Bedford County PA Archives Biographies.....Lowery, Jesse J.
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Judy Banja jbanja@msn.com May 2003


JESSE J. LOWERY, Postmaster at Hyndman, Pa., has long been 
prominently identified with the leading industrial interests 
of this part of Bedford County.  He was born September 23, 
1849, in Londonderry township, Pa., a son of Jesse M. and 
Rachel (Burkett) Lowery.  He comes of thrifty Scotch 
ancestry, and is descended from one of the early pioneers of 
Bedford County, his paternal grandfather, William Lowery, 
having removed with his family from Maryland to Londonderry 
township at an early day.
  Jesse M. Lowery was but a young lad when he accompanied 
his parents on the tedious journey from Maryland to their 
new home in the almost unbroken wilderness.  Succeeding to 
the occupation with which he was best acquainted, he 
improved a good homestead, on which he carried on general 
farming until his death, at a ripe old age, in 1892. A man 
of ability, taking an intelligent interest in things 
conducive to the prosperity of the town, he served his 
fellow-men in various official capacities, and for years was 
one of the most faithful members of the Republican party and 
a leading citizen of Londonderry township.  He married 
Rachel Burkett, a woman of great personal worth, who ably 
assisted him by her wise counsels.
  Jesse J. Lowery, who was reared to man's estate on the 
home farm, was well educated in the schools of Londonderry 
and Bedford.  At the age of eighteen years he began to learn 
the trade of miller at the grist-mill of a neighbor, and for 
a score of years he operated a grist-mill on his own account 
in Londonderry, the larger part of the time carrying on a 
prosperous mercantile business in connection with milling.  
In 1889 he removed to Hyndman, where for a time he was 
engaged as a merchant and miller.  For several years he was 
superintendent of the wholesale mercantile business of the 
firm of J. J. Lowery & Co., coffee roasters and dealers, and 
at the present time he is engage in the manufacture of 
cigars.
  Mr. Lowery is a well-known politician, active in the 
Republican ranks, and has served with ability in many 
offices of trust.  While living in Londonderry he was for 
five years a Justice of the Peace, and for a number of terms 
a School Director and Auditor of the township.  Since coming 
to Hyndman he has served as Councilman four years, as 
Auditor of the borough for a time, also as Auditor of 
Bedford County; and in 1896 he was a candidate for the 
office of County Commissioner.  In July, 1897, he assumed 
charge of the Hyndman post-office, of which he had 
previously been appointed Postmaster, and in the same year 
he was appointed by the County Commissioners Mercantile 
Appraiser of Bedford County.  He is a member of two of the 
leading secret societies of Hyndman, the Knights of Pythias 
and the Masonic Order, and he belongs to the United 
Evangelical church.
  On January 1, 1871, Mr. Lowery married Annie Devore, who 
was born and brought up in Johnstown, Pa.  She passed to the 
higher life on November 9, 1897, leaving five children, 
namely: Laura B., wife of Frank Cook; Grace L.; Bertha; 
Gussie; and Walter C.



Source: Bedford Biographical Review, 1899, Bedford Co., Pa