1728-1878
Guide to the Collection
Abstract
This collection contains the papers of the Lowell family of Massachusetts from 1728-1878, specifically those of John Lowell, his wife Rebecca Amory Lowell, and their daughters Anna Cabot Lowell and Rebecca Amory Lowell. Papers of the related Sohier family are also represented. Included are correspondence, travel diaries, school lesson notebooks, and account books.
Biographical Sketch
John Lowell was born in 1769, the eldest son of John Lowell (1743-1802) and Sarah Higginson. Known as the "Old Judge," the elder John Lowell was a lawyer and judge and was active in the politics of post-revolution United States. He is regarded as the patriarch of the Lowell family in Boston. Among his other children was Francis Cabot Lowell, the businessman for whom Lowell, Mass. is named.
John Lowell was educated at Andover and Harvard, excelling in public speaking and classics. After studying in the law offices of his father, Lowell was admitted to the bar at age 21. Eventually taking over his father's accounts, Lowell began a successful legal career. In 1793, he married Rebecca Amory (1771-1842). Together they had five children: Rebecca Amory (1794-1873), John Amory (1798-1881), Anna Cabot (1801-1802), Anna Cabot (1808-1894), and Sarah Higginson (1810-1816). Lowell was an ardent Federalist and contributed in writing as a pamphleteer.
In 1801, Lowell defended a man named Jason Fairbanks, who was accused of killing a woman named Betsey Fales. Despite a passionate defense from Lowell, Fairbanks was found guilty and executed. The verdict took a great toll on Lowell, and in 1803, having settled the accounts at his firm, he retired from law. Needing a respite, Lowell traveled throughout Europe for the next three years.
When Lowell returned, refreshed from his travels, he remained active in local and national affairs. A life-long interest in agriculture led him to become a member and president of the Massachusetts Agricultural Society. He was also a supporter and president of the Boston Athenaeum. Lowell was also a Harvard fellow, continuing a family tradition of involvement at Harvard begun by his father and continued long after his death. Maintaining his earlier support of the Federalists, Lowell wrote extensively in opposition to James Monroe and the events leading to the War of 1812, as well as against the French Revolution and Napoleon Bonaparte. Lowell's health deteriorated rapidly in his last years, though he was alive to see the opening of the Lowell Institute in 1839. He died at his home in 1840.
Sources
Greenslet, Ferris. The Lowells and Their Seven Worlds. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1946.
Lowell, Delmar R. The Historic Genealogy of the Lowells of America from 1639-1899. Rutland, VT: The Tuttle Co., 1899.
Weeks, Edward. The Lowells and Their Institute. Boston: Little, Brown, 1966.
Collection Description
The Lowell family papers consist of six boxes and sixteen volumes in cases that span the years 1728-1878. The collection is divided into three series: family correspondence, bound materials, and printed materials.
A large portion of the collection consists of letters sent and received by John and Rebecca Amory Lowell, which detail their courtship, married life, and travel. Another large portion of the collection is correspondence received by Anna Cabot Lowell, which details her private life with friends and family and her involvement in charitable work. The collection also contains a limited amount of correspondence from other family members, including a letter from Aaron Burr to Francis Cabot Lowell, 1802.
In addition, the collection contains bound materials of the Lowell and Sohier families. These consist of diaries detailing travel throughout Europe; practice books containing mathematical, nautical, and surveying problems; a letterbook by Anne MacVicar Grant; Sunday school lesson notebooks from a variety of subjects; and account books of both personal and professional transactions. The school lesson notebooks were most likely kept by Rebecca Amory Lowell and her sister Anna Cabot Lowell for teaching purposes. They both taught Sunday school at the First Church of Roxbury for forty and fifty years, respectively. Lastly, the collection contains clippings, as well as miscellaneous materials kept by the family.
Acquisition Information
Deposited by Mrs. Lewis F. Perry, November 1968
Detailed Description of the Collection
I. Lowell family correspondence, 1728-1878
This series primarily contains correspondence written and received by John Lowell and Rebecca Amory Lowell during their courtship from 1789-1791 and after their marriage in 1793. The bulk of the correspondence consists of letters written by John during his travels to France, Italy, Switzerland, England, Scotland, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Charleston, South Carolina, Saratoga Springs, New York, and other areas in New England from 1804-1822, and includes his observations and descriptions of the places he visited and the people he encountered. John's letters from Europe include hand-drawn maps of selected areas visited in France, Italy, and England. Included are letters written to and received from John and Rebecca's son John Amory Lowell and daughter Rebecca Amory Lowell, as well as John's brother Francis Cabot Lowell and sister Sarah C. Lowell. Also included are letters received by Anna Cabot Lowell from 1850-1878 from family and friends, as well as correspondence regarding her charitable activities. These activities, detailed in the letters, included working to promote adoption and working to match orphaned infants with specific parents willing to adopt. She also worked to obtain funding and donation of goods for children's welfare, schools and libraries, and "freedmen." The organizations she was involved with include the New England Branch of the Freedmen's Union Commission, New England Freedmen's Aid Society, Rooms of the American Unitarian Association, Massachusetts Infant Asylum, The Christian Register, and the New England Hospital for Women and Children, among others. Correspondents include family members Rebecca Amory Lowell and Augustus Lowell, as well as Fanny Blake, E. W. Hooper, Mary Wigglesworth, and Lucie Solger, among others. There are several letters written in French.
II. Bound materials, 1776-1858
A. Diaries, 1804-1825
This subseries contains diaries kept by various members of the Lowell family, mostly while traveling. There are four diaries kept by John Lowell detailing his European travels. Three of the diaries were written with his wife Rebecca in 1804 and pertain to his travels in England, Wales, Scotland, France, and Switzerland. The fourth was written in 1817 while at sea on a return voyage from Liverpool to Boston with his wife Rebecca. There is also a diary of Rebecca Lowell, 1805, detailing her travels in France, England, and Wales. There are two volumes of diaries kept by Ann McLean Lee, 1815-1817, copied by Anna Cabot Lowell, of travels in Italy and France. There are diaries kept by an unidentified author while traveling through Wales, Scotland, and England from September-October 1814, with descriptions of towns visited, social engagements with acquaintances, and daily activities. Rebecca Amory Lowell's diary, ca. 1825, records a trip to western Massachusetts with stops at Williamstown, Lenox, and Hancock. Lowell describes her impressions of the Shaker religion and a village located at Hancock, Mass. and her experience at the meetinghouse during a service.
B. Account books, 1789-1858
This subseries contains an account book of Rebecca Amory Lowell, as well as account books of the Sohier family of Boston, including John Baker Sohier, Susan Cabot Lowell Sohier, and her husband William Sohier. The John Baker Sohier account book and ledger contain information on business transactions, including the purchase of household goods, food, and dry goods. Susan and William Sohier household account book records purchases of meat, milk, vegetables, household supplies, and children's clothing, among other things. Rebecca Amory Lowell's account book records payments made to charity, purchases made, and payments received for services provided.
C. Mathematical practice books, 1776-1785
Included here are practice books containing mathematical, navigation, and surveying questions and answers kept by members of the Sohier family.
D. Sunday school lesson notebooks, 1838-1853
This subseries consists of Sunday school lesson notebooks containing questions, essays, and quotations relating to French, history, geography, geology, religion, and zoology. These notebooks were most likely composed by Rebecca Amory Lowell and Anna Cabot Lowell (1808-1894) for teaching their Sunday school students at the First Church of Roxbury where they taught for forty and fifty years, respectively.
E. Miscellaneous notebooks, 1784-1843
This subseries contains miscellaneous notebooks, including essays and extract books kept by Lowell family members, as well as members of the related Sohier and Amory families. Included is a book of extracts from Thompson's Seasons kept by John Baker Sohier, 1784; Sarah Higginson Lowell's penmanship book, ca. 1815; an extract book containing quotations kept by Frances Augusta Amory, 1817, and a notebook written in Italian; Rebecca Amory Lowell's essay book kept from 1827-1835 containing topics on religion, literature, and morality; and a notebook kept by Susan Cabot Lowell (Sohier), May 1843, containing verse and poetry.
F. Anna Cabot Lowell writings, 1825-1848
This subseries contains the writings and extract books of Anna Cabot Lowell (1808-1894). Included are works on religion, history, and education. Anna Cabot Lowell was a Sunday school teacher at the First Church of Roxbury, and many of these writings were most likely used in her teachings.
G. Anne Grant letterbook, 1809-1810
This subseries consists of a letterbook of Scottish author Anne MacVicar Grant from 1809-1810. However, it is unclear to whom the letters are written. The letters describe her daily activities.
III. Printed materials, 1789-1866
This series contains newspaper clippings from The Commonwealth during the Civil War relating to the war effort; an article by Laura Bridgman in The Common School Journal, 16 May 1842; a pamphlet entitled "The Lord Will Provide," 1863; and an obituary of Louise M. Amory, 1866. Also included a certificate recognizing the contribution of R. A. Lowell of five dollars to the Washington National Monument Society.
Preferred Citation
Lowell family papers, Massachusetts Historical Society.
Access Terms
This collection is indexed under the following headings in ABIGAIL, the online catalog of the Massachusetts Historical Society. Researchers desiring materials about related persons, organizations, or subjects should search the catalog using these headings.