Rev. Delmar Rial Lowell (Nov 29, 1844–1912) was a minister, Civil War veteran, American historian, and genealogist. Delmar was born in South Valley, NY to Reuben and Catherine Seeber Lowell. He used the spelling "Delm
er" for a few years as a teenager before reverting to the original spelling. Delmar graduated
Cazenovia SeminaryCazenovia Seminary was an academic seminary of the Methodist Episcopal Church. It was located in Cazenovia, New York, U.S.A.. It was founded in 1825, at the instigation of George Peck and several other prominent clergymen in the area...
and
Wesleyan UniversityWesleyan University is a private liberal arts college founded in 1831 and located in Middletown, Connecticut. According to the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, Wesleyan is the only Baccalaureate College in the nation that emphasizes undergraduate instruction in the arts and...
. He fought in the
Civil WarThe American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
and was wounded in the charge of Sailor's Run, Virginia. His right arm was amputated at the shoulder as a result of his wounds.
Lowell genealogy
Taking over 10 years of research by his cousin, Amos Lowell, Delmar spent nearly 15 more years researching and documenting the history of Lowell family in America starting with the founding patriarch in America, Percival Lowle (1571—1664). Delmar's effort culminated in the 2 volume publication
The Historic Genealogy of the Lowells of America from 1639 to 1899.
After more than two decades, Lowell documented the births, birthplaces, marriages, re-marriages, children, and the deaths of Lowells all over the United States from 1639 to 1899. His 2 volume book runs 826 pages and covers literally thousands of his kinsmen living and dead. The contents of several early
willsA will or testament is a legal declaration by which a person, the testator, names one or more persons to manage his/her estate and provides for the transfer of his/her property at death...
, including John, Richard, and Percival's, are included in his publication. Lowell also went to great lengths in researching the family Coat of Arms and the evolution of his surname.
Lowell's work, coupled with
Ferris GreensletFerris Lowell Greenslet was an American editor and writer.-Biography:Greenslet graduated from Wesleyan University in 1897, and was awarded the Ph.D. by Columbia University in 1900. He was an associate editor of the Atlantic Monthly, 1902-07. In 1910, he became a literary advisor and director of...
's biography,
The Lowells and Their Seven Worlds, are considered two of the primary resources for most modern researchers looking into the Lowell family history. Much of Lowell's research on Percival Lowle's ancestry can be found today copied in the online genealogies of hundreds of families who have traced their own American heritage to founding the Lowell's.
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