Abraham Lowe

Abraham Lowe was born August 1, 1764, in Lowesville, Virginia. He was the son of Melzar and Catherine McKenny Lowe. Lowesville is on the Piney River in Nelson County, Virginia. Abraham Lowe was a soldier during the Revolutionary War. On May 10, 1779, Abraham Low (Lowe) enlisted as a private in Blount's Company, serving eighteen months. Abraham Lowe fell in love and married on December 15,1791, eight miles from Dandridge, Tennessee. His wife was Mary Elizabeth Martin, daughter of George and Phoebe Martin of Guilford County, North Carolina. The Rev. Robert Henderson performed the ceremony.

In 1792,  Abraham and Mary Martin Lowe came to what is now Knox County, Tennessee (at that time a part of North Carolina) and settled on a tract of land which was given the name of "Stony Point Farm" on the Tennessee River, six miles east of Campbell Station, and four miles east of the present town of Concord, Tennessee..  In April, 1807, he purchased the ferry that operated between West Knox County and the road to Friendsville in Blount County. This ferry crossed the Holston River (now known as the Tennessee). The ferry was known to operate as early as 1797, and sold to Lowe by George Farragut, the father of Admiral David Farragut. Lowe family lore states that when David Farragut was born Mary Lowe provided the layette for the baby. The Lowe family continued to operate the Ferry after the death of Abraham in 1830 into the 20th century.

Abraham ferried men, women, livestock, lumber, and just about anything that would fit on the ferry could be taken across the river for a price. During the Civil War, when the sons of Abraham were running the ferry, they were neutral and ferried Union and Confederate soldiers and supplies going in both direction. This may have been what allowed them to keep the ferry running during those perilous times.

Abraham Lowe's name was spelled differently in many documents referring to him: Lowe, Low, Loe.