Mollie Low (née Creed; January 17, 1840 - October 1, 1910) was First Lady of California, as the wife of

Frederick Low Frederick Ferdinand Low (June 30, 1828July 21, 1894) was an American politician and diplomat who served as the ninth governor of California from 1863 to 1867. He was previously a member of the United States House of Representatives from 1862 to ...

Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

from 1863 to 1867.

Life

She was born Mollie Creed on 17 January 1840 in

Lancaster Lancaster may refer to: Lands and titles *The County Palatine of Lancaster, a synonym for Lancashire *Duchy of Lancaster, one of only two British royal duchies *Duke of Lancaster *Earl of Lancaster *House of Lancaster, a British royal dynasty ...

, Ohio to George Creed and Elizabeth (''nee'' Clement). In 1856 Creed joined her aunt and uncle, Jane (''nee'' Creed) and John C. Hall in Marysville. She married Frederick Low on 22 December 22, 1857, they had one daughter, Flora. The Lows used the

Stanford Mansion The Leland Stanford Mansion, often known simply as the Stanford Mansion, is a historic mansion and California State Park in Sacramento, California, which serves as the official reception center for the Government of California and one of the o ...

as Governor's residence. Mollie's hair had turned white while she was still young, and was considered a striking figure. Newspaper society reporters frequently discussed her sense of fashion.

Mark Twain Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), known by the pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, and essayist. He was praised as the "greatest humorist the United States has produced," with William Fau ...

described in detail the dress Low wore to the Lick House Ball on 27 September 1863, two weeks after Low had defeated Downey in the election. After leaving office, Fredrick Low was appointed minister to China. The Lows sailed to China in February 1870, returning to San Francisco in 1874. Low was an important figure in San Francisco society and lived there until her death on 1 October 1910. She was buried at the Cypress Lawn Cemetery in Colma, California.

References

1840 births 1910 deaths People from Lancaster, Ohio First ladies and gentlemen of California Burials at Cypress Lawn Memorial Park People from Sacramento, California {{US-poli-bio-stub