Coming Soon- An UPDATED and COMPLETE biography of Peter Low,
the founder of the family.. until then, here is what I have done!
1. Peter Corneliuszen Low, born c. 1640 in Holstien, Germany;
died 1690-1692 in Kingston, NY. He was the son of 2. Cornelius.
He married (1) Elizabeth Blanshan 1668 in Kingston, NY. She was
the daughter of Matthew Blanshan and Maddeline Jorrisse.
Notes for Peter Corneliuszen Low
Peter Corneliuszen (1) is thought to have come from the duchy
of Holstien in present day Germany. Nothing whatsoever is known
of Peter previous to his immigration. The two wills that he made
were signed with a mark, so it would appear that he had not had
any education as a child.
The first record of Peter is in 1659, when the name of "Peter
Corneliss, from Holsteyn, Labourer" appears in the passenger
list of the Ship De Trouw (The Faith) which arrived in New Amsterdam
on February 12, 1659.
Upon his arrival in the New World, Peter made his way to Wildwyck,
now Kingston, Ulster County, New York. He was apparently residing
there as early as 1660. In Kingston, Peter became the partner
of Pieter Jacobsen Van Holstyn in a milling business. Van Holstyn
had come over on the same ship with Peter and the two men are
referred to as friends. It is speculated that they may have known
eachother in Europe.
The milling business apparently fell on hard times. On March
31, 1664, the partners mortgaged their mill to gain a one year
extension on a debt that they had contracted in the sum of sixty-one
schepels (about 47 bushels) of "good winter wheat with four
years interest thereon, being ten per cent annually, due in the
month of November of this current year". Although the extension
was apparently granted, troubles continued to dog Peter. Pieter
Jacobsen Van Holstyn died, leaving Peter Corneliuszen burdened
with the debt.
Peter was forced to take drastic measures to pay the wheat of. On January 27, 1665, he petitioned the court to appraise "the mill house at Wildwyck, belonging to him and his deceased friend and partner Pieter Jacobsen" This indicates that Peter planned to sell the mill to pay the debt. The court thought that other measures were necessary, and agreed to comply with Peter's petition only if he provided them with a list of all of the property of both himself and his partner. The court decided on February 3rd that Peter was to sell these effects at a public auction to meet his debt. It appears from later records (see below) that Peter was able to keep the mill.
(1)Peter adopted the surname Low (Lowe, Louw etc.) sometime before September 25, 1681, when it appears in the baptismal record of his daughter Anna.
Notes for Elizabeth Blanshan
Elizabeth Blanshan was probably born around 1651 in Mannheim,
Baden, Germany, but perhaps in Armentieres France, or in some
place en-route from there to Mannheim. She came to America on
April 26, 1660 on the Ship Vergulde otter (Guilded Otter), arriving
at Kingston with her parents and siblings later that year.
Marriage Notes for Peter Low and Elizabeth Blanshan
The exact date of Peter and Elizabeth's marriage is not known.
That the marriage took place is recorded in the Kingston Church
records, but neither the date of the marriage, nor the date of
the baans is given. The rest of the marriage records (of the Dutch
Reformed Church at Kingston) on the page were made in October
of 1668, so the marriage must have occured around that time.
On June 27, 1669, "a lot of ground without the land port
[sic] at Esopus, together with a parcel of valley or meadow and
water stream belonging to his mill [around 3 acres of land in
all] was confirmed to "Pieter Cornelisse". It would
appear that this land had been in his posession since the Dutch
period, but that he had never taken out a patent for it, or that
the patent was lost- and had to be confirmed.
On January 27, 1676, a Cornelis Woutersen appeared before the
court secretry at Kingston and declared "having agreed to
make for Pieter Cornelis a piece of work, according to the following
planCornelis Woutersen shall make a shed, built of stone, vizcliff
stone, 8 feet high, back of the house, 20 feet wide, 25 feet long,
with loft and floor and doors and a transom-window, everything
complete, roof, laths, rafters and shingles with the only exception
that Pieter Cornelissen shall furnish the shingles for the same
and all materials as boards, nails, wood, stone and everything
belonging to the same, and also, during the time shall provide
him [the builder] with food and drink. And he shall go to work
next May. For which Pieter Cornelissn shall pay fifty (50) sch[epels]
of wheat."
Although described as a "shed" this structure was in
fact the home of Peter and his family (by then 3 children, soon
to grow to 9). It still stands today.
Children of Peter Low and Elizabeth Blanshan are
....i. Cornelius Low, born 1670 in Kingston, NY; died August 29,
1748 in Newark, NJ; married Margareta Van Borsum July 05, 1695
in New York, NY.
ii. Magdalene Low, born 1672 in Kingston, NY; married Benjamin
Smedes.
....iii. Matthew Low, born c. 1674 in Kingston, NY; married Jannetje
Van Heyningen September 01, 1698 in Kingston, NY.
....iv. Johannes Low, born 1676 in Kingston, NY; married (1) Christina
Vas; married (2) Engeltjen Breestede April 05, 1707 in Kingston,
NY.
....v. Peter Low, born c. 1678 in Kingston, NY; married Gertrude
Vernooy January 11, 1702 in Kingston, NY.
....vi. Antje Low, born c. September 25, 1681 in Kingston, NY;
married Philip Viele July 20, 1701 in Kingston, NY.
....vii. Abraham Low, born c. July 15, 1683 in Kingston, NY; married
Jannetie LeSuer c. December 1707 in Kingston, NY.
....viii. Marytje Low, born c. January 01, 1686 in Kingston, NY;
died June 20, 1733; married Aert Van Wagenen c. October 1705 in
Kingston, NY.
....ix. Jacob Low, born c. June 24, 1688 in Kingston, NY; married
Sara Turk June 28, 1715 in Kingston, NY.