Enoch Louis Lowe (August 10, 1820August 23, 1892) was the 29th Governor of Maryland in the United States from 1851 to 1854.

Early life

He was the only child of Bradley Samuel Adams Lowe and Adelaide Bellumeau de la Vincendiere. He was born on August 10, 1820, in the manor-house of The Hermitage, on the

Monocacy River The Monocacy River () is a free-flowing left tributary to the Potomac River, which empties into the Atlantic Ocean via the Chesapeake Bay. The river is long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data ...

Frederick County, Maryland Frederick County is located in Maryland, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, the population was 271,717. The county seat is Frederick, Maryland, Frederick. The county is part of the Washington metropolitan area, ...

. At thirteen he entered

Clongowes Wood College Clongowes Wood College SJ is a Catholic voluntary boarding school for boys near Clane, County Kildare, Ireland, founded by the Jesuits in 1814. It features prominently in James Joyce's semi-autobiographical novel '' A Portrait of the Artist ...

, Ireland, where he was schoolmates with

Thomas Francis Meagher Thomas Francis Meagher ( ; 3 August 18231 July 1867) was an Irish nationalism, Irish nationalist and leader of the Young Irelanders in the Young Irelander Rebellion of 1848, Rebellion of 1848. After being convicted of sedition, he was first sent ...

. Three years later he matriculated at

Stonyhurst College Stonyhurst College or Stonyhurst is a co-educational Catholic Public school (United Kingdom), public school providing education for boarding school, boarding and day school, day pupils, adhering to the Society of Jesus, Jesuit tradition. It is ...

, England, where he was friends with Francis Mahony and Miles Gerard Keon, the novelist. He graduated first in his class in 1839. Studying with Judge John A. Lynch, of Frederick, he was admitted to the bar in 1842.

Family

In 1844, Lowe married Esther Winder Polk, of

Somerset County, Maryland Somerset County is the southernmost county in the U.S. state of Maryland. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 24,620, making it the second-least populous county in Maryland. The county seat is Princess Anne. The county is p ...

, daughter of James Polk and cousin of

James Knox Polk James Knox Polk (; November 2, 1795 – June 15, 1849) was the 11th president of the United States, serving from 1845 to 1849. A protégé of Andrew Jackson and a member of the History of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party ...

. They had eleven children of whom seven survived: Adelaide Victoire, married E. Austin Jenkins; Anna Maria, religiense of the Sacred Heart, died 1889; Paul Emelius; Vivian Polk; Victoire Vincendiere, married John M. Stubbs; Enoch Louis; Esther Polk; Mary Gorter, married Francis de Sales Jenkins.

Political career

Lowe was a member of the

Maryland House of Delegates The Maryland House of Delegates is the lower house of the Maryland General Assembly, legislature of the U.S. state of Maryland. It consists of 141 delegates elected from 47 districts. The House of Delegates Chamber is in the Maryland State House ...

, representing Frederick County in 1845, a member of the

Democratic National Convention The Democratic National Convention (DNC) is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1832 by the United States Democratic Party. They have been administered by the Democratic National Committee since the 18 ...

in 1856 and a U.S. Presidential elector in 1860. Lowe took the oath of office as Governor of Maryland on January 6, 1851. The most important events of his administration were the adoption of the Maryland Constitution of 1851, the completion of the

Baltimore and Ohio Railroad The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was the oldest railroads in North America, oldest railroad in the United States and the first steam engine, steam-operated common carrier. Construction of the line began in 1828, and it operated as B&O from 1830 ...

to the

Ohio River The Ohio River () is a river in the United States. It is located at the boundary of the Midwestern and Southern United States, flowing in a southwesterly direction from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to its river mouth, mouth on the Mississippi Riv ...

and a reduction of the state tax rate from 25 to 15 cents on a $100. As of 2022, he is the last governor of Maryland to have lived in Frederick County.

Civil War and later life

He supported the Confederacy during the Civil War. During the war, he lived at

Richmond, Virginia Richmond ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), U.S. commonwealth of Virginia. Incorporated in 1742, Richmond has been an independent city (United States), independent city since 1871. ...

, and

Milledgeville, Georgia Milledgeville () is a city in and the county seat of Baldwin County, Georgia, Baldwin County, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, United States. Founded in 1803 along the Oconee River, it served as the List of current and former capital cities in the ...

. After the war, he moved to

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

, New York, joining the law firm of Richard F. Clarke and W. H. Morgan. He is mentioned in the song "

Maryland, My Maryland "Maryland, My Maryland" was the state song of the U.S. state of Maryland from 1939 until 2021. The lyrics are from a nine-stanza poem written by James Ryder Randall in 1861 and sung to an old German folk melody, "Lauriger Horatius" — the same ...

", which later became the state anthem.
- He died at St. Mary's Hospital, Brooklyn, on August 23, 1892. He is buried at Saint John's Cemetery in

Frederick, Maryland Frederick is a city in, and the county seat of, Frederick County, Maryland, United States. Frederick's population was 78,171 people as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of municipalities in Maryland, second-largest ...

Assessment

James McSherry, Chief Judge of the Court of Appeals of Maryland, writing to a member of his family, paid this tribute to Lowe's memory:

The superb attainments of your father as a forensic and popular orator were perhaps never equalled by anyone who ever lived in this country.

References

External links

*
''Esther Winder Polk Lowe, (painting)'', Smithsonian Art database
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lowe, Enoch Louis Democratic Party governors of Maryland Democratic Party members of the Maryland House of Delegates 1820 births 1892 deaths People educated at Stonyhurst College People educated at Clongowes Wood College People from Frederick County, Maryland Saint John's Catholic Prep (Maryland) alumni 19th-century members of the Maryland General Assembly