy and Glenda Lowndes, Ruben married to Jenny, 3 sons and 1 daughter Ruben Patricio, Ruben Danilo, Israel and Linda Lowndes and Roberto married to Cecilia 1 son Roberto and 2 daughters Cecilia and Tanya Lowndes they also live here in Toronto, Canada. He also has two sons in Ecuador Edwin and Roberto Lowndes.
Jay Lowndes – USA – Nov 2005
Is looking for contacts in Normandy, France, who may know something about the homeland in Normandy called Lounde.
Can anyone send a map of Lounde, some history of the area, and journal accounts of life there? Does anyone know a French geneologist who makes Lounde his or her specialty?
Of special interest (in this website) was the marriage of Guillaume Seigneur de Lounde to Hawyse, daughter of Maurice de Ogwell. Sounds like this could have happened in England after the Conquest, but maybe not. Maurice, I think, is a common French name. I noticed that one of their children, John de Lounde, served as standard bearer during the Norman campaign of 1098. Appendix 1: “Family Of Lowndes 1066-1350” from A Cheshire Family – Lowndes of Overton became a memorable high point of my life when I first made the discovery. The appendix refers to our common ancestor as “one of the nobles who accompanied the Conqueror.” Normally, would a member of the French nobility serve as a Norman standard bearer? Since the Conqueror’s French name is Guillaume Seigneur de Normandie, would I be wrong to infer that the first Lowndes was top dog of a French homeland of some sort called Lounde?
I am descended from James and Katherine Lowndes of (Nether) Arthurlie, now part of Barrhead, Scotland. In Appendix 4 “Lowndes of Arthurlie and Rio”, James shows up as son to Matthew of Arthurlie and appears all the way to the right near the book’s spine. As far as heraldry goes, James and Katherine constitute impalement of Lowndes and Taylor. Does this mean that theirs was an extraordinary love affair? (Attached is a photo of the crest on top of James and Katherine’s tomb in Paisley Abbey.) We have yet to find a clear image in full color like on your website. (Attached is a drawing made by one of the great grandkids from Chinese Export [probably Lowestoft] porcelain from Arthurlie.) Maybe there was bad blood between Scotland and London while James & Katherine were living. Could it be that their pedigrees were never registered in the official records of the College of Arms? The college’s website says it will accept an application even now for a grant of arms.
What are we going to do about the gap between 1350 and 1500?
Michael Gandy, a member of The Association of Genealogists and Record Agents in London, has been a great help to me over the years. He put together the pedigree from my grandfather to James. Early on, he linked my line to the first Lowndes by using founder’s kin. Turns out that Katherine claimed founder’s kinship to Agnes, sister to William of Wykeham, Bishop of Winchester and Chancellor of England. In the fourteenth century, he founded Winchester College and New College, Oxford. Gandy trusted that, through William of Wykeham, we connect by inference to “the great figures of English medieval history” at the very least by the “ramifications of cousinship.” Neat trick. The association has a whole roster of vetted scholars who have agreed to uphold a detailed Code of Practice. Perhaps we “lownzies” could chip in toward filling the infamous gap. Good idea Jay.. I wish I had time. Anyone prepared to take up the challange? – Mike
Looks like we have a good chance of filling the gap. The family of Henry Hassall, Lord of Hassall, breezed right over it. A pedigree in The History of The Ancient Parish of Sandbach by J. P. Earwaker (Library of Congress, DA 690 S195 E3, Item ID #00017207866) shows William Hassall (1567), son of William Hassall (1540), son of Richard Hassall (1520), son of Ralph Hassall (1491), son of Hugh Hassall (1471), son of Robert Hassall (1469), son of Richard Hassall (1449), son of John Hassall (1422), son of Robert Hassall (1373), son of Richard Hassall (1344). No sweat. Among their sources were Booth’s Pedigrees; Harl. MS 2,161, f. 257; Harl. MS 1,535; Cheshire Plea Rolls and Recognizance Rolls; Sandbach and Audlem Registers. What do you say?
While still in England, my grandfather, Charles James Edward Lowndes, landed a job with the London-based Cedar Valley Land and Cattle Company, which owned the T-Anchor Ranch in the Texas Panhandle. After leaving his home in Liverpool, he landed at the Port of Galveston in 1885 and traveled to the company’s office in Kansas City. After meeting the folks in the office, Grandad rode a train to Trinidad, Colorado, bought a horse, and rode all the way to the ranch headquarters, a log cabin on the Prairie Dog Town Fork of the Red River. (Recently, the Texas State Historical Society designated the log cabin as a state historical landmark and moved it to the grounds of its museum and library on the panhandle campus of Texas Tech University.) When Randall County was organized and county taxes drove Cedar Valley out of business, grandfather helped found the city of Amarillo, where I was born, and made his career at its First National Bank.
There is now more here: The T-Anchor Lowndes of Arthurlie
Tony Cairns – New Zealand – Jul 2005
Can anyone help Tony locate this document?
| Collection | COMPTON BISHOP |
| Repository | Somerset Record Office |
| Level | Item |
| RefNo | A\ABY/2 |
| Title | Typescript of information extracted from the Somerset estate book of Hugh Dalton Lowndes of Binfield, Berkshire, concerning an estate at Compton Bishop, in the ownership of his family from 1756 to 1841, including rent account, 1828-1841, and Lowndes family tree, 1682-1844, showing line of descent of the Compton Bishop estate. |
| Date | 1682-1844 |
| Extent | 7 |
| Format | documents |
| AccessStatus | Open |
Melissa Billings – June 2005
My grandfather was Clifford Hayward (Melville) Lowndes. b. Dec.7 1911. in Toronto, On. He moved to
England when he was 9. His father died a few years later. Cliff had a brilliant mind (which he couldn’t
bother to pass on to the rest of us). Second Division Signals in WWII. Clifford was a professor for a time
at a college in England, has played the organ at Westminister Abbey, and worked for many years at CKLW
radio in Windsor, ON. He died Aug.28, 1984.
His father was a mettalurgist, who worked for a time in Africa. (He was listed on Cliff’s birth certificate
as Frederick Kinoman Lowndes). His mother was Hannah Whittleton (nee Hayward).
He had an uncle, John Lowndes, who owned the Lowndes Tailoring factory in Toronto.
My grandfather is a mystery because he was disowned by his family, and therefore refused to talk about
them EVER. His step-dad chased him threatening his life with a butcher knife. He has step brothers/sisters, but we have never heard their names.
In a books front cover (Communication Engineering, copyright 1932) it’s written, “Frankilin Stanton
Loundes” (grandfather)……….Clifford Heywood Lowndes-(son).
Ros Henry – April 2005
…I have been trying to trace a Lowndes ancestor for ages.
She was Mary Ann Lowndes, b.c. 1825-28 (her age seems to vary according to which document you are reading). Her father was Thomas Lowndes, a farmer, and I have just discovered her today in the 1871 England census – where it says she was born in Ireland.
She married 1. John Burnell and 2. George Anyon, both in Liverpool.
She had one child, John Burnell, by her first husband, and George, Thomas and Mary-Ann Anyon by the second.
She died before 1881.
Mary-Ann Anyon – my g-gmother – emigrated to NZ in the 1880s with her father George Anyon, her husband John Gould and several of his brothers and their families.
Through Mary Ann there is a VAST number of Lowndes descendants in NZ!
Angela Wheeler (nee: Lowndes) – Oct 2004
Saw your website and thought i’d drop you a line I’m Angela Wheeler from Coventry, my dad is John Derek Lowndes, his brothers are Michael (Daughters, Naomi, Deborah, Susan and Son Stuart)and Frederick Alan, (son Cornell and daugher Doris) Fredrick who we call Alan, is in New Zealand, hope this info.
can add to your most comprehensive list.
Vanessa Brustolin Oct 2004
Isle of Man – Lowndes I was wondering if you happened to have any information on Lowndes from the Isle of Man. My great-great-great grandfather was a General, or Admiral Lowndes from the Isle of Man who married a Mariah Montez from Spain and moved to Burma.
I would appreciate any help that you could give me as I live in Toronto, Canada, and do not have such easy access to the British records.
Can anyone on the Isle of Man help Vanessa?
Karen Lownds, Sydney, Australia.
My great-great grandfather changed our spelling & dropped the E.
Tree:
Karen Lownds B.1979
Father: Robert Jack Lownds B.1/5/1944 married Heather Christine Cummings. Robert Lownds was 1 of 3 children born, sister June, brother Kenneth:
Father:Jack Francis Lownds & Elva Mavis Webb married 6/7/1940. Jack was 1 of 2 children born, sister Bonnie.
Father: James William Lownds B.1888 married Laura Emerson Howling 19/4/1910. James was an only child.
Father.James Lowndes B. 19/1/1914 (Brisbane,QLD) D.1910 married Hannah Rose Rosewarne in Brisbane Qld, 22/10/1877. James was 1 of 2 children born, sister Jean b.12/4/1910 James William & Hannah Lowndes moved to Sydney shortly after Jack was born.
Father: Victor Arnold Lowndes married Jane McGregor (emigrated from England, we think, can anyone help??)
Tim Dawson June 2004
Re: Ramsdell Hall
As Chairman of the Macclesfield Canal Society I have read your website with considerable interest because we are researching the relationships between the owners and the Macclesfield Canal Company at the time they were purchasing land for the canal’s construction (1825-1831) which would appear to be at the time that William Lowndes (1772-1844) was ‘in command’.
We still don’t know when the hall was actually built ( e.g. 1750, but two writers say it is Q.Anne (ie 1690-1710 region) and I’ve also seen 1760 suggested, all of which mean that it was not built by the above William. If not was it his grandfather William (has anyone any dates for him?) Two further questions…
Does anyone have any further information of any children from the Chaddock-Lowndes side?
Maz May 2004
Re: History of Selby Loundes or Lowndes…….
Attachments:
I write to tell you that my family hold an original will of Thomas James Selby who lived in Whaddon Manor near Winslow Buckinghamshire in the 1700’s – he states in the will that if his only son and heir is not found when he dies – he leaves his lands and estate to his valet whose surname is Loundes (sometimes spelt Lowndes) and gives permission to add the name Selby to his own – so the story goes in our family and is stated in the will (hence the Selby Loundes) this was to be renewed by royal licence every so often…….all the money from the estate went into Chancery in England as the true son and heir was never found although many unsuccessfully tried to claim it, although the Loundes family inherited the lands and estate.
I have my Great Grandfather’s medals and ID disc – in the name of Thomas James Selby – because of the will made in the 1700’s which we hold – we believe he was a direct descendant of Whaddon Hall and Thomas James Selby (also in the 30’s – 40’s not quite sure of date – all known descendants in this country banded together to try to claim “the Selby Million’s” ) as the paper put it – but – were unsuccessful…
The descendants of Christopher Lowndes, 1600’s Cheshire. (Warning! 450K RTF document)
Grahame Jones March 2004
‘Grahame Lowndes Jones’
My Great-Grandfather, Grahame Lowndes migrated from London and settled in Amarillo, Texas. His daughter, Lucile Lowndes was my grandmother and eventually moved to Beaumont, Texas (just east of Houston). My parents have china (plates, small cups w/ saucers) with the Lowndes family crest that my Great-Grandfather brought with him to Texas. In addition, we have silver (a few forks, knifes, and spoons) and a ring, all with the Lowndes Crest. All of the memorabilia is proudly displayed in my parent’s home. There are still many Lowndes descendants alive and well in Texas (Austin, College Station, Amarillo, San Angelo, and Houston).
Sue Gordon – Sept 2003
Will iam Lowndes began his career in the Treasury as a clerk. He eventually became Secretary of the Treasury and entered Par liament and became Chairman of Ways and Means. According to the late Arnold Baines (an eminent local historian) William was ‘an able administrator and a good chairman, but not a good economist; he seriously misjudged the currency crisis of 1696’ (there is an explanation in Baines book – see below). There is a funeral shield in St Mary’s Church Chesham which bears the Lowndes coat of arms (very similar to the one on Thomas Lowndes bookplate on you website) and the motto ‘Ways and Means’. William Lowndes had four wives and 23 children.
There is an entry in the Chesham parish registers : Mrs Mary Lowndes daughter of (late) William Lowndes senr. Secretary of his Majesties Treasury, buried 26 Apr 1740. William Lowndes purchased the manor of Grove (near Chesham) in 1692.
His son, also William, was also Secretary to the Treasury and inherited the manor. Last in the line was William Lowndes who died in 1905 and the manor was sold in 1918 by his half-sister’s son William Frederick Lowndes Frith.
References:
- ‘Who were they?’ by Arnold Baines (1995), Chesham Society Monograph
- ‘The Book of Chesham’ by Clive Birch (1997), Baron Books
John Gerard Coster – Aug 2003
I am researching the history of a portrait of my great great grandmother, Mary Livingston who married one William Price Lowndes of Charleston S.C. Mary (Susan Mary Elizabeth Livingston) was from the prominent NY family who were the largest land owners in the colonies and important figures in the founding of
the US. Her grandfather administered the oath of allegiance to Washington. The picture would probably have been painted around 1870 and is a very fine work of art, by a very accomplished and perhaps important artist of the time. Any information on William Price Lowndes who I believe died in Morristowm New Jersey
(i.e. did he live in the North during the 1870s?) might help narrow the field of likely artists, If you have any thoughts on the matter please let me know.
Crystal Aileen Lowndes now Black – March 2003
I recently became interested in where I came from and ask my father for information (He sent me your website.). I live in North Carolina My Father is James Bernard Lowndes. His father was also James Bernard Lowndes who Died in Savannah Georgia in 1996. I have a Brother And Sister who are twins (James Ryan Lowndes and Candace Ann Lowndes).
Until now this was the only Family I knew. I had never come across another Lowndes and didn’t think any existed. At one point in my life I had a fear that the Lowndes name would die out because I thought nobody would ever marry my brother. knowing what I know now it was an absurd thought.
My father also has the ” remarkable good black hair” like William Lowndes the Highway man although it is his nose not lips that is large. I would be very interested in knowing where I fit into the Family tree and would love to see the records you have dug up if that is at all possible. I would also like to know if you and I are closely related and if you have any pictures.
Marian Douglas, nee Lowndes
Some fascinating history of how her ancestors joined the Lowndes family while working as slaves for the South Carolina branch.
Feb. 2003
My ancestor CAESAR DUNCAN LOWNDES was Black American from the Charleston &
Sea Islands area (South Carolina).
He was a ‘boatman’ and doorkeeper of the SC state legislature (Columbia),
Civil War veteran (US Colored Troops), officer of SC Republican Party, and
business owner with restaurants in Charleston & Columbia, SC and later in
Chattanooga, east Tennessee.
We’d like to compare notes with interested others who have Lowndes in their
family & especially folks from South Carolina, the Caribbean & UK.
William Peters March 2003
MD Gov. Lloyd LOWNDES
I am looking for information on my relatives.
I am researching the QUINN family of Highland Co., OH, and I believe my grandmother’s 2nd cousin Mary Campbell QUINN married Lloyd LOWNDES, son of the MD Governor.
By the way, Mary QUINN’s father, grandfather, great-grandfather, and many uncles were all physicians here in Ohio.
Also, I noticed that you pronounce the name “LOUNDS”. Judging by many spellings I have seen in records here, I assume it was often pronounced “LOUNDESS”, etc.
William would appreciate it if you could put him in contact with any living descendants of Gov. Lowndes.
Alex Lowndes Consultor de Tecnología Unidad de Networking , Ecuador, Aug 2003
Alex Lowndes and I`m from Quito-Ecuador, and I always wanted to now about the history of my last name, the name of my father is Aston Lowndes and his grandfather was from England, but nobody remember his name. Here in Ecuador the Lowndes family have like 20 members (Victor, Edgar, Roberto, Frank, Cesar, Ivan, Aston “my father” ) and in Panama there is just one more member my cousin Steph Lowndes. I hope you can help me a little bit with this.
Kathy Lowndes Scott July 2003 USA
My father’s father’s family came from England in the late 1800’s. My grandfather – Rolla Lowndes grew up in Kentucky and western Pennsylvania where he settled and married and raised his family (my father and his sister Jane, now deceased).
I was born in May 1946 in Philadelphia to Robert S. and Bertha L. Lowndes. Robert was (and is now retired) a Baptist minister.
I have one brother, David N. Lowndes – living outside of Washington, D.C. He was born in June 1943.
John Hallworth-Lowndes – Sweden, Mar 2003
I came across your site while trying to find out about a member of the family.
My name is John Hallworth-Lowndes. I was christened without the Hallworth. This is my wife’s maiden name and we added it when we were expecting our first child.
My father, George Jesse Lowndes, died 2 years ago. His father was George Lowndes.
I have a good friend here in Sweden who is interested in geneology. While researching his own family he had come across the name George Lowndes, resident in a small village in the north of Sweden and who died of cancer in 1916 !!!
I have been in touch with the parish office in this village and am in the process of finding out as much as I can about this person. In the course of my enquiries I have found another George Lowndes here in Sweden, this time from the southern part of the country.
You mention the book by William Lowndes.
I have a signed copy, given to my wife and me as a wedding present, by William Lowndes. He was a good friend of my father in law. We spent our honeymoon (1975) at the Manor House Hotel in Castle Coombe,
Wiltshire ( they have a web-site), where the Lowndes coat of arms can be clearly seen over the door. I also have a poster with a number of coats of arms which have been copied from the village church in Castle Coombe.
PS I come from Stoke-on-Trent, where there are lots of Lowndes´s in the
phone book.
Sam Procter March 2003
My name is Samuel Mathew Paris Proctor,
Grandson of Muriel Joyce Lowndes who is Daughter of Samuel Hope Lowndes. We have a full family history dating back to Duke of Clarence and beyond to 1066.
Tony Cairns – Feb 2003
Hheres the latest draft of the Lowndes tree nb the samuel dawe harvey link is unproved. Download the Word Document.
Rhonda Feb 2003 USA
Rhonda from the US is trying to find out about a Peter Lowndes, born circa 1466 in Rode, Cheshire. This was at a time when records are scarce – can anyone help? I have read alot about the nobility of the
Lowndes. Is this true, and is it also true that the line may be related to Prince Charles?
Sharon Lowndes – Jan 2003
I was compelled to write and ask if the name Guillame,Seigneur de Lounde had been verified.I have been doing my own researches and have come up with the name William Patry de Lande and thought that this was the origin of the surname Lowndes.
I’ve not heard that name. As soon as I get time, I will follow it up. As regarrds Guillame, I rely on William Lowndes’ Overton book – Mike.
Marion Stewart Feb 2003 Canada
Field House Whitby Yorkshire and Gertrude Matilda Selby-Lowndes, married in 1894, Christopher Richardson, of Field House, Whitby.
My ggg grandmother Letitia Rudyerd/Gordon married Christopher Richardson in 1814. It was both of their second marriages. Letitia’s husband (my ggg Grandfather) had died in 1802. Christopher’s first wife was Ann Barker d. 1809.
Letitia owned Field House. She, my gggg grandmother and her uncle all died at Field House. From his first marriage Christopher Richardson. (b. 1780 d.1866) had a son named Christopher he was born in 1807.
My ggg grandmother Letitia and Christopher had two children Mary and Henry. Henry died shortly after birth and Mary went on to live into her late 80’s
I’m most curious to hear what you know about the Christopher Richardson who married Gertrude Selby-Lowndes in 1894. Where in the line does he fall? Was he the ggg… grandson of Christopher and Ann Barker?
Dec 2002
…my husband is also called Mike Lowndes. We live in Somerset but Mike’s great great grandfather James Lowndes was born in Macclesfield in 1839. Unfortunately I haven’t traced any further back yet but Mike’s Dad, Grandfather and great grandfather are all called William which seems to be a popular Lowndes name. I notice that you have a James Lowndes in your family tree but with no dates – same one perhaps? I do know that James Lowndes moved to Derby and had at least four children – Sarah Ann, William Edward, Harriet Elizabeth and Catherine Amelia. His wife was Elizabeth Ann ? born in Cirencester, Gloucestershire.
Ngaire Lowndes – Nov 2002
I was given by my uncle Colin Lowndes a piece of family history that might be of interest. It’s a large red leather-bound folio (A2 size approximately) of the estate accounts for William Lowndes, Squire of Chesham,
prepared in about 1927. There’s a field-by-field analysis of land size, use, tenancy and profitability, and a number of painted maps of the lands. I’ve put it away in store or would be more accurate about the details.
It’s far too big to scan, but should any scholar ever wish to study it, they’d be welcome to make arrangements.
Ngaire Lowndes.
Angela Lowndes April 2002 AUS
There are a large bunch of fellow Lowndes’s here in Perth, I have been told by my grandparents Cliff and Lina (nee Metcalf) Lowndes (deceased), that we also descended from the lines of William the Conqueror, So I guess we are probably related that far back. Cliff and Lina had four children, Valma, Milton (dec), Kevin and Brian. Valma (now Wilding) married and had five children Marie, Christopher,David, Michael, and Rebecca. Milton had four children (2 boys and 2 girls)Timothy, Stephanie, Stewart and Caroline. Kevin had one son Richard, and Brian (my father)had three children Kelly,Troy and Angela. Kelly has had three children Talitha Lowndes from a previous relationship, Jacob thorne and Zachary thorne, who is due to be born any day now. I, Angela have one child Ashley who has kept the Lowndes name. Timothy and Stewart also have children but I don’t know there names and sexes.
David Brinkman 2002
I thought you might want to see a web site I did for my Dad’s WWII ship’s
reunion group (now gone) . Their ship (U.S.S. Lowndes) was named after the South Carolina
Statesman William Lowndes. (see the ship elsewhere on the site!
Keith Hackney March 2002 NZ
I am the 5th Great-grandson of William Lowndes who was born c1711 at Davenport, Cheshire. There are no more Lowndes males, the last being Clarence who died in June 1991. My mother is the last remaining sibling of Clarence.
William Lowndes had eight children, the last also being William , born 17 April 1759. He was an interesting character, and I have attached his life story. This is genuine, I have seen and photocopied the original court record of his trial, at Warrington Public Library.
Read the story of the highwayman.
Keith’s family tree
John Elijah Lowndes February 2002 CAN
John Elijah Lowndes Surrey B.C. Canada. Born 03/09/66. Surrey is city outside Vancouver. I also play the electric guitar (lefty) I never realized there are so many Lowndes`, neat. I know my ancestors came from a village in southern England called Buckfastleigh (spelling?) One of my relatives did a family tree going back to 1770. (Ed) Its spooky – my Great Gandfather had this exact name…
Bill Moston November 2001 WWW, his Churches site
I have in my possession a will of Mrs. Margery Gilbert, made 20th March 1802. Although she lived in Uttoxeter, she left money and land to Edward and William Lowndes of Congleton. I believe the connection was with Astbury parish. I noticed on your web site similar ‘Lowndes’ names in the Astbury area, and thought you may be interested. I have attached a transcription of the will.
The will was with some family papers which came to light when my father died, but I am afraid I do not know yet how the will came to be there, or what the connection is – (if there is any!).
The will of Margaret Gilbert, 1802
Jane Lowndes August 2001
“I can go back a few generations in the U.K. to about 1800. I am stuck on a certain John Lowndes, no dates sorry, all I know is he was a Gunstocker……I got this information from the marriage certificate of his son Thomas Lowndes who was born 1809 in Birmingham, England”
“I think our kin mainly stayed in England but one of Thomas Lowndes sons William Lowndes born 1845 did go to Canada with his wife Susan Jane Clemmett”
Garry Skelhorn July 2001
My earliest proven ancestor was Mr (possibly John) Skelhorn of Buglawton (1500’s). Cheshire, who maried Parnel Lowndes. A couple of generations later, another Parnel (Skelhorn) married back into the Lowndes family. Her husband being Edward Lowndes. Skelhorns were noted in the Doomsday book as being seated as lords of the Manor of Skeleron, at Rimmington”
Terri Kennedy June 2001
“Trying to trace a Bill Lowndes. He wrote a sailor’s song called Old Fid & I believe he lived in Cornwall or Devon.”
Jacqueline Ann Lowndes May 2001
My mum and dad – Thomas James Lowndes (born 1922) and Bessie Grace Lillian Lowndes (born 1922) came to Australia in July 1954. I am their daughter Jacqueline Ann Lowndes (born Crewe 1946) and I have a brother Kevin James Lowndes (born Crewe 1951). There are four grandchildren.
I really have no idea which arm of the family tree we belong to. Any ideas? I do know that my grandparents were John and Violet May Lowndes from Crewe.
Marina Ionesco May 2001
Some research:
A John Lowndes married Mary Murphy in Ireland, probably Oldcastle, Co. Meath, c. 1830s
Emigrated to New York City with sons RICHARD LOWNDES and THOMAS LOWNDES.
Thomas Lowndes (1844-1912) was my great-grandfather. He and Richard ran Lowndes Brothers Coal Company in New York City.
Thomas Lowndes married (1) Eliza Burns in New York City. They had three children: Thomas (m. Mary(?)), Robert, Mary (m. Benjamin Adams). Their sons were Thomas and William.
Thomas was widowed in 1887. He later married Mary G. Wrenn/Renn. Their children, all born in NY, were: John (m. Dawson), Anna (m. Charles Mansfield in Jan. 1921, Vincent, Francis, Joseph (1901-1998) (m. Rose Newman), Matthias (1904-1960), Leo (married, had one son, Charles, who had 8 children) , Catherine (d. infancy 1909)
Gary Marshall Apr 2001
Lowndes family in Australia / NZ / UK
I am searching for information on Louise Lowndes or her family? Louise was born in early-mid 1940’s (in New Zealand I think) and I understand she lives in South Australia. She may have spent some early years in England but I’m not sure. I haven’t got much information. What I do know is sketchy.
I know my mother (Louise Hilton Lowndes) lived in Adelaide as did her father / uncles etc. She was 19 when I was born on Feb. 14, 1961. I have an older brother Noel (born 25/12/1959) and a younger sister Karen (born June 17, 1962).
Mum re-married several years later – I understand her present husband is a magistrate/justice in Adelaide. I assume his name is Whiting because, while I haven’t met my mother, I met a half-sister named Paula Whiting about 10 years ago. She had just married a Peter (?) Kinsella.
I beleive the family owned a major glass company called “Clarkson’s” or something similar.
The uncles evidently pioneered superannuation and there was a major insurance company named after its founder (one of Mum’s uncles), Noble Lowndes.
Mum’s dad and siblings lived in Adelaide, but I know a couple of them ended up living out their lives in London. I was in London in 1985 and had the address of one of Mum’s surviving brothers – I didn’t have the nerve to contact him and he is now dead I beleive.
I don’t know much about her mother’s side. I understand there is a New Zealand connection somewhere – I thought that was on the Lowndes side but it might have been on my mother’s mother’s side (in which case the Lowndes family may have come directly from England to South Australia).
I was told that there was a street in Knightsbridge (London) named after the family and I found it. It is a block back from Harrods and its called “Lowndes Square”. I think the naming of the street happened when the family superannuation business was at its height back in the 1930s or 1940s. Evidently Noble Lowndes (the company) did pretty well overseas – Dad told me once that in mid-1940s it was named in the Wall Street Journal as one of the “top n hottest businesses” or something to that effect.
Dad says that Mum used to ride to school in London in a Rolls Royce with a driver. But she married Dad at 19 and had 3 children including me by age 22. With all of these snippets of information / heresay I am really confused about it all. I have never met my mother, but she lives in Adelaide and is married to a judge. She has a number of children by later marriages. I met one, Paula about ten years ago. She married a guy named Kinsella and I beleive they settled back in Adelaide a few years ago.
I was told that her uncle Noble Lowndes, and that he founded the Noble Lowndes company.
I am not sure whether there is a family connection in the US – have just started looking.
Gary Marshall – Can you help hime? Get in touch!
Matthew Lownds March 2001
I’ve not had time to do any real research into my particular branch of the clan. My late father (John Lownds) and grandfather (Harold) hailed from Burton-on-Trent. My great-grandfather moved there in the 1890s from Fenny Bentley, near Ashbourne in Derbyshire. His father, also a Matthew Lownds (we certainly do seem to have a tendency to stick to a few Christian names, as William Lowndes notes in his book), was a (relatively wealthy) tenant farmer, who (according to the 1881 Census – where he is entered as Matthew Lounds, together with his wife and 8 children) was born in Leek in Staffordshire around 1835. Family legend has it that he dropped the “e” from Lowndes as a result of a failed attempt to overturn a family will (he had, supposedly, expected to inherit a silk mill in Leek). Maybe one day I’ll have time to find out the truth of that legend and maybe see if I can trace back my line of descent to John Lowndes of Overton.
Jeff Lowndes, Australia.
“I teach in what is allegedly the oldest Catholic girls’ school in Australia [ and it’s showing its age!!] Still, by British standards it is a pup.I have a sister Brenda who is not an academic like the Brenda above. We are descended from a humble line of miners and the like (sounds like my own family!), who inevitably died young. They also tended to be either illiterate or perverse or both and hence investigating the family tree is rather like swimming through Vegemite. Cheshire does however pop up from time to time in dispatches.”
Mike Longworth of Hampshire writes:
Lowndes Joseph Samuel, b. 7 Feb 1862, Pilkington, LAN (m. Mary SCHOFIELD)
Another family story is that “… Joe LOWNDES [probably the above Joseph Samuel] was known as one of the greatest cornet players in the Brass Band world, playing with the famous Besses o’th’ Barn Brass Band …”
Anyone recognise the description?
Peter, an artist living in Japan writes:
“Alan Lowndes is a little known (but to those who do know, well loved) painter in the so-called “naive” style which also produced Alfred Wallis and LS Lowry. He painted very simple, humble scenes of urban north England life between the 1940s and the 1970s. He was based in Stockport, hence knew Lowry. They shared dealers- Crane Kalman of London. He also had a limited involvement with the so-called “St. Ives” school in Cornwall- as a result a couple of his works were bought by the Tate Gallery there. As far as I know the only proper online reference to him is through their web-site. Most of the public art galleries of northern England have a Lowndes, and at one time he was collected by a few famous people, for example Richard Attenborough and the playwright Willis Hall. Unfortunately since his death in 1978 the market for naive painting has gone through the floor… and so too the little success he enjoyed.”
There are 4 Alan Lowndes paintings in the Tate Collections (UK National Collections): Dartsman and Organ Grinder, Stockport Viaduct, The Doss House, The Pawnbroker. You can see the Tate’s Artist page HERE. Unfortunately, none of the paintings have been digitised as yet: I guess an email to the Tate couldn’t hurt…
A nice letter
Dear Mike:
Just a quick note to inform you of the Lowndes Arms pub in central London. Its is located at 37 Chesham Street London SW1. It is run by Vittorio and Loraine Berti. It is a lovely place, if you ever have the chance to travel to London then I suggest that you drop in for a pint or two. (I worked there for a couple of years and enjoyed “lowndes” immensely). Best wishes.
John Murphy
Lowndes family history 
