History - The First Generation of United States Marshals
The First
Marshal of New Jersey: Thomas Lowry
Born in Ireland on September 3, 1737 Thomas Lowry came to this country a
the age of 10 with his family. They settled in New Jersey, where Lowry
spent the rest of his life. He became a successful shopkeeper and
landowner, which allowed him to purchase several mills and other
businesses. These endeavors established Lowry as a wealthy, prominent
citizen of New Jersey.
Source: Henry Race, Historico-Genealogical Sketch of
Col. Thomas and Esther Fleming, His Wife. Flemington, N.J.: H.E.
Deats, 1892.
His fellow citizens elected him one of the New Jersey delegates to the
First Continental Congress in 1775. At the outbreak of the Revolution,
Lowry
accepted a commission as Lieutenant Colonel in the Third Regiment of the
New Jersey militia. Throughout the war, Lowry served as commissary
officer, reaching the rank of Colonel. He never saw action in any of the
battles of the war. Instead, his business acumen was put to use keeping
the troop: supplied and provisioned, a particularly important and
extremely difficult responsibility.
Lowry, a personal friend of Washington, entertained the Commander-in
Chief at his house several times during the war. When Washington needed
someone to serve as the first Marshal of New Jersey, he quickly turned
to his old comrade. Lowry received his commission in October 1789 at the
age of 52. During 1791-92, he also served in the New Jersey legislature.
In 1801, Thomas Jefferson replaced him as Marshal.
Lowry and his wife Esther had eleven children. Five years after his
retirement as Marshal, on November 11, 1806, Lowry died at the age of
69.
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