Charles Russell Lowell, Sr.
Charles Lowell (15 August 1782 – 20 January 1861) was a Unitarian minister and a son of judge John Lowell, as well as the father of James Russell Lowell and Robert Traill Spence Lowell.
Biography
He was born in Boston, Massachusetts, and attend ...
and Harriet Traill Spence. He studied at
Round Hill School The Round Hill School for Boys was a short-lived experimental school in Northampton, Massachusetts. It was founded by George Bancroft and Joseph Cogswell in 1823. Though it failed as a viable venture — it closed in 1834 — it was an early effort ...
George Bancroft
George Bancroft (October 3, 1800 – January 17, 1891) was an American historian, statesman and Democratic politician who was prominent in promoting secondary education both in his home state of Massachusetts and at the national and internati ...
, and graduated from Harvard in 1833. He then took a full course at
Harvard Medical School
Harvard Medical School (HMS) is the graduate medical school of Harvard University and is located in the Longwood Medical Area of Boston, Massachusetts. Founded in 1782, HMS is one of the oldest medical schools in the United States and is consi ...
, and engaged in mercantile pursuits for a time.
In 1839, he began the study of theology under advice of
Alonzo Potter
Alonzo Potter (July 6, 1800 – July 4, 1865) was an American bishop of the Episcopal Church in the United States who served as the third bishop of the Diocese of Pennsylvania. Potter "identified himself with all the best interests of society."
...
(afterward bishop of Pennsylvania), and prepared for orders. He was invited by Bishop Spencer, of Newfoundland, to go to
Bermuda
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, where he was made deacon in December 1842, and priest in March 1843, and was also appointed domestic chaplain to the bishop and inspector of schools in the colony.
He went to Newfoundland in 1843, and was appointed to the charge of Bay Roberts ("Peterport" in his novel ''The New Priest''). While he was occupied in duty here, fishery failure and potato blight brought a severe famine upon the people (1846), during which Lowell's medical training proved to be especially useful. He was chairman of the relief committee of the district, and earned the thanks and gratitude of the government and people. His health and strength gave way, and he found it necessary to return to the United States in 1847.
He next began mission work among the poorer people in
Newark, New Jersey
Newark ( , ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey and the seat of Essex County and the second largest city within the New York metropolitan area.Duanesburg, New York, which post he held for ten years. Thence he went to
Southborough, Massachusetts
Southborough is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. It incorporates the villages of Cordaville, Fayville, and Southville. Its name is often informally shortened to Southboro, a usage seen on many area signs and maps, though ...
, where for four years he was headmaster of St. Mark's School. In 1873 he became professor of the
Latin language
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of t ...
and literature in
Union College
Union College is a private liberal arts college in Schenectady, New York. Founded in 1795, it was the first institution of higher learning chartered by the New York State Board of Regents, and second in the state of New York, after Columbia Co ...
,
Schenectady, New York
Schenectady () is a city in Schenectady County, New York, United States, of which it is the county seat. As of the 2020 census, the city's population of 67,047 made it the state's ninth-largest city by population. The city is in eastern New Y ...
, and discharged the duties of that department for six years.
He died in Schenectady on September 12, 1891.
Works
Lowell's publications are ''The New Priest in Conception Bay'' (Boston, 1858; new ed., illustrated by F. O. C. Darley, 1863), ''Fresh Hearts That Failed Three Thousand Years Ago, and Other Poems'' (1860), ''Antony Brade, a Story of School-Boy Life'' (1874), ''Burgoyne's March'', the poem at the Saratoga county centennial celebration at Bemis Heights (1877), and ''A Story or Two from a Dutch Town'' (1878). He has also been during a large part of his life a frequent contributor in both verse and prose to reviews, magazines, and literary journals. One of his most striking productions, "A Raft That No Man Made", is an imaginative story, which a year or two after its publication was almost exactly paralleled by the actual experience of a portion of the crew of the '' Polaris''.