Sylvanus Lowry

Sylvanus B. Lowry (c.1824 – 1865) was an American Democratic politician, newspaper publisher and pioneer in St. Cloud, Minnesota before the American Civil War, having moved there with his slaves from Kentucky. He was elected to the Territorial Council, as the first mayor of the city, and to the Minnesota State Senate in 1862.

Repeatedly attacked in writing by the abolitionist newspaper publisher Jane Swisshelm, 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, Lowry became an Indian trader and slaveowner. His father was David Lowry, a Cumberland Presbyterian minister of Scots descent.

Migration

In 1847 Lowry moved to Minnesota, settling in Brockway about 10 miles north of Saint Cloud, Minnesota, on the Mississippi River. He moved to St. Cloud in 1853. His success as a trader enabled him to build a large mansion there. His father, a Presbyterian minister who established a Cumberland mission; sister Elizabeth and her husband also migrated there by 1854. Lowry took slaves with him as laborers, although the territory organized as "free" or without slavery. Initially he worked as an Indian trader, establishing a wide network.