Seymour Lowman (October 7, 1868 – March 13, 1940) was an American lawyer and

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking ...

from the state of New York. He was also Lieutenant Governor of New York from 1925 to 1926.

Life

Seymor Lowman was born in Chemung, New York on October 7, 1868, the son of John Lowman (1832–1884) and Fanny (Bixby) Lowman. He was raised in Bainbridge, and completed his high school education at Bainbridge Union School. He then graduated from Lowell's Business College in

Binghamton Binghamton () is a city in the U.S. state of New York, and serves as the county seat of Broome County. Surrounded by rolling hills, it lies in the state's Southern Tier region near the Pennsylvania border, in a bowl-shaped valley at the conflue ...

, and became a school teacher. He studied law with attorney John W. Church of

Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. Norwich is by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. As the seat of the See of Norwich, with ...

, was admitted to the bar in 1891, and practiced in Elmira. On September 9, 1893, he married Katherine Harding Smith, whom he had known while growing up in Bainbridge. Lowman became active in local politics as a supporter of the campaigns of

Jacob Sloat Fassett Jacob Sloat Fassett (November 13, 1853 – April 21, 1924) was a businessman, lawyer, and member of the United States House of Representatives from New York. Early life He was born on November 13, 1853, in Elmira, New York, the son of Newton Po ...

. He was a member of the New York State Assembly (Chemung Co.) in

1909 Events January–February * January 4 – Explorer Aeneas Mackintosh of the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition escaped death by fleeing across ice floes. * January 7 – Colombia recognizes the independence of Panama. * Jan ...

and

1910 Events January * January 13 – The first public radio broadcast takes place; live performances of the operas '' Cavalleria rusticana'' and ''Pagliacci'' are sent out over the airwaves, from the Metropolitan Opera House in New York C ...

, and also Chairman of the Chemung County Republican Committee from 1912 to 1934. He was a member of the New York State Senate (41st D.) from 1919 to 1924, sitting in the 142nd, 143rd, 144th, 145th, 146th and

147th New York State Legislature The 147th New York State Legislature, consisting of the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly, met from January 2 to April 11, 1924, during the second year of Al Smith's second tenure as Governor of New York, in Albany. Backgro ...

s, as well as a delegate to the

1924 Events January * January 12 – Gopinath Saha shoots Ernest Day, whom he has mistaken for Sir Charles Tegart, the police commissioner of Calcutta, and is arrested soon after. * January 20– 30 – Kuomintang in China holds ...

and

1932 Republican National Convention The 1932 Republican National Convention was held at Chicago Stadium in Chicago, Illinois, from June 14 to June 16, 1932. It nominated President Herbert Hoover and Vice President Charles Curtis for reelection. Hoover was virtually unopposed fo ...

s. He was Lieutenant Governor of New York from 1925 to 1926, elected at the New York state election, 1924 on the

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

ticket. At the same time, Democratic Governor Al Smith was re-elected, while his running mate George R. Lunn was defeated. Lowman was the last lieutenant governor of New York who was not the running mate of the elected governor. At the

New York state election, 1926 The 1926 New York state election was held on November 2, 1926, to elect the governor, the lieutenant governor, the state comptroller, the attorney general, a U.S. Senator, the chief judge and an associate judge of the New York Court of App ...

, he was defeated for re-election when Al Smith was re-elected with his running mate

Edwin Corning Edwin Corning (September 30, 1883 – August 7, 1934) was an American businessman and politician from New York. He was Lieutenant Governor of New York from 1927 to 1928. Early life Corning was born on September 30, 1883, in Albany, New York. ...

. From August 1, 1927 until the end of the Hoover administration in 1933, Seymor Lowman was Assistant U.S. Secretary of the Treasury under

Andrew W. Mellon Andrew William Mellon (; March 24, 1855 – August 26, 1937), sometimes A. W. Mellon, was an American banker, businessman, industrialist, philanthropist, art collector, and politician. From the wealthy Mellon family of Pittsburgh, Pennsylv ...

and Ogden L. Mills, and as a well-known "dry" (against the sale and consumption of alcoholic beverages) was in charge of the enforcement of

Prohibition Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcohol ...

. A month after taking office, he stated: "There are many incompetent and crooked men in the service. Bribery is rampant. There are many wolves in sheep's clothing. We are after them... Some days my arm gets tired signing orders of dismissal."TIME Magazine on September 19, 1927
(giving middle initial "M.") After leaving office Lowman served as president of the Elmira Savings Bank. Lowman died in Elmira on March 13, 1940. He was buried at Riverside Cemetery in Chemung.

Notes

Sources

The tariff imbroglio with France, in TIME Magazine on October 17, 1927

TIME Magazine on July 25, 1927 {{DEFAULTSORT:Lowman, Seymour 1868 births 1940 deaths Republican Party members of the New York State Assembly Republican Party New York (state) state senators Lieutenant Governors of New York (state) American bankers Politicians from Elmira, New York