Thomas Lowe (abt. 1546 - 1623)

Born about 1546 in England

Ancestors

Husband of Ann (Coulston) Lowe — married 21 May 1576 in St Margaret Moses, London, England

Descendants

Died 11 Apr 1623 at about age 77 in London, England

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Biography

Birth

Thomas was born about 1546 a son of Simon and Margaret Lowe.

It is most likely Thomas was born in London his father was a Tailor and a member of the Company of Merchant Taylor's in the City.

Marriage and family life

Shortly after Thomas was born his maternal grandmother Elizabeth died and she bequeathed him a "silver goblet all gilt with a cover to it". She also bequeathed £400 to be divided equally between the children that her daughter Margaret "such as she nowe hath or hereafter" but names then Thomas and his three siblings; Elizabeth, Francis and Timothie, but the legacy left to their father Simon to manage and enact, when the children were either married or achieved their age of 21.^[1]

"Thomas Loe and Anne Colson were couppled together in holie Matrymonie the xxi th day of May" in St Margaret Moses, Little Friday Street, City of London, 1576.^[2]

Thomas and Anne are believed to have had fifteen children, although this book^[3] suggests that nine children survived their father but only six are named in his will (see later).

The suggested baptisms of all of those children is set out here Lowe baptisms. Of the children apart from Gabriel who was baptised in Leyton, Essex, and Anna who possibly was born in Nurenburg, the others were either baptised in two City of London parishes, from 1581 in St Lawrence Jewry, the church located on modern day Gresham Street, and by 1590 in St Peter le Poer, the (original) church built in 1540, was on Broad Street.

Thomas' father Simon died in 1577 and "February 6 was Simon Low buried" in St Magnus the Martyr in the City of London.^[4]

In his will, Simon, bequeathed to son Thomas "all my messuages landes and tenements and hereditaments which I have in the Citie of London which I purchased of the Wardens and fellowship of the Companie of Merchant Taylors of London..." but only upon the decease of his mother, and also within six month to make provision for his sister Elizabeth Andrewes widow in a bond for five hundred pounds. Probate was proved on 17 March 1577. This bequest is believed to have consisted of 12 properties.

On the 31 May 1586 Thomas received news that his brother John had been arrested, whilst he was out walking with their mother, Margaret. John had become a Catholic Priest and his absence from England had been noted by the Government, but also that year it became a capital offence to be a Catholic priest in England. John was interred at the Clink, and tried and charged with High treason, and sentenced to death by execution and consequently was hung drawn and quartered at Tyburn on 8 October that same year.^[5]

Thomas was named as sole Executor of his mother Margaret's will dated 8 June 1594. ^[6] Margaret Lowe widow was buried 8 April 1595 in St. Magnus the Martyr.^[7]

London Bridge c.1543 with St Magnus the Martyr church at the north end of the bridge on the right.

Thomas' daughter Anna "filia Thomas Lowe unius Aldermanori" married Robert Lee son of Alderman Robert Lee on 10 November 1600 in St Peter Le Poer.^[8]

The following year daughter Marie married Robert Offeley (sic) in St Peter le Poer on 7 November 1601.^[9]

Daughter Jane married Multon Lambond (sic) in St Peter le Poer on 23 December 1613.^[10]

And then on 6 August 1618, "Mr Thomas Clarke of the parishe of St Mathew Friday Streete, and Mrs Mary Lowe daughter of Sr Thomas Lowe Alderman" were married in St Peter le Poer.^[11]

Worshipful Company of Haberdashers

Thomas had been granted his freedom in 1572, at the end of his apprenticeship, most likely by Thomas Aldersey, who was a member of the Worshipful Company of Haberdashers.

The Worshipful Company of Haberdashers was the seventh of twelve Corporations of the City of London and was founded in the reign of Henry IV, but were re-incorporated in 1578 by Queen Elizabeth as the "Master and four wardens of the Fraternity of the Art or the mystery of Haberdashers in the City of London".

Its "Hall" was located on the corner of Staining Lane and Maiden Lane (now Gresham Street), although subsequently was destroyed in the Great Fire of London in 1666, and many of it's documents were lost. The Company paid annual rent to the Grocer's Company.

The Company consisted of a Master, four Wardens and about 50 Assistants. These key roles signed an Oath which was passed down through the generations.

The Oath was thus:

“ You shall be true to our Sovereign Lord/Lady, the King's/Queen's Majesty that now is and to his/hers heirs and successors, Kings and Queens of this Realm: you shall be good and true unto the Fraternity of Haberdashers whereof you be now Master, and shall truly and indifferently govern all the Brethren and others of the said Fraternity, for your time to the best of your power and skill; you shall keep, maintain and put in due execution all the good and lawful Acts and Ordinances of the said Fraternity, and all the breakers of the same you shall, as far as justly you may, correct and punish with the advice of the Wardens and Assistants of the said Fraternity for the time being, according to the quality and quantity of his and their several Offences; and the Bye Laws. Fines and Penalties imposed or ordained upon such the breakers thereof, you shall do your best endeavours to be duly levied and raised. And all other things that to your office, as Master of the said Fraternity belongeth, you shall duly do and perform to the best of your wisdom and discretion.—So help you God.”

Haberdashers' Arms

Thomas was Master of that Company seven times, 1594-5, 1602-3, 1604-5, 1608-9, 1612-13, 1615-16, 1618-19. The Masters were paid a fee for the service. ^[12]

Merchant Adventurer

"He was also a merchant adventurer. This was the height of the Elizabethan age and London was then the most important City in the world and Thomas flourished. By 1579 he was living in Nuremberg, Germany where he set up a business importing cloth from England and exporting German goods".^[13]

The role of the Merchant Adventurers Company was to encourage trade with other countries but it also created monopolies from which it profitted. But likewise it also had imposed on it, during the period, trade restrictions by those same countries and its merchants, especially from the competing Hanseatic League, who were concerned about cheaper imported goods. Although relations with markets in Germany had certainly been temporarily restored at the time Thomas was active. ^[14]

Alderman

Thomas was Alderman of two London councils firstly in Billingsgate Ward from 1594 until 1609 and was sworn in on 19 February 1594.^[15] and secondly for Broad Street Ward from 7 February 1609, by which time he lived with the family in a large rented house in St Peter le Poer parish, and was an Alderman there until he died in 1623.

Inns of Law

"Thomas Lowe citizen and Alderman of London" was admitted to Gray's Inn on 7 March 1598.^[16]

This seems quite late in life he was over 50 years old, but clearly still learning new skills, or affirming old ones. Although it is understandable that given his business activities he'd want to learn more about the legal aspects. Equally he may have had other political aspirations and tired of trade restrictions being imposed and witnessed the start of the decline of the Elizabeathen economy towards the end of the Queen's reign. Interestingly Queen Elizabeth was the first patron of Gray's Inn^[17]

His legal knowledge may also have allowed him to act as a Feodary in hearing Inquisitions Post Mortem, as on 28 June 1598 when Thomas Lowe citizen and alderman of London was named with two other feodary and a deputy escheator in hearing the case of Richard Jackman lunatic.^[18]

Thomas was also admitted to Middle Temple on 11 August 1614, noted as "Thomas Lowe, knight, Alderman of the City, and late Mayor of London".^[19]

Sheriff and Lord Mayor of London

Thomas had the privilege of being elected as a Sheriff of London in 1595. The sheriffs were the most important city officials and collected London's annual taxes on behalf of the royal exchequer; they also had judicial duties in the City's law courts. The Mayor of London generally served as sheriff before becoming mayor, and in 1385 the Common Council of London stipulated that every future Lord Mayor should "have previously been Sheriff so that he may be tried as to his governance and bounty before he attains to the Estate of Mayoralty"; this tradition continues to this day.

So it was that in 1604 Sir Thomas Lowe Haberdashers' Company was selected as Lord Mayor of London.^[20]

It seems a pageant was held for each new appointment and the event given a title and theme. Unlike for some others there is no record for Sir Thomas' own pageant, but likely was paid for by the Company of Haberdashers' as his successors was paid for by the Merchant Tailors' Company. ^{[21] [22][23]}

Knighthood

Thomas was one of 17 Alderman knighted on 26 July 1603 at the start of King James reign, with the ceremony taking place at the Palace of White Hall, the Royal residence.^{[24] [25]}

The Palace of White Hall painted in 1675

The Levant Company

Sir Thomas became the first governor of the Levant Company to be given a Royal charter under King James in 1605. He was personally named first in the list of merchants.^[26]. The Governer was given a minimum allowance of £100. Any additional merchants were then charged a £25 joining fee.

The Levant company re-affirmed trade to Turkey and other mediterranean countries, and in Venice. The main trading communitiy was currants, and oil. The trade in currants being so profitable other merchants attempted to import currants from other countries such as Flanders and Germany. In 1617 this came to ahead when Sir Thomas then the Governor of the Levant and Master of the Merchant Adventurers whose member Mr Flower had imported currants was called upon to negotiate a settlement, whereby The Merchant Adventurers would no longer trade currants from Flanders and Germany but were allowed to keep those currants they had already acquired, which otherwise would have ben confiscated.

Two other Levant merchants named in the Charter were Sir Robert Lee and Robert Offley, two of Thomas' sons in law.

Member of Parliament

Thomas was not active in a political way until later in his life but slowly by association, and experience as a merchant adventurer and as Governor of the Levant Company was becoming more influential, and called upon to advise specific government departments. So it wasn't until Sir Thomas was formally elected on 2 December 1606 as the replacement for Sir Henry Billingsley who had recently died that he became a Member of Parliament.

Sir Thomas was re-elected twice in 1614 and again 1621.

He was known to protect the interests of Londoners, although also those of the Corporations. In April 1621 he therefore opposed a bill to prohibit the import of corn, fearing Londoners would starve when the counties kept their own grain, and in the following month enquired "how far this bill extendeth, to the prejudice of London and corporations?" with regards another peice of proposed legislation.^[27]

Last Will and Testament

Sir Thomas had his will drawn up on 6 March 1622. ^[28] He made bequests to:

• my loving wife Anne
• my eldest son Gabriel
• my second son Thomas
• my third son Michael, (then a barrister of the Middle Temple)
• my fourth son Francis
• my daughter Offley
• my daughter Clarke
• the Company of Haberdashers
• and bequests to several servant and his wife's lady in waiting.

Although Thomas mentions only two of his daughters, although only by their married surname, he mentions no less than five sons in law, all notable, whom he appoints as overseers of the will by "hartely praising them to be pleased to second and helpe my said Executrix with their best advise and Counsell in those things shee shall have neede of their helpe". They were; Sir John Bennett, Sir Lambert Mawlton (sic - see research notes), Sir Robert Lee, Sir Robt Offley, and Sir Thomas Clarke.

Death and Burial

In his will Thomas left the decision of his burial place as the choice of his wife, although he had stated "here in London Putney, or Offelworth Gloucestershire. where my eldest son now dwells." But Anne chose neither of those locations.

He was instead buried "Sir Thomas Lowe 15th April 1623. Alderman and habberdasher of London" in St Peter le Poer in the City of London.^[29]

Research notes

• Thomas' birth date is supposed. His Wikipedia article suggests he was born in 1550 which would mean he was 25-26 when he married Anne, but he is named in his grandmother Elizabeth Sympson's (Margaret's mother) will of 1547 so was born before that date and appears as the youngest child at that time.
• This article [1] does have a contradictory statement regarding his age at death, which is stated as 73, but a description of the monument that had been erected in St Peter le Poer suggests he was "aetat 78". Given he died in 1623 suggests he was born 1545, which tallies with my earlier estimate for his year of birth.
• Thomas and Anne are alleged to have had 15 children, of which nine survived him. In his will Thomas mentions four sons and five sons in law, which makes nine, but see the Free Space Page linked above.
• A "Mr Thomas Lowe" was buried on 1 June 1624 in St Peter le Poer, City of London, is his second son Thomas.
• If Thomas went to Nurenberg to set up a trading company it is likely then that some of his children were born and/or baptised there, but there are no records for that. Gabriel was the eldest surviving son according to the profile in Some account of the Lord Mayors' and Sheriffs of the city of London, during the first quarter of the seventeenth century, 1601-1625 by Cokayne, George E. (George Edward), 1825-1911. comp. That suggests Gabriel's age at death in 1659 was 80, which would tally with the 1578 birth date (see Free Space Page above)
• Thomas was one of 19 persons knighted on 16 July 1603, 17 Alderman, and 2 sheriffs.
• In his will Thomas names one son in law as Sir Lambert Mawlton, or perhaps his lawyer did, but this was in fact Sir Moulton Lambard, who married Thomas' daughter Jane.
• If Marie Lowe married Robert Offley, on 7 November 1601 in St Peter le Poer, how can Mrs Mary Lowe have also married Mr Thomas Clarke on 6 August 1618 in the same church? Did Thomas really have two daughters called Mary? Or had Thomas been married before? Although we know both daughters are are mentioned in Thomas' will - so very puzzling!

Sources

1. ↑ Reference: PROB 11/31/616 Description: Will of Elizabeth Sympson, Widow of London Date: 19 August 1547 Held by: The National Archives, Kew NatArchives
2. ↑ Marriage London, England, Church of England Baptisms, Marriages and Burials, 1538-1812, London Metropolitan Archives; London, England; Reference Number: P69/MGT2/A/002/MS03480 Ancestry
3. ↑ Some account of the Lord Mayors and Sheriffs of the city of London, during the first quarter of the seventeenth century, 1601-1625 by Cokayne, George E. (George Edward), 1825-1911. comp https://archive.org/details/someaccountoflor00coka/page/20/mode/2up?q=%22Lowe%22| InternetArchive]
4. ↑ Simon Low in the London, England, Church of England Baptisms, Marriages and Burials, 1538-1812 Ancestry (£)
5. ↑ Andrews, William Eusebius, 1773-1837. An Examination of Fox's Calendar of Protestant Saints, Martyrs ..: Contrasted With a Biographical Sketch of Catholic Missionary Priests, And Others Executed Under Protestant Penal Laws, From ... 1535-1684. Abridged From Parson's Examen And Challoner's Memoirs; With Additional Remarks. London: W.E. Andrews, 1826.HathiTrust
6. ↑ Reference: PROB 11/85/250 Description: Will of Margaret Lowe, Widow of London Date: 18 April 1595 Held by: The National Archives, Kew https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/D930906
7. ↑ London, England, Church of England Baptisms, Marriages and Burials, 1538-1812 London Metropolitan Archives; London, England; Reference Number: P69/MAG/A/001/MS011361 Ancestry
8. ↑ Ancestry
9. ↑ Ancestry
10. ↑ Ancestry
11. ↑ Ancestry
12. ↑ Worshipful Company of Haberdashers (London, England). A Manual for the Private Use of the Court of Assistants of the Haberdashers' Company, London. [London?: The Company], 1850. HathiTrust
13. ↑ http://readhistory.co.uk/narratives/data-narratives/ROYAL_LINE_OF_THE_READ_GENEALOGY.pdf
14. ↑ Unwin, George. “The Merchant Adventurers’ Company in the Reign of Elizabeth.” The Economic History Review, vol. 1, no. 1, [Economic History Society, Wiley], 1927, pp. 35–64, JStor.
15. ↑ Beaven, Alfred B. (Alfred Beaven). The Aldermen of the City of London, Temp. Henry III.-1908: With Notes On the Parliamentary Representation of the City, the Aldermen And the Livery Companies, the Aldermanic Veto, Aldermanic Baronets And Knights, Etc.. London: The Corporation of the city of London, 19081913. HathiTrust
16. ↑ The register of admissions to Gray's inn, 1521-1889, together with the register of marriages in Gray's inn chapel, 1695-1754 by Gray's Inn. cn; Foster, Joseph, 1844-1905. ed Archive
17. ↑ History of Gray's Inn https://www.graysinn.org.uk/the-inn/history
18. ↑ Phillimore, W. P. W. (William Phillimore Watts), et al.. Abstracts of Inquisitiones Post Mortem Relating to the City of London, Returned Into the Court of Chancery During the Tudor Period. London: The British record society, 18961908. HathiTrust
19. ↑ Admission to Middle Temple MTAR
20. ↑ Fisher, Eden, and company. A Short History of the Lord Mayors' Pageants: Together With a Chronological Table of the Mayors, Lord Mayors And Sheriffs of the City of London, From A.D. 1189 to 1896. London: [E. Fisher & company, 1896. HathiTrust
21. ↑ Fisher, Eden, and company. A Short History of the Lord Mayors' Pageants: Together With a Chronological Table of the Mayors, Lord Mayors And Sheriffs of the City of London, From A.D. 1189 to 1896. London: [E. Fisher & company, 1896. HathiTrust
22. ↑ wikipedia profile.
23. ↑ https://archive.org/details/someaccountoflor00coka/page/20/mode/2up?q=%22Timothy+Lowe%22
24. ↑ College of Arms
25. ↑ The Knights of England. A complete record from the earliest time to the present day of the knights of all the orders of chivalry in England, Scotland, and Ireland, and of knights bachelors, incorporating a complete list of knights bachelors dubbed in Ireland by Shaw, William Arthur, 1865-1943; Burtchaell, George Dames, 1853-1921 InternetArchive
26. ↑ The Early History of the Levant Company by By M. EPSTEIN, M.A., PH.D, LONDON, Published by GEORGE ROUTLEDGE & SONS LIMITED, New York: E. P. BUTTON & CO 1908 http://www.levantineheritage.com/pdf/earlyhistoryoftheLevantcompany.pdf
27. ↑ LOWE, Sir Thomas (c.1546-1623), of Broad Street, London and Putney, Surr. Published in The History of Parliament: the House of Commons 1604-1629, ed. Andrew Thrush and John P. Ferris, 2010 http://www.histparl.ac.uk/volume/1604-1629/member/lowe-sir-thomas-1546-1623#footnote4_dxxljr9
28. ↑ Ancestry.com. England & Wales, Prerogative Court of Canterbury Wills, 1384-1858 . Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2013.The National Archives; Kew, England; Prerogative Court of Canterbury and Related Probate Jurisdictions: Will Registers;PROB 11141Ancestry Record 5111 #895647
29. ↑ Burial London Metropolitan Archives; London, England; Reference Number: P69/PET2/A/001/MS04093/001London, England, Church of England Baptisms, Marriages and Burials, 1538-1812 Ancestry

See also:

• LOWE, Sir Thomas (c.1546-1623), of Broad Street, London and Putney, Surr. The History of Parliament: the House of Commons 1604-1629, ed. Andrew Thrush and John P. Ferris, 2010
• Will of Sir Thomas Lowe PCC prob 11/141
• College of Arms. see Sir Timothy Lowe
• The Visitation of London 1568, Harleian Society, 1869, p.76, Fifield alias Lowe

Google

• Please see this page for more details of Thomas and Anne's children. Lowe baptisms

Acknowledgements

This profile has been improved by a member of the England Project's Orphan Trail.