Sylvanus B. Lowry (July 24, 1824 – 1865) was an American Democratic

political boss In politics, a boss is a person who controls a faction or local branch of a political party. They do not necessarily hold public office themselves; most historical bosses did not, at least during the times of their greatest influence. Numerous off ...

, newspaper publisher and pioneer in

St. Cloud, Minnesota St. Cloud is a city in the U.S. state of Minnesota and the largest population center in the state's central region. The population was 68,881 at the 2020 census, making it Minnesota's 12th-largest city. St. Cloud is the county seat of Stear ...

before the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

. He moved there from Kentucky, bringing slaves with him as laborers. He was a profiteer of slavery-related-enterprises.Christopher P. Lehman, ''Slavery's Reach: Southern Slaveholders in the North Star State'' (St. Paul: Minnesota Historical Society Press, 2019), 19. He was elected to the Territorial Council, as the first president of the town council (the office of city mayor did not yet exist), and to the

Minnesota State Senate The Minnesota Senate is the upper house of the Legislature of the U.S. state of Minnesota. At 67 members, half as many as the Minnesota House of Representatives, it is the largest upper house of any U.S. state legislature. Floor sessions are hel ...

in 1862. Repeatedly attacked in writing by the

abolitionist Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the movement to end slavery. In Western Europe and the Americas, abolitionism was a historic movement that sought to end the Atlantic slave trade and liberate the enslaved people. The British ...

newspaper publisher

Jane Swisshelm Jane Grey Cannon Swisshelm (December 6, 1815 – July 22, 1884) was an American Radical Republican journalist, publisher, abolitionist, and women's rights advocate. She was one of America's first female journalists hired by Horace Greeley at hi ...

, he found his political influence reduced. He started a rival paper ''The Union'', which became the ''St. Cloud Times''. He died young in 1865.

Early life and education

Born in

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...

, Lowry became a trader and slaveowner. His father was David Lowry, a

Scottish-American Scottish Americans or Scots Americans (Scottish Gaelic language, Scottish Gaelic: ''Ameireaganaich Albannach''; sco, Scots-American) are Americans whose ancestry originates wholly or partly in Scotland. Scottish people, Scottish Americans are cl ...

Cumberland Presbyterian The Cumberland Presbyterian Church is a Presbyterian denomination spawned by the Second Great Awakening.Matthew H. Gore, The History of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church in Kentucky to 1988, (Memphis, Tennessee: Joint Heritage Committee, 2000). ...

minister and

missionary A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Tho ...

to the

Winnebago people The Ho-Chunk, also known as Hoocągra or Winnebago (referred to as ''Hotúŋe'' in the neighboring indigenous Iowa-Otoe language), are a Siouan-speaking Native American people whose historic territory includes parts of Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iow ...

in northeast

Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to the ...

Migration

In 1847, the Lowry family followed the Winnebago as they were forcibly moved to a new Reservation surrounding

Long Prairie, Minnesota Long Prairie is a town in Todd County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 3,458 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat. and the oldest town in the County. Geography According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a to ...

. Lowry settled in Brockway Township, about 10 miles north of Saint Cloud, along the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it f ...

. He moved into St. Cloud in 1853. His success as a fur trader enabled him to build a large mansion there. His father, a

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...

minister who established a

Cumberland Cumberland ( ) is a historic county in the far North West England. It covers part of the Lake District as well as the north Pennines and Solway Firth coast. Cumberland had an administrative function from the 12th century until 1974. From 19 ...

mission Mission (from Latin ''missio'' "the act of sending out") may refer to: Organised activities Religion *Christian mission, an organized effort to spread Christianity *Mission (LDS Church), an administrative area of The Church of Jesus Christ of ...

; and his sister Elizabeth and her husband also migrated to St. Cloud by 1854. Lowry took slaves with him as laborers, although the territory residents had voted to have it be "free" or without slavery. Initially Lowry worked as a trader with Indians for furs, establishing a wide network. More Southerners entered the state after 1857, when the

US Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point of ...

ruled in the

Dred Scott Dred Scott (c. 1799 – September 17, 1858) was an Slavery in the United States, enslaved African Americans, African American man who, along with his wife, Harriet Robinson Scott, Harriet, unsuccessfully sued for freedom for themselves and thei ...

case that, as slaves were not citizens, they had no standing to file

freedom suits Freedom suits were lawsuits in the Thirteen Colonies and the United States filed by slaves against slaveholders to assert claims to freedom, often based on descent from a free maternal ancestor, or time held as a resident in a free state or te ...

. Its decision also that the

Missouri Compromise The Missouri Compromise was a federal legislation of the United States that balanced desires of northern states to prevent expansion of slavery in the country with those of southern states to expand it. It admitted Missouri as a Slave states an ...

was unconstitutional meant that Minnesota was unable to enforce its laws against slavery. Although the numbers of slaves were not high, several counties around and including St. Cloud had populations of slaves brought by Southerner vacationers before the

. When the war broke out, most of the Southerners left, taking their slaves with them. According to historian Christopher Lehman:

Political career

Lowry became active in the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

in the territory. He was elected to the Minnesota Territorial Council, serving from 1852 to 1854. the town council voted him council president of the newly incorporated city in 1856. Active in the state party, Lowry was being groomed to run as

Lieutenant Governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...

. He is well known in

Minnesota folklore Minnesota folklore, although its study and documentation has never been a priority among academics, is exceptionally rich. As the state has been the residence of such a wide variety of ethnic groups, Minnesota's folktales and folk songs are reflecti ...

for his conflict with the abolitionist newspaper publisher Jane Grey Swisshelm, who repeatedly attacked him for his slaveholding as well as mistreatment of the

, damaging his political influence. He started a rival paper, ''The Union'', to offset her paper's opinions. It continued as the ''St. Cloud Times.''Ambar Espinoza, "St. Cloud professor unearths history of slavery in Minnesota"
Minnesota Public Radio, 7 May 2010, accessed 4 July 2012 Lowry was elected to the

in 1862. He died in St. Cloud in 1865."Sylvanus Lowry"
Minnesota Legislators Past and Present, accessed 4 July 2012

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lowry, Sylvanus 1824 births 1865 deaths People from Kentucky Mayors of St. Cloud, Minnesota Members of the Minnesota Territorial Legislature Democratic Party Minnesota state senators American political bosses 19th-century American politicians American people of Scottish descent People from St. Cloud, Minnesota